Professionals have various obligations when the topic is the environment. In fact, these responsibilities will vary from one profession to another while there will be set duties to the environment that all professionals have -- such as following the ethical principle of doing no harm environmentally in the conduct of one's profession. Because there are such responsibilities, duties and obligations, it is incumbent upon professionals to have a good understanding of the field of environmental ethics. This Guided Inquiry will assist you in gaining this understanding. Exercise In this first Exercise of this Guided Inquiry, you will work toward creating a brief definition of "environmental ethics." You will begin by exploring some WWW sites that deal with environmental ethics and then based upon that exploration you will be asked to write your definition of the field. 1 Read the discussion of "environmental ethics" in the Wikipedia encyclopedia. 2 "A Very Brief History of the Origins of Environmental Ethics for the Novice" -- This site is maintained by the Center for Environmental Philosophy at the University of North Texas. It paints a chronological picture of the environmental ethics movement in the academic discipline of philosophy. It also contains a number of links. Feel free to explore those that interest you. 3 Read J. Baird Callicott's "The Challenge of a World Environmental Ethic," in which he sets out to define an ethic that is suitable for the present day. 4 Finally, read "Environmental Ethics" in the Stanford Enclopedia of Philosophy. 5 Now, to finish this exercise, write an essay titled: A Definition of Environmental Ethics."