====== The Bright Way on the Environment ======
[[./memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4454|thethief3]] wrote: [[./viewtopic.php?p=331120#p331120|////]]2024-05-12T03:58:31+00:00 What's the Claravian relationship/doctrine with environmentalism?
I'm glad you asked, as that was one of the things I was going to write up soon. [[https://cbbforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=327932#p327932|This earlier post]] touches on an adjacent issue. The Bright Way is against colonizing exoplanets, or in other words, they're against being [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiet_and_loud_aliens|grabby]], as they wish to allow new noospheres to flower into existence as life evolves naturally, which it can't do if colonists disrupt the process of abiogenesis or hominization/sophontization. This belief lies on a spectrum of "absolutely no exoplanets may be touched" to "only planets with promising prebiotic environments must be left alone." The //official// stance merely precludes planets in the habitable zone of their star. Of course, these are the easiest planets to terraform, so that results in some friction. The relevant laws on the issue say that whoever first maintains a permanent presence in a planet's gravity well is the de facto owner and can do as they please. The Bright Way's missionary efforts at least partially pivot to squatting on promising exoplanets by maintaining unmanned satellites in orbit, likely with mass routers and life support, so that colonists can't come along and bulldoze the environment. As for more traditional environmentalism, the Bright Way doesn't believe in animal rights //per se// but does condemn animal cruelty and reckless habitat destruction etc, which amount to the same thing in terms of practical action. The environment exists ultimately to support sapient life, and protecting the environment is part of maintaining sapient life. The Bright Way does take a special interest in protecting the tree dwellers, as the traditional view is that yinrih //are// tree dwellers who happen to be sapient. The tree dwellers' original range on the northern side of the River was maintained as a sanctuary throughout the Age of Decadence. After the War of Dissolution and expulsion of the Bright Way from its seat of power on Yih, the tree dweller population plummets due to unchecked exploitation and the illegal trafficking of adults for blood sports and pups for the pet trade. Once the Bright Way is allowed to return to Newman's Dale, the sanctuary is reestablished and the population rebounds, although by that point the population of captive bred tree dwellers was more than enough to satisfy demand. It goes without saying that the Bright Way condemns blood sports in general, and most jurisdictions, with the obvious exception of the Spacer Confederacy, ban such activities, whether or not animals are involved. The Bright Way does allow the use of tree dwellers for lab testing and organ transplants, as it fits with their view that the environment exists to serve sapient life. They do try to minimize harm to their non sapient kin, and keep lab specimens in as natural and stimulating an environment as can be managed. Harvesting organs from tree dwellers is also considered a last resort, as donated yinrih organs are a better fit anyway. {{tag>religion}}