Environmental Ethics

Environmental Ethics

Environmental Ethics • Ethics- what is right and wrong regardless of cultural differences • Morals- reflect the feelings of that culture about ethical issues • General Example: • Ethics- Wrong to kill • Morals- Ok to kill during a time of war

Environmental Ethics • Environmental Example: • There is enough food in the world to feed everyone adequately, it is unethical to allow some people to starve while others have more than enough. But, the predominant mood of those in the developed world is one of indifference. They don’t feel morally bound to share what they have wit others. In reality, this indifference says that it is ok to allow people to starve. The moral stand is not consistent with purely thical one.

Environmental Ethics • Morals and Ethics are not always the same • Difficult to clearly define right and wrong

Environmental Ethics • Other issues: • Is it ethical to have more than 2 children when the world faces over population? • Is it ethical to buy large vehicles that use large amounts of gas knowing that there is an energy crisis? • Should an industry persuade legislation to vote no on a bill because it might reduce profits, even though its passage would improve the environment?

Environmental Ethics • is NOT to convince that one should be concerned about the environment • Goal: focuses on the moral foundation of environment responsibility and how far responsibility extends • 3 theories on ethics

Environmental Ethics • Anthropocentric “human centered” • View that all enviro responsibility is derived from human interests alone • Only humans are significant • Care for environment b/c it is essential to human life and keep is healthy to maintain a pleasant world for humans • Future generations do not exist yet, so they do not count, and are not considered

Environmental Ethics • Biocentric • All forms of life have a right to exist • Hierarchies exist • Are plants below animals? • Is it ok to kill pest species? • Humans job is to protect all species.. • Must decide which species are worth saving first or at the cost of others

Environmental Ethics • Ecocentrism • Environment has direct moral considerations not just off of humans or animals interests • Enviro has worth; on moral par with humans • Aldo Leopold “Sand County Almanac” • All is interdependent • “one with nature”

Environmental Attitude • Development ethic- based on individualism or egocentrism • Man is the “Master of Nature” • All is here for our use and benefit • Driven by work ethic (bigger=better=progress) • “if it can be done, then it should be done” • Unpatriotic to question growth • But is bigger really better?

Environmental Attitude • Preservation ethic- nature is special, has value in itself outside of humans • Almost religious belief to preserving nature • All things should live no matter the social or economic costs • Nature for recreation or aesthetic uses • Humans have much to learn still from nature and species

Environmental Attitude • Conservation or management ethic- considers the entire earth for all time • Works towards a balance of resource use and availability • Rapid uncontrolled growth of population and development is self defeating • Goal: 1 people living together in 1 world indefinitely

Societal Environmental Ethics “The Earth provides enough to satisfy everyone’s need, but not every person’s greed” --Mahatma Ghandi

Societal Environmental Ethics • Western, developed societies (US) • Earth has unlimited resources, waste disposal, and limitless population growth • Economic growth and resource exploitation are attitudes shared by developed areas • Conquer nature and wilderness • Not developing a resource is considered (almost) a sin

Corporate Environmental Ethics We know that all industries must use energy to produce products, and none of them intentionally want to produce pollution, but waste is produced and must be disposed. The goal is to produce a profit!

Corporate Environmental Ethics • Corporations- legal entities designed to operate at a profit • Corp. has no ethics; the people do • Cheaper it is to produce something the more profit • Short term profitability vs long term benefit to society • It is worth installing filter for pollution? • Use loopholes, political pressure and time consuming legal action to delay regulations

Corporate Environmental Ethics • Some of the most important enviro decisions come from executives not gment • CERES Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economics • 70 companies endorse • Pledge to strive for environmental excellence through business practices that protect environment • Industrial Ecology- reflects the link between economy and environment • Accounts for waste and residues

Corporate Environmental Ethics • GRI- Global reporting initiative • Sustainability Reporting Guidelines • Corporations volunteer information on economic, environmental, and social policies, practices, and performances

Environmental Justice • Environmental racism • Minorities • Poor communities • Environmental justice- fair treatment • “no group of people including racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic groups should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, commercial, or municipal operations…”

Environmental Justice • Should prevailing winds be considered? • If the facility is to be located in a wealthy county but near the county border close to a poor community; how do you draw the line? • How do you compare benefits with losses (jobs and venue vs appearance)? • Most companies by cheap land for landfills, but low income families typically live there, how do you decide? • How should potential health risks be compared with the overall health benefitst that jobs and higher incomes bring?

Environmental Justice • Most waste facilities are located near minorities, poor communities, and the elderly. • Environmental movement, historically, has been by middle class whites, but other groups have become involved to raise concern over these issues

Individual Environmental Ethics • Each person is responsible for the quality of environment • Changes in behaviors • Practice what you preach • Americans blame technology • Cars pollute, not people, so invite cars that do not pollute • Coal utilities pollute, not the electricity consumer, found another method

Do we consume too much? • An American baby will consume 20x as much of the world’s resources as an African or Indian baby • Problems • Overconsumption in Northern Hemisphere • North Americans make up 5% of world population • Consume ¼ of world’s oil • Waste more food than most people in sub-Sahara Africa eat • China becoming more industrialized • Overpopulation in Southern Hemisphere • Which is the bigger problem?

Do we consume too much? • Ehrlich-Simon argument • 1980 made a bet on the price of metals used to build (Copper, chrome, nickel, tin, tungsten) • Ehrlich said that as the population grows these metals would be used up and thus drive up the cost of the metals • Simon said that human ingenuity would find better materials to build with and the prices would go down • By 1990 all 5 metals decreased in value • But what about food, water, nature, and oil?

Do we consume too much? • 200 years ago Thomas Malthus declared a world wide famine was coming • Fertilizers, pesticides and high yield crops have more than doubled food production in last 40 years • Then why do 840 million people go hungry today, and 6 million children under 5 die every year?

Do we consume too much? • In 2000, the world reached a historic landmark of there becoming the same number of overweight people equaled the same number of those that were malnourished • How is this? • Angola, resource rich, but wracked by civil war to exploit its wealth • Russian is comparable to US in resources and intellect capital, but the communism legacy has it in poverty • Most people say its bad government not lack of resources that make people poor

Do we consume too much? • Modified crops (genetically altered) • Is this safe? • Why do some 12 year olds look 17 now? • Increase cases of cancer now days? • Why is the #1 killer of dogs, cancer? • US is not required to tell you where your food comes from • In general we should be able to keep up with food demand.

Do we consume too much? • The American Dream • Cut rainforests • Large rivers like the Nile will become more canal like • Most people will live in Megacities of over 12-25 million people • Nature will only exist in scattered areas

Do we consume too much? • If everyone consumed as much oil as an American, oil would be gone in 1 decade • Have cheaper ways of finding oil and extracting it • However there is a finite amount of it • Already prepared by investing in alternative energy • Many are not concerned with energy

Do we consume too much? • Humans use ½ of the world’s accessible fresh water • No substitute water • Desalination (removing salt from salt water) is very expensive • Persian Gulf practice • Water diversion • Colorado River is dry when it reaches its mouth at the Sea of Cortez • “in the next century, wars will be fought over water” --Ismail Sergeldin

Do we consume too much? • How many people will be able to live the American way 50 years from now? • Global Warming • Extinction • Agriculture areas could be shifted • Weather patterns changed • Diseases • Flooding from glaciers All could greatly decrease food

What do you think? • Do we consume too much? • Is there an ethical argument against the US and its consumption?

Global environmental ethics • Worry has lead to corporation between nations • Acid rain • Deforestation • Water rights • Megacities in the Third World are time bombs of unrest • Much of the current environmental crisis is rooted in and worsened by the widening gap between the rich and poor nations.

global environmental ethics • Developing countries suffer the most with disease and malnutrition • So their efforts at industrialization poisons cities and attempts to increase agricultural productions destroys their forests and depletes their soil of nutrients which leads to greater poverty

global environmental ethics • Will the nations of the world be able to set aside their political differences to work toward a global environmental course of action?

Environmental Ethics