6 Questions Every Young Environmentalist Should Ask

Really, every day should be Earth Day (we do live on and depend on it, right?). We’re always excited about asking big questions and taking a closer look at our relationship with our lovely blue planet and its inhabitants. Kid philosophers are especially receptive to this particular topic, and to kick off your discussions, we’ve put together a bunch of questions.

Remember, the usual rules of dialogue apply (give everyone a chance to speak, always give reasons to support an opinion, leave no idea un-discussed). If you’ve got a chatty kid, then get talking. If you’ve got an artistic kid, then break out the crayons and doodle their ideas. If you’ve got a wiggly kid, then discuss using dance. You get the picture.

Here are some jumping off points:

• How are human beings different or similar to other creatures on Earth? How can you tell? When someone or something is different from us, how do we treat them/it?

• Do animals and plants have thoughts and feelings like humans do? How do we know?

• What does it mean to be responsible for something? Should human beings be responsible for protecting our environment? Why or why not?

• If you could trade brains with another creature, which one would you choose? What would being in that creature’s head be like? What experiences would you have? Would it change the way you saw the world?

• What’s the difference between something living (like an animal and a plant) and something non-living (like water or rocks)? Do humans need to look after non-living things too?

• What does it mean to own something, or be the boss of it? Do we own the Earth, or do we just live on it? Who gets to decide what we do with our planet?

Cheers to all the budding eco enthusiasts out there! For even more big questions about the environment, check out our book/app “ThinkAboutIt: Philosophy For Kids, Think Green!”