environmental ethics

1. ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
Unit 3

2. CONCEPT:
Environmental ethics is all about the ethical
relationship between us as human beings and his
natural environment.
Human beings take a lot of ethical decisions
concerning the environment. These decisions could
be about whether a forest area needs to be cleared
to create space for humans or for human
consumption, whether zero-emission vehicles
should be used in order to save on fossil fuel
resources, whether consumption should be cut
down to preserve resources for future generations,
whether it is right to be indifferent to the extinction

3. CONT….
Example:
Suppose some farmers burn and clear forest
areas for cultivation, would it be possible to
justify their act?
Suppose a green area is totally cleared of the
vegetation to make space for commercial or
residential complexes, would this act be
justified?
Suppose a company conducts open-pit
mining in some virgin territory, does the
company hold the responsibility to restore the

4. QUESTION?
Is it right to spread awareness against
pollution only because it affects
human beings and not because the
values of certain members of the
natural environment also need to be
protected?
Environmental ethics is all about
raising such questions and finding
their answers

5. Environmental movements started when the
environmentalists the world over acted together to
draw attention to the philosophical aspects of
environment related problems. People woke up to
realize the importance of a natural ecological balance
between the living and non-living entities. Activists
across the globe are spreading awareness
Marshall supports three ethical approaches to classify
the various attempts at explaining the significance and
importance of environmental preservation —
 the Libertarian extension,
 the Ecological extension and
 the Conservation ethics.
about global warming and the significance of

6. CONT…
The Libertarian extension :
The first approach emphasizes
on the theories that promote
the application of human rights
to non-human animals as well
as the inanimate entities.

7. THE ECOLOGICAL EXTENSION
The second approach emphasizes on the
fundamental interdependence of both
biological as well as abiological entities
and their diversity. This classification
would include the theory that earth as a
planet modifies its geophysiological
structure with time to be able to support
the equilibrium of evolving organic and
inorganic matter.

8. THE CONSERVATION APPROACH
The conservation approach
considers only the worth of the
environment, that is, the purpose
it serves for human beings. In
other words, conservation is solely
concerned with human beings and
their intergenerational

9. CORRUPTION
CONCEPT:
Corruption refers to the abuse of public
office, that is, use of public office for
some personal benefit. Ethical governance
propagates that all are equal in the eyes of
the law. But, corruption practices the
exact opposite. Increasing corruption has
led to a situation where only dissipation of
corruption can result in equality before
the law

10. CAUSE
The root cause of corruption is moral
decline. Changing lifestyles have not
only affected the individual’s sense of
values, but also the values that were
nurtured and preserved by the
society. These changes have affected
the system of governance.

11. CONT…
Corruption works against the nation,
against the poor strata and against
the economic progress of the country.
The history of our country’s
governance is fraught with examples
of corruption that put the nation at
security risk. There have been
instances of corruption in politics, in
Defence deals and even cases of
militants being funded through

12. FACTORS:
Corruption in today’s society can be linked
directly with the falling morality standards. The
level of corruption in any society is dependent
on the following three factors. These are:
(i) The values cherished by society
(ii) The individual sense of values
(iii) The governance system (probably, at this
stage, it is worth looking at corruption’s social
roots )

13. CONT…
Corruption is harmful for the society in different ways.
Corruption is antinational.
Example: The Hawala scam that was exposed a few
years ago has shown how the militants based in
Kashmir were receiving cash from abroad through
hawala channels. Through this same route politicians,
businessmen and bureaucrats were also collecting
money.
The nation witnessed another major scam, which was
exposed by Tehelka.com. The expose highlighted the
high level of corruption in Defence deals. From such
events, one can judge that corruption is anti-national
as it threatens national security.

14. CONT…
Moreover, corruption is anti-poor. There have been
reports in the Indian media of high level of
corruption in the Public Distribution System (PDS). A
major portion of sugar and other food grains , which
are designed to ensure food security to the
population living below poverty line, goes to the
black market. The Indian Government incurs huge
expenditure every year on PDS by way of subsidizing
the food grain prices for the poor. This means that
huge amounts of money lands in the pockets of the
corrupt PDS shopkeepers and their godfathers in
bureaucracy and politics. Out of every rupee meant
for anti-poverty programmes, it is a known fact that

15. GENDER ETHICS
Concept:
Globalization can actually heighten gender inequality.
Gender equality plays a major role in the development
of a nation. However, despite modern initiatives it is
disappointing that the situation of women all over the
world has not improved significantly. This is where
gender ethics takes a back seat.
Societies that still remain backward are those where
women have been marginalized and where poverty has
been feminized. Globalization means a situation or
condition that encourages the movement of capital
around the globe at a fast pace. It also implies the
disappearance of tariff barriers and the spread of new
information and communications technologies. But the
benefits of globalization are not always equally

16. CONT…
It would be quite a challenge to encourage women from all
over the world to participate in the whole process of
globalization, because not all women enjoy freedom of
movement. For those who are not even allowed to leave the
four walls of their home, the need to create channels that
would help throw the doors open for participation arises. In
the women-friendly regions, the focus should be on creating
more facilities for women to participate in different ways
and at different levels in the market.
The benefits of progress, modernization and globalization
have not been fairly distributed and the gap between the
haves and the have nots has not been bridged. With women
forming the majority of the poor in the world, this only

17. Women clearly shoulder more responsibilities
than men and are also expected to play dual
roles as bread-winners as well as
housekeepers. This exposes them to more
mental and physical stress as well as health
hazards than men. The underdeveloped
countries have been victims to unethical
peddling of medicines that do not meet the
global safety standards. Women, especially
those who are pregnant are at the receiving end
of all the harmful effects of these dangerous
medicines. They not only risk losing their lives,
but also endanger the lives of their unborn

18. In the Third World countries, often aggressive and
unethical sales campaigns lead the illiterate women to
believe that breastfeeding is no longer the best way
to feed an infant.
With smoking taking a back seat in the developed
countries, more and more tobacco companies are
targeting the population in the underdeveloped
nations to promote their products. The victims of
such marketing include women too who not only risk
their health, but also turn their off-springs into
passive smokers. Indirectly, the wives of poor farmers
who are addicted to tobacco or other forms Self-
Instructional Material 137 Environmental Ethics,

19. SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND
DISCRIMINATION
In USA and UK, sexual harassment is considered to be a serious
form of violence and proper legislative measures have been taken
to protect women and combat sexual harassment at work.
However, in India, it has not been very long since The Supreme
Court recognized sexual harassment, for the first time, as a
violation of human rights and a gender based discrimination
affecting women’s ‘Right to Life and Livelihood’. Although
mandatory guidelines for resolution and prevention of sexual
harassment of women at work have been put in place, the issue
of sexual harassment and discrimination still remains under
carpet for most employers and women.
The Supreme Court of India defines sexual harassment as ‘any
unwelcome sexually-determined behaviour that includes a
demand or request for sexual favours, physical contact, sexually-

20. A SEXUALLY-HARASSED PERSON WOULD BE
ONE WHO:
1. Is subjected to an unwelcome act of physical intimacy
2. Has been asked for sexual favours in return for employment, payment of
wages or a promotion
3. Has been at the receiving end of sexually explicit compliments, or sexist
remarks or jokes with sexual connotations
4. Has been forced to view sexually explicit pictures, cartoons, calendars or
even e-mails, etc.
5. Has been subjected to offensive gestures, sounds or any conduct of a
sexual nature which could be either verbal or non-verbal
6. Has been threatened for refusing to cooperate with the person demanding
sexual favour
7. Has been repeatedly asked out by the boss or forced to answer queries (by
the boss) regarding personal life
8. Has been made to feel embarrassed by a group of colleagues joking or