A note on the right to experience trees

This paper focuses on two normative positions commonly put forth in environmental discussions, and what those positions imply for environmental policy. The first proposition is that future persons have the right to experience trees. That is, the present generation has a moral obligation to ensure that future generations experience trees, even if this obligation results in inconvenience to the present generation. The second normative proposition is that future generations do not have a right to be brought into existence, that their being brought into the world is entirely a matter of convenience to the present generation. The present analysis categorises persons according to the degree of altruism they show towards future generations, their own offspring and others. It is then shown that inasmuch as future trees in the environment are public goods, they are likely to be underproduced from the standpoint of social optimality. But as Altruistic/Altruistic and Altruistic/Indifferent persons pursue their self-interests publicly, they tend to redress this situation. That is, they promote normative positions which increase the number of trees per person, and do so without anyoneʹs explicitly advocating such a position.