Transcript Moral Standing

Environmental Ethics
Definitions
 Moral Agents
 Those who have the
freedom and rational
capacity to be responsible
for choices
 Those capable of moral
reflection and decision.
 Example: adult humans of
sound mind
 Infants and mentally infirm
adults are NOT moral
agents
Definitions
 Moral Standing:
 If you have moral standing:
 Your continued existence
or welfare is valuable in
itself (intrinsic value)
 Your interests and wellbeing must be weighed
when deciding what is
permissible to do.
 Example: humans of all kinds
 Babies, children, adults,
old people, etc.
 Women, different races,
different cultures
Definitions
 Moral Duties
 That which is owed by
moral agents to those
with moral standing.
 Example: It is wrong to
kill our children
because we have a
moral duty toward them
Philosophical Issue
 Who or what has moral
standing, and why?
 Does the environment
have moral standing?
 Must look at criteria for
moral standing
 What moral duty do we
(moral agents) have toward
those with moral standing?
 Different ethical positions
suggest different moral
duties.
Yosemite National Park
Environmental Ethics &
Philosophies
 Biocentric - views all living things as having
inherent worth (Albert Schweitzer)
 Ecocentric - holistic, considering the whole
to have an inherent value and therefore
deserving of moral consideration independent
of human-imposed values (Aldo Leopold)
Ideas on Criteria for Moral Standing
 Membership in the species
Homo sapiens
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Humans have a soul
Humans are moral agents
 and are responsible for
knowing right from wrong
Humans are intelligent
Humans have personhood
 and self-consciousness
Humans have language
Ideas on Criteria for Moral Standing
 Sentience, the ability to
feel pain
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Therefore extend
moral standing to
animals
Ideas on Criteria for Moral Standing
 Being alive
 Therefore extend
moral standing to
animals and plants:
 All living things.
Ideas on Criteria for Moral Standing
 Being part of nature
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Therefore extend moral
standing to the
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earth
ecosystems
rocks
rivers
plants animals
the entire natural
world
Ethical Positions
 Anthropocentrism:
Human centered
morality
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Only humans have
intrinsic value and
moral standing.
The rest of the
natural world has
instrumental value
(use to humans).
Anthropocentrism
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We can best protect
nature by looking out
for human needs.
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Ex: Ducks Unlimited
preserves wetlands
Ex: Saving the
rainforests will
provide O2 and
medicines for
humans.
Problem: Would you
blow up the world if
you were the last
human
Ethical Positions
 Sentio-centrism:
Sentient-being
centered morality
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All and only sentient
beings (animals that feel
pain) have intrinsic value
and moral standing.
The rest of the natural
world has instrumental
value.
Both humans and sentient
animals have rights and/or
interests that must be
considered
Ethical Positions
 Biocentric Individualism:
Life-centered morality
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All and only living beings,
specifically individual
organisms (not species or
ecosystems) have intrinsic
value and moral standing.
Humans are not superior to
other life forms nor
privileged, and must respect
the inherent worth of every
organism
Humans should minimize
harm and interference with
nature: eat vegetarian since
less land needs to be
cultivated.
Ethical Positions
 Eco-centric Holism:
ecosystem centered morality
 Non-individuals (the earth as an
interconnected ecosystem, species,
natural processes) have moral
standing or intrinsic value and are
deserving of respect.
 Individuals must be concerned
about the whole community of
life/nature,
 Humans should strive to preserve
ecological balance and stability.
Patriarchal Dualisms
 Greek, Roman, Hebrew:
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Humans are separate from
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Human, mind, rationality, and man
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are linked, and inferior
Justifies domination by men over
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Aristotle
are linked and superior
Nature, body, feelings, and woman
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and superior to nature
Nature
Women
Environmental Ethics &
Philosophies
 ecofeminism - analyzes societal and
cultural traits that may have led to the
degradation of the environment; specifically
concentrates on the oppression of women by
a traditional patriarchal society as a major
form of social domination that has
precipitated other forms of exploitation and
domination, including exploitation of the
environment.
Ecofeminism
 Rejects Patriarchal Dualisms
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The domination of nature by men
is wrong
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Must break the pattern of "power
over" relationships
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Acid attack victims
is similar to and related to the
domination of women by men.
will benefit both women and the
natural world.
Feminism
Deep Ecology
 Humans are deeply
connected with nature.
 If humans identify with
nature, then taking care of
the natural world will
become part of taking care
of one's self.
Environmental Ethics &
Philosophies
 Deep ecology - holistic and extreme non-
anthropocentric perspective, rejecting the
human vs environment dichotomy (humans
only one species among equal species)
(Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess)
William Baxter
 In his essay, “People or Penguins”
 Baxter argues that people have intrinsic
value, but that penguins do not.
 In Baxter’s words, “ Every human being
should be regarded as an end rather than as
a means to be used for the betterment of
another.”
 This means that people have intrinsic value
and should not be used.
Value Concepts
 Intrinsic Value
 Extrinsic Value
Intrinsic Value
 Intrinsic value is value that a thing has in and
of its self.
 Often valuable as an ends.
 Examples:
 Happiness, Love, Honor, Family, Heath, and
Freedom
Extrinsic Value
 Something has extrinsic if it is valuable as a
means to acquiring or attaining something we
value in virtue of itself.
 For example money has little or no intrinsic
value, it’s just bits of paper or metal, but it has
great extrinsic value in that it can used to
acquire other items which we do value.
Penguins have value
 Penguins have
value, if people
find then
valuable. If they
make us happy
or we enjoy
watching them
march across
Antarctica.
Norman Bowie
 Business should not interfere in political
regulation of environmental policy.
Business Should not Interfere
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Business argues that it has no special
obligation to the environment because it is
willing to follow consumer’s preference on this
issue.
Because of external factors consumers cannot
express their preferences in the market
Therefore they must express them in the
political arena
Business intervention interferes with the
express of those preferences
Since 4 follows from 1, business should not
interfere in the political process.
What is pollution?
 Pollution is the introduction of harmful
substances or products into the environment
 We will be examining 3 main parts of pollution
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Water Pollution
Air Pollution
Land Pollution
Water Pollution
Causes of Water Pollution
 Factors that contribute to water pollution can
be categorized into two different groups
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Point sources
Non-point sources
 Point sources are the easiest to identify and
control
 Non point sources are ambiguously defined
and harder to control
Point Sources
 Some point sources of water pollution include
 Waste products from factories
 Waste from sewage system
 Waste from power plants
 Waste from underground coalmines
 Waste from oil wells
 They are called point sources because they
are direct sources of water pollution and can
be reduced and monitored
Example of a point source
Non-point Sources
 The term non-point source encompasses a
large range of sources such as:
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when rain or snow moves through the ground
and picks up pollutants as it moves towards a
major body of water
the runoff of fertilizers from farm animals and
crop land
air pollutants getting washed or deposited to
earth
storm water drainage from lawns, parking lots,
and streets
Non-point source: Agricultural runoff
Air Pollution
Causes of Air Pollution
 One of the main causes of air pollution is
the release of carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere, this happens because of
Deforestation and fossil fuel burning
 Sulfur dioxide is another air polluter and is
released into the atmosphere by the
burning of sulfur containing compounds of
fossil fuels. Sulfur oxides are very
dangerous to humans at a high
concentration. Sulfur in the atmosphere is
responsible for acid rain
More causes of air pollution: CFCs
 Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) also contribute
to air pollution by reducing the amount of
ozone the stratosphere. CFCs come from a
variety of places such as:
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the burning of plastic foam items
leaking refrigerator equipment
spray cans
Natural Air Pollutants
 Natural air pollutants can include:
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Smoke from wild fires
Methane released from live stock
Volcanic eruptions
Consequences of Air Pollution
 CO2 is a good transmitter of sunlight, but it
also partially restricts infrared radiation going
back from the earth into space, which
produces the so-called greenhouse effect that
prevents a drastic cooling of the Earth during
the night
 Increasing the amount of CO2 in the
atmosphere reinforces this effect and is
expected to result in a warming of the Earth's
surface
 CO2 in atmosphereGLOBAL WARMING
The Greenhouse Effect
Glaciers are melting
 More than 110 glaciers have disappeared from
Montana’s Glacier National Park over the past
150 years, and researchers estimate that the
park’s remaining 37 glaciers may be gone in
another 25 years.
 Half a world away on the African equator,
Hemingway’s snows of Kilimanjaro are steadily
melting and could completely disappear in the
next 20 years.
 In the Alps, Andes and Rockies, glaciers are
retreating and disappearing every year.
Acid Rain
 When emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitric
oxide from stationary sources are transported
long distances by winds, they form secondary
pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, nitric acid
vapor, and droplets containing solutions of
sulfuric acid, sulfate, and nitrate salts
 These chemicals descend to the earth's
surface in wet form as rain or snow and in dry
form as a gases fog, dew, or solid particles, it
is known as acid rain or acid deposition
Acid Rain: Its effect on a tree
Smog
 With the introduction of petroleum to replace
coal economies in countries, photochemical
smog has become predominant in many
cities, which are located in sunny, warm, and
dry climates with many motor vehicles
 Worst episodes of photochemical smog tends
to occur in summer
A smoggy city
Air Pollution
 Smog clouds
our cities.
Consequences continued
 Sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone and
peroxyacl nitrates (PANs), cause direct
damage to leaves of crop plants and trees
when they enter leaf pores (stomates)
 Chronic exposure of leaves and needles to
air pollutants can also break down the waxy
coating that helps prevent excessive water
loss and damage from diseases, pests,
drought and frost
Consequences continued
 "In the midwestern United States crop losses
of wheat, corn, soybeans, and peanuts from
damage by ozone and acid deposition
amount to about $5 billion a year". (Miller
498)
Land Pollution
Causes of Land Pollution
 Four Main causes of land pollution
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Construction
Agriculture
Domestic waste
Industrial Waste
Construction
 Buildings take up resources and land, the
trees are chopped down and used to make
buildings
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Takes away from places for animals
and other organisms to live
Agriculture
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As there are more and more people
inhabiting the earth, food is in higher
demand and so forests are chopped
down and turned into farmland
In addition, herbicides, pesticides,
artificial fertilizers, animal manure
(poop) are washed into the soil and
pollute it
Domestic Waste
 Tons of domestic waste is dumped every day.
Some waste from homes, offices and
industries can be recycled or burnt in
incinerators
 There is still a lot of garbage, such as
refrigerators and washing machines that are
dumped in landfills simply because they
cannot be reused in anyway, nor recycled
Industrial Waste
 Plastics factories, chemical plants, oil
refineries, nuclear waste disposal activity,
large animal farms, coal-fired power plants,
metals production factories and other heavy
industry all contribute to land pollution
Consequences of Land Pollution
 Land pollution exterminates wild life
 Acid rain kills trees and other plants
 The vegetation that provides food and shelter is
destroyed
 Land pollution can seriously disrupt the balance of
nature, and, in extreme cases, can cause human
fatalities
 Pesticides can damage crops; kill vegetation; and
poison birds, animals, and fish. Most pesticides kill
or damage life forms other than those intended. For
example, pesticides used in an effort to control or
destroy undesirable vegetation and insects often
destroy birds and small animals. Some life forms
develop immunity to pesticides used to destroy
them
WAYS TO STOP POLLUTION
 You can help to reduce global air pollution and
climate change by:
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Driving a car that gets at least 35 mpg
Walking, biking, and using public transportation
Using CFL bulbs over incandescent bulbs
Buying only energy efficient appliances
Recycling newspaper, aluminum, and others
Planting trees!
Avoid purchasing products that contain CFCs
Supporting much stricter clean air laws and
enforcement of international treaties to reduce
ozone depletion and slow global warming
Numerous other concerns
 The environment, plant and animal
extinctions, human development of natural
lands, and fossil fuels are all major issues
within this topic.
Bioregionalism
 Lead a simple life with
local production of food
and other products by
people that you know
 Increases
environmental
awareness and caring
 decreases exploitation
of the environment and
people.
 End
Credits
 www.public.iastate.edu/~cfford