Community environmental groups have reacted almost upon being informed of the planned construction of a multi-billion dollar project in Victoria, which was later on announced as the Victorian Desalination Plant. According to a 1600 page report published by the Environmental Effects Statements, the construction of the project which would extend to at least a few kilometers both inland and towards the sea would have negative implications on the biodiversity of some protected species of fish, and sea creatures that are even unique to the waters of Australia.
The intention of the Victorian Government in constructing the desalination plant was to provide relief to Melbourne’s water system which used to be very dependent on rainfall. To remove the agriculture, residential, and industrial’s apprehension to population growth, the government has decided to make the country’s water systems one of its priorities. The government even planned to create a desalination plant for every city, regardless whether doing so would lead to serious environmental and at some point ethical complications.
The idea that the government would be willing to flush in a huge volume of sea water towards the plant to be processed into a significantly smaller volume of clean potable water that will be used by the residents and farmers to flush their toilets and whatever businesses there may be that require water, if we are going to use the natural law as a basis, is just wrong. This leads us to the topic of egoism.
Egoism is a philosophical term that describes how a person could place himself at the center of the universe, focusing on his intellectual, physical, and social interests without considering the interests of others. This is what actually happened in the construction of the Victorian Desalination Plant. As an environmental community group, we are against the construction and continuity of operations of this sea water glutton which improves the welfare of Melbourne residents by providing a stable and abundant source of clean and potable water at the expense of potentially irreversibly destroying the habitat of marine creatures and flora around the area. It definitely improves the lifestyle of every Melbourne resident but focusing solely on human self-interests is not a valid rationale to cause destruction in the environment.
References
Davidson, K. (2008). Water Policy is based on Flawed Figures. The Age.
Melbourne Water. (2007). Seawater Desalination Plant Feasibility Study. Melbourne Water.
Stanford University Press. (2010). Egoism. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
