Environmentalism is the ethical and political perspective that places the health, harmony, and integrity of the natural environment at the center of human attention and concern. From this perspective human beings are viewed as part of nature rather than as overseers. Therefore to care for the environment is to care about human beings since we cannot live without the survival of the natural habitat.

Although there are many different views within the very broad and inclusive environmentalist perspective, several common features can be discerned. The first is environmentalism's emphasis on the interdependence of life and the conditions that make life possible. Human beings, like other animals, need clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and nutritious food to eat. Without these necessities, life would be impossible. Environmentalism views these conditions as being both basic and interconnected. For example, fish contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), mercury, and other...