Environmental Science Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

Environmental Ethics

Chapter Opener

Environmental Ethics

Tht Earth as seen from space.

Outline2.1 The Call for a New Ethic2.2 Environmental Ethics2.3 Environmental Attitudes2.4 Environmental Justice2.5 Societal Environmental Ethics2.6 Corporate Environmental Ethics

Outline2.7 Individual Environmental Ethics2.8 The Ethics of Consumption2.9 Personal Choices2.10 Global Environmental Ethics

2.1 The Call for a New EthicA lot of what we do on our home planet

connects us to something or somebody else.

Managing the interactions between people and their environment has been transformed by unprecedented increases in the rate, scale, and complexity of the interactions.

Across the world, thousands of people believe that today’s environmental challenges must be met with a new and more robust environmental ethic.

2.2 Environmental EthicsEthics is one branch of philosophy; it seeks

to define what is right and what is wrong.Ethics can help us understand what actions

are wrong and why they are wrong.Not all cultures share the same ethical

commitments. Cultural relativism in ethics acknowledges these differences exist.

Despite the presence of some differences, there are many cases in which ethical commitments can and should be globally agreed upon.

Ethics and LawsIdeally, the laws of a nation or community

should match the ethical commitments of those living there.

In the case of environmental issues, care needs to be taken over when it is appropriate to legislate something and when action should be left to the individual’s sense of right and wrong.

A strong personal ethical commitment can help guide behavior in the absence of supporting laws.

Conflicting Ethical PositionsSometimes an individual’s ethical

commitments can conflict with each other.A mayor might have an ethical commitment

to preserving land in a city but also have an ethical commitment to bringing in jobs associated with construction of a new factory.

In many cases, what is good for the environment is also good for people.While forest protection may reduce logging

jobs, a healthier forest might lead to new jobs in recreation, fisheries, and tourism.

The Greening of ReligionEnvironmental issues were considered to

be the concern of scientists, lawyers, and policy makers. What is our moral responsibility toward future generations?

The natural world figures prominently in the world’s major religions.

The Greening of ReligionReligious leaders recognize that religions,

as shapers of culture and values, can make major contributions to the rethinking of our current environmental impasse.

The National Religious Partnership for the Environment (NRPE) was founded in 1993 to “weave the mission of care for God’s creation across all areas of organized religion.”

Three Philosophical Approaches to Environmental Ethics

Anthropocentrism (human-centered)This view holds that all environmental responsibility

is derived from human interests.Assumes that only humans are morally significant.Assumes nature is an instrument for human manipulation.

Biocentrism (life-centered) All life forms have an inherent right to exist.

Ecocentrism This view maintains that the environment deserves

direct moral consideration, not consideration derived from human or animal interests.

Three Philosophical Approaches to Environmental Ethics“A thing is right when it tends to preserve

the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise….We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”

—Aldo LeopoldA Sand County Almanac, 1949

Three Philosophical Approaches to Environmental Ethics

Philosophical approaches

Other Philosophical ApproachesOther areas of philosophical thought

address environmental issues:EcofeminismSocial ecologyDeep ecologyEnvironmental pragmatismEnvironmental aestheticsAnimal rights/welfare

2.3 Environmental AttitudesBecause ethical commitments pull in

different directions at different times, it is often easier to talk in terms of environmental attitudes or approaches.

The three most common attitudes/approaches are:Development approachPreservation approachConservation approach

2.3 Environmental AttitudesDevelopment, preservation, and

conservation are different attitudes toward nature. These attitudes reflect a person’s ethical commitments.

2.3 Environmental Attitudes

DevelopmentThis approach is the most anthropocentric.

It assumes the human race is, and should be, master of nature.

It assumes that the Earth and its resources exist solely for our benefit and pleasure.

This approach is reinforced by the capitalist work ethic.

This approach thinks highly of human creativity and holds that continual economic growth is a moral ideal for society.

PreservationThis approach is the most ecocentric.

It holds that nature has intrinsic value apart from human uses.Preservationists such as John Muir, Ralph Waldo

Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Walt Whitman articulated their positions differently, but all viewed nature as a refuge from economic activity, not as a resource for it.

Some preservationists wish to keep large parts of nature intact for aesthetic or recreational reasons (anthropocentric principles).

ConservationThis approach finds a balance between

unrestrained development and preservationism.

Conservationism promotes human well-being but considers a wider range of long-term human goods in its decisions about environmental management.

Many of the ideas in conservationism have been incorporated into an approach known as sustainable development.

Sustainable DevelopmentSustainable

Development is a middle ground that seeks to promote development while still preserving the ecological health of the landscape.

2.4 Environmental JusticeIn 1998, the Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) defined environmental justice as fair treatment, meaning: “No group of people, including racial, ethnic,

or socioeconomic groups, should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial operations or the execution of federal, state, local, and tribal programs and policies.”

Environmental justice is closely related to civil rights.

2.4 Environmental Justice

The direct action in Warren County, NC, marked the birth of the environmental justice movement in the U.S.

2.4 Environmental JusticeStudies show that the affluent members of

society generate most of the waste, while the impoverished members tend to bear most of the burden of this waste.

2.4 Environmental JusticeEnvironmental justice encompasses a wide

range of issues, including:Where to place hazardous and polluting

facilitiesTransportationSafe housing, lead poisoning, and water

qualityAccess to recreationExposure to noise pollutionAccess to environmental informationHazardous waste cleanupExposure to natural disasters (e.g., Hurricane

Katrina)

2.5 Societal Environmental EthicsWestern societies have long acted as if the

earth has:Unlimited reserves of natural resources.An unlimited ability to assimilate wastes.A limitless ability to accommodate

unchecked growth.Until the last quarter of the 20th century,

economic growth and resource exploitation were the dominant orientations toward the natural environment in industrialized societies.

Things have now started to change.

2. 6 Corporate Environmental EthicsCorporations are legal entities designed

to operate at a profit.Although a corporation’s primary purpose is

to generate a financial return for its shareholders, this does not mean that a corporation has no ethical obligations to the public or to the environment.

Shareholders can demand that their directors run the corporation ethically.

Waste and Pollution

The daily tasks of industry, such as procuring raw materials, manufacturing and marketing products, and disposing of wastes, cause large amounts of pollution.

The cost of controlling waste can be very important in determining a company’s profit margin.

Ethics are involved when a corporation cuts corners in production quality or waste disposal to maximize profit without regard for public or environmental well-being.

2.6 Corporate Environmental Ethics

Actions such as dumping waste in a river rather than installing a wastewater treatment facility or using expensive filters externalize the costs of doing business so that the public, rather than the corporation, pays those costs.

Because stockholders expect a return on an investment, corporations can be drawn toward making decisions based on short-term profitability rather than long-term benefit to the environment or society.

2.6 Corporate Environmental Ethics

Corporate decision making.

Is There a Corporate Environmental Ethic?Greenwashing is a form of corporate

misinformation where a company will present a green public image and publicize green initiatives that are false and misleading.

Is There a Corporate Environmental Ethic?Corporations face real choices between

using environmentally friendly or harmful production processes, and are facing more pressure to adopt more environmentally and socially responsible practices.

The International Organization for Standardization (www.iso.org) has developed a program called ISO 14000 to encourage industries to adopt the most environmentally sensitive production practices.

Is There a Corporate Environmental Ethic? In 1989, the Coalition for Environmentally

Responsible Economics (CERES) created a set of 10 environmental standards by which the business practices of member companies could be measured.

CERES companies pledge to voluntarily go beyond legal requirements to strive for environmental excellence through business practices that:1. Protect the biosphere2. Sustainably use natural resources

Is There a Corporate Environmental Ethic?

3. Reduce and dispose of waste safely4. Conserve energy5. Minimize environmental risks through safe

technologies6. Reduce the use, manufacture, and sale of

products and services that cause environmental damage

7. Restore environmental damage8. Inform the public of any health, safety, or

environmental conditions

Is There a Corporate Environmental Ethic?

9. Consider environmental policy in management decisions

10. Report the results of an annual environmental audit to the public.

Today, over 70 companies publicly endorse the CERES Principles, including 13 Fortune 500 firms.

CERES coordinates an investor network with assets of over $2.7 trillion.

Is There a Corporate Environmental Ethic?In 1997, the Global Reporting Initiative

(GRI) was established. The mission of the GRI is to develop

globally applicable guidelines for reporting on economic, environmental, and social performance, initially for corporations and eventually for any business, governmental, or nongovernmental organization.

Today, at least 2000 companies around the world voluntarily report information on their economic, environmental, and social policies, practices, and performance.

Green Business ConceptsIt makes little sense to preserve the

environment if preservation causes economic collapse.

Nor does it make sense to maintain industrial productivity at the cost of breathable air, clean water, wildlife, parks, and wilderness.

Natural capitalism is the idea that businesses can both expand their profits and take good care of the environment.The 3M Company is estimated to have saved

up to $500 million over the last 20 years through its Pollution Prevention Pays (3P) program.

Green Business Concepts

Industrial ecology links industrial production and environmental quality.

It models industrial production and biological production, forcing industry to account for where waste is going.In nature, nothing is wasted or discarded; all

materials ultimately get reused.A pollutant is a resource out of place.

Good environmental practices are good economics.

Green Business Concepts

The triple bottom line has been referred to as the ethical criteria for business success.

It includes financial, social, and environmental concerns.

2.7 Individual Environmental EthicsEthical changes in society and business

must start with individuals.We must recognize that our individual

actions have a bearing on environmental quality and that each of us bears some responsibility for the quality of the environment in which we live.

2.7 Individual Environmental EthicsOpinion polls conducted over the past

decade have indicated Americans think environmental problems can often have a quick technological fix.Many individuals want the environment

cleaned up, but do not want to make the necessary lifestyle changes to make that happen.

2.8 The Ethics of ConsumptionNorth Americans represent 5% of the

world’s population.North Americans consume one-fourth of the

world’s oil.They use more water and own more cars

than anybody else.They waste more food than most people in

sub-Saharan Africa eat.

Do We Consume Too Much?

Ecologist Paul Ehrlich argues the American lifestyle is driving the global ecosystem to the brink of collapse.

Economist Julian Simon argues human ingenuity, not resources, limits economic growth and lifestyles.

Do We Consume Too Much?Food

Fertilizers, pesticides, and high-yield crops have more than doubled world food production in the past 40 years.Food distribution, not food production, is the cause of

hunger.Energy

At current rates of consumption, known oil reserves will not last through the current century.

Foresighted energy companies are looking ahead by investing in the technologies that will replace fossil fuels.

Nuclear power, solar, wind, wave, and biomass technologies are meeting increasing proportions of national energy needs in other countries.

Do We Consume Too Much?

WaterCurrently humans use about half the planet’s

accessible supply of renewable, fresh water.More than any other resource, water may limit

consumerism in the next century.Wild Nature

Every day in the U.S., between 1000 and 2000 hectares of farmland and natural areas are permanently lost to development.

2.9 Personal ChoicesIndividuals can make many lifestyle

changes that significantly reduce their personal impact on the planet.Eating food produced locally, that is low on

the food chain, and is grown with a minimum of chemical fertilizers and pesticides reduces the environmental impact of food production.

Buying durable consumer products and reusing or repairing products with usable life reduces the raw materials that must be extracted from the ground.

2.9 Personal ChoicesConserving energy at home and on the road

can lessen the amount of fossil fuels used to support your lifestyle.

Living in town rather than in the suburbs can reduce your impact on the environment.

Lobbying for protection of wild areas and voting for officials who take environmental issues seriously are other ways you can contribute to a reduced environmental impact.

2.10 Global Environmental Ethics

Ecological degradation in any nation inevitably impinges on the quality of life in others.

Much of the current environmental crisis is rooted in the widening gap between rich and poor nations.

Environmental ethics suggests that we may have an obligation beyond minimizing the harm we cause to our fellow human citizens.

It suggests we may also have an obligation to minimize the harm we cause to the ecological systems and the biodiversity of the Earth itself.

SummaryDifferent cultures put different values on the

natural world and the individual organisms that compose it. Environmental ethics investigates the justifications for these different positions.

Three common attitudes toward nature are the development approach, the preservationist approach, and the conservationist approach.

Ethical obligations toward the environment are usually closely connected to ethical obligations toward people, particularly poor people and minority groups.

SummaryRecognition that there is an ethical

obligation to protect the environment can be made by corporations, individuals, nations, and international bodies.

Natural capitalism and industrial ecology are ideas that promote ways of doing profitable business while also protecting the environment.

Global commitments to the protection of the environment are enormously important.