Environmental Ethics

Environmental Ethics
Environmental ethics The Industrial Revolution fundamentally shifted the relationship of human beings to nature. Once, human beings were relatively
vulnerable and helpless before the forces of the natural world. Now, in the age of industrialization, humanity is able to change and shape nature, as well
as simply try to survive its onslaught. With the ability to alter nature has come unexpected consequences, however, that forces our species to
continually reevaluate how it relates to the environment. Global warming is often seen as the consequences of human beings attempting to dominate
nature, through the construction of fossil fuel–burning machinery, industrialized agriculture, and the clearing of national habitats. The question of how
to live in a state of balance with nature has generated the branch of philosophy known as environmental ethics, a form of applied ethics that studies the
relationship of humans to the environment and often provides prescriptive advice about how human beings should live in nature. The central debate
between environmentalists is how human beings should relate to nature. Should the general health of the planet be the focus, with human life viewed
as merely one species amongst many, as advocates of the Deep Ecology movement purport? A similar view is advocated by utilitarian philosophers
such as Peter Singer: "the interests of all the sentient beings (i.e., beings who are capable of experiencing pleasure or pain) –– including nonhuman
ones ––
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Ethical Enviromental Issues
Ethical Environmental Issues
SOC 120: Introduction To Ethics & Social Responsibility
01/18/10
"Ethics is the study of the choices people make regarding right and wrong" (Ruggiero, 2008). Environmental ethics, it is more of a study about moral
relationships of human beings to, and also the value and moral status of, the environment and its nonhuman contents. Humans have been sharing our
lives with nature for many of years; we have to make many ethical decisions with respect to the environment everyday. We have been concentrating on
finding ways and ideas to make our lives easier. Over time we have forgotten to take in the immoral consideration of what we might be doing to our
environment itself. In the past, future and even...show more content...
There are many environmental ethics at stake. The first problem was the pollution from agricultural runoffs from acres of soybean and cattle just
outside the boundaries of the Kayapo Indians. The pollution from the headwaters of the Xingu downriver flowed down to the Kayapo Indians,
contaminating water supplies and food resources. The second issue was land invasion. "Parts of the east bank of the Middle Xingu called
KapГґtnhinore are being illegally invaded and sold. This is creating a hostile, dangerous environment and also blocking river travel." (Goodale,
2004) The last issue not only affects the Kayapo Indian but also affects the rainforest that they live in. According to Goodale (2004), the Brazilian
government has revived plans for several hydroelectric dams along the Xingu River. "The proposed project would displace Kayapo from their
homes, because a loss of sustenance for those living downstream, disturb fish populations, and damage terrestrial ecosystems" (Goodale, 2004). In a
situation like this, there are many views from both sides. Some people believe that this is just wrong to disrupt a tribe's natural way of life. If you
take the river that they solely depend this will hurt their way of living. Some people think that proposed plan should go forward. Some believe that the
dams will

Environmental Ethics Essay
"If we each take responsibility in shifting our own behavior, we can trigger the type of change that is necessary to achieve sustainability for our race or
this planet. We change our planet, our environment, our humanity every day, every year, every decade, and every millennia."–– Yehuda Berg
The state of our environment has been deteriorating for centuries. Every part of the planet has been negatively impacted by man. Environmental
degradation was greatly accelerated by the industrial revolution that took place in the 19th century. The industrial revolution mechanized the production
of goods and introduced the use of machinery and other heavy equipment which were fueled by dirty sources of energy. At first, wood and coal
powered the...show more content...
The environment provides many valuable resources for human beings including but not limited to many necessary elements for sustaining life. It can be
argued, therefore, that when a person protects the environment for his own good and that of future generations, he may justify his actions under the
principle that human life is sacred and must be protected. Without air, clean water, and healthy plants and animals on which to feed, the human race,
along with many other races, would die out.
Those who do not feel they are morally obligated to protect the environment may read another meaning into what the Bible states. "Dominion" can also
imply that man is free to do whatever he pleases with the assets which have been allocated to him. However, if "man," in general, has been given the
environment to share with all other humans, we must respect the fact that we are only entitled to do what every human is entitled to do. We must
realize that our rights only exist to the point at which they infringe on the rights of others.
To appeal to the utilitarian approach, one person's disrespect for the environment – by spilling toxic waste to use a drastic example – may enable him
/her a small amount of happiness due to the fact that he/she is free to be irresponsible and carefree. However, this action holds the potential to cause
enormous amounts of unhappiness through loss of health, a decrease in the availability of natural resources, and a decline

To keep our environment healthy, all these element need to work together. There are no global laws protecting the environment and that is why
everyone should practice good ethics when it comes to the environment. Environmental ethics is the part of environment philosophy which considers
extending the traditional boundaries of ethics from only including hum and to non–humans. There are many ethical decisions that human beings make
with respect to the environment. Humans are been considered of rational agents because they have clear preference, models uncertainty via expected
values, and always to perform the action with the optimal expected outcome of itself. The action of the rational agent performs depends on the...show
more content...
It will influence the future generations to why we consider environment has been important, create opportunities for generation to come, a culture that
can be passed on and sense of appreciation of such an experience (Singer, 2011). This point may not so readily apply to a wider consequentialist
approach, which attributes intrinsic value not only to pleasure or satisfaction, but also to various objects and processes in the natural environment
(Singer, 2011).
John Rawls states that the principle of fairness is important as it applies to individuals the principle of fairness are a link between the two
principles of social or political justice and individual obligations to comply with specific social practices (Pogge, 2007). By expanding the scope
of what one considers to be an 'end' to include both aspects of nature as well as future generations, one can transform the implications of Rawls'
theory (Pogge, 2007). Rawls advances his theory of justice through what is called the Original Position which is a hypothetical situation in which all
individuals are granted perfect equality and are asked to choose a principle of justice behind a veil of ignorance, which eliminates their biases
(Pogge, 2007). The hypothetical persons in the Original Position, ignorant of who and what they will be in society and perfectly equal to one another,
are able to truly come to a consensus as to what a just society would be (Pogge, 2007). Justice

Environmental Ethics Essay
It is a strong belief of mine that the responsibility of protecting the environment is much greater on today's generation than is was for past generations.
The reason that I feel the way that I do is because at this point a substantial amount of damage has already been done and in order to prevent any further
environmental destruction intervention on our part is necessary. After all, we (humans) are themain cause of the problems; shouldn't we also be a part
of the cure. If we had always taken the environment into consideration prior to our actions we would not be faced with some of the environmental issues
we are facing today. The problem started with the past generations but the solution now has to start...show more content...
This is due to the rise of contraceptive use in third world countries. In more economically stable countries couples are waiting until later age to start
families and are choosing to have fewer children than their parents. But on the other hand the population is getting older with the advances in modern
medicine and the availability of vaccinations and medical treatments.
I believe that due to our (people) past carelessness regarding the environment and our ongoing search for convenience in the present we are hurting
our selves in the long run. Reports show that today skin cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death. We have to go to somewhat extreme
measures on a daily biases to protect ours skin from the suns harmful ultra violet rays which was not the case for past generations. Sun block did
not even exist decades ago and now we can't imagine life with out it. What needs to be done is we need to take measures to make changes in our
actions to prevent worse conditions for future generations. It was the actions of past generations that lead to the current damage of the ozone layer
that is causing the serious skin conditions of the present generation. It will only get worse if we do not take measures to protect what is left of the
ozone layer. For if we don't I can not imagine what will have to be done just to be able to go out into the sun, or what new skin

Environmental challenges as business opportunity
I. INTRODUCTION "Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed." – Mahatma Gandhi The above quote rightly
points out the role of environment for the mankind and the responsibility we need to shoulder for its sustenance. We've come a long way in
recognizing that and now almost every business has a statute of doing something good for the environment as part of their CSR initiative. But
companies who think of the environment as a social responsibility and not as an imperative are not going in the right direction. The global climate
changes and the gradual scarcity of resources have come to light as major disruptions in the business environment. These challenges...show more
content...
This view tries to develop people's value and belief towards environment and manage the way people think. There's a major difference between the
conventional and modern views of Environment ethics in that that attention now swings from the person who wants to preserve the world to the one
who wants to interfere with it. Religion and Environment Does religion really influence our attitude towards nature? Well there is ample evidence
around us that provides a link between the two. Judeo–Christian traditions have shaped the way the western world thinks about nature. Western
Christianity assumed an Anthropocentric view in the sense that they separated humans from nature and encouraged exploitation of nature for the
benefit of man. "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the
fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth"– Book of Genesis, verse 1:26 In
contrast, ancient Hindus adopted Biocentrism and felt God's presence in everything around them, humans and plants and animals alike. They
considered the nature around them as a manifestation of the Almighty himself, the Brahmaan. Hence, they felt that in order to please God, they must
live in harmony with His creations. The Bhoomi Poojan, for example, is a ritual performed in order to worship Mother Earth and seek forgiveness for
violating

Essay on Environmental Ethics
Ethics is the study of what is right and wrong in human conduct. Environmental ethics studies the effects of human's moral relationships on the
environment and everything within it (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2008). The ethical principles that govern those relations determine human
duties, obligations, and responsibilities with regard to the Earth's natural environment and all of the animals and plants that inhabit it (Taylor, 1989). The
purpose of this paper is to reveal environmental issues that are threatening the existence of life on Earth, and discus our social obligations to refrain
from further damaging our environment, health and life for future generations. I will discus the need for appropriate actions and the ethical...show more
content...
These perspectives are anthropocentric or human centered and view all non–human life as less important than humans themselves. Environmental ethics
challenges these beliefs by questioning the assumed moral superiority of human beings to members of other species on earth (SEP, 2008). Preservation
of the environment is essential to the preservation of the human race. Global Warming is the number one concern threatening the very existence of
humans and everything within the environment today. The human race is to blame for the destruction of the natural world. The environmental issues
that are threatening all human and non–human life today, started in the industrial revolution and the discovery of oil The need to improve the quality of
life resulted in the construction of factories to mass produce products for consumers. These factories were powered by fossil fuels such as coal, oil and
gas. The combustion of these fossil fuels emitted great quantities of pollutants that remain in the Earths atmosphere to this day and is the number one
cause of global warming. However, in ethics one cannot evaluate just one thing. In ethics, as in nature, everything is connected to everything else
(Partridge, 1998). Deforestation for agricultural purposes and the expansion of human habitats is happening around the world. This

Environmental Ethics Essay example
"At the current rate, we're headed for and environmental disaster," many say, but how much truth does that statement hold. Have humans really
destroyed, pillaged, and polluted enough to cause a serious, wide scale, disaster? If not, then can we continue on without changing, and not learn from
our mistakes? If so, then can we do anything today that will bring about a tomorrow available to us? All of these questions hold great pertinence for our
current situation. Humans don't exactly hold the best track record for environmental protection and preservation. Throughout time we have exploited
nature and its creatures for our own benefit. We have made technological advances that threaten and disrupt the environment with total disregard...show
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We produce an inert, easily producible propellant for aerosols; and then realize it?s only inert on the ground. Once it?s bombarded by UV ray in the
upper atmosphere it releases a highly destructive ion that wreaks havoc on the protective ozone layer shielding us from those same deadly UV rays,
creating a hole in the layer allowing the radiation through, increasing cancer and other genetic defects. We build rockets capable of going into space
and breaking the earth?s gravitational pull; and then immediately start to pollute this new environment with spent rockets and boosters along with
other miscellaneous particles of debris (Curran and Haw 3). Michael Crichton writes, ?What we call nature is a complex system of far greater subtlety
than we are willing to accept. We make a simplified view of nature and then botch it all up. ?You have to understand what you don?t understand. How
many times must the point be made? How many times must we see the evidence? We build the Aswan Dam and claim it is going to revitalize the
country. Instead, it destroys the fertile Nile Delta, produces parasitic infestation, and wrecks the Egyptian economy? (Jurassic Park 91). To the common
person our current situation contains little hope. All the advancement and improvements have done little to further our species. With each one has
come a new environmental issue. You almost need to evaluate each situation in terms of positives and negatives. However, at the root of all

Environmental Ethics

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Environmental Ethics