Environmental Science

A Study of Interrelationships
Environmental Science
A Study of Interrelationships
Cui Jiansheng
Hebei University of Science and Technology
Cui Jiansheng
Hebei University of Science and Technology
CH02 Environmental Ethics
CH02 Environmental Ethics
Chapter Objectives
Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
Differentiate between ethics and morals.
Define personal ethics.
Explain the connection between material wealth and resource
exploitation.
Describe how industry exploits resources and consumes energy
to produce goods.
Explain how corporate behavior is determined.
Describe the influential power that corporations wield because of
their size.
Explain why governmental action was necessary to force all
companies to meet environmental standards.
Describe the factors associated with environmental justice.
Describe what has been the general attitude of consumers and
business toward the environment.
Explain the relationship between economic growth and
environmental degradation.
List three conflicting attitudes toward nature.
Chapter Outline
Chapter Outline
Views of nature
Environmental ethics
Environmental attitudes
Societal environmental ethics
Corporate environmental ethics
Environmental justice
Individual environmental ethics
Do we consume too much?
Global environmental ethics
Views of nature
Views of nature
There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth,
we are all crew members.
Buckminster Fuller
The Earth as seen from space
The Earth as seen from space
Many people believe that we have
entered an era characterized by global
change that stem from the
interdependence between human
development and the environment.
The conflict over the value of old-
growth forests.
The interactions between people and
their environment.
View of Nature
Views of Nature
Views of Nature
Environmental Science is an interdisciplinary area of
study that includes both applied and theoretical aspects
of human impact on the world.
Since humans are generally organized into groups,
environmental science must deal with politics, social
organization, economics, ethics, and philosophy. Thus,
environmental science is a mixture of traditional
science, individual and societal values, and political
awareness.
Political, geographical, nationalistic differences among humans do not
seem so important from this perspective. In reality, we all share the same
home.
Environmental Ethics
Environmental Ethics
Ethics is one branch of philosophy. Ethics seeks to
define fundamentally what is right and what is wrong,
regardless of cultural differences.
Morals reflect the predominant feelings of a culture
about ethical issues.
Moral Responsibility Theories for Environmente
Moral Responsibility Theories for Environmente
Anthropocentrismis the view that all
environmental responsibility is derived
from human interests alone.
Environmental biocentrismis the view that
all forms of life have an inherent right to
exist.
Ecocentrismmaintains that the
environment deserves direct moral
consideration and not one that is merely
derived from human interests.
Anthropocentrism
Anthropocentrism
Ecocentrism
Ecocentrism
The development ethic
The development ethic
Environmental Attitudes
Environmental Attitudes
The preservation ethic
The preservation ethic
The conservation ethic
The conservation ethic
The development ethic
The development ethic
It assumes that the
human race is and should
be the master of nature and
that the Earth and
resources exist for our
benefit and pleasure.
The development ethic is
based on individualism or
egocentrism.
The preservation ethic
The preservation ethic
The preservation ethic
considers nature special in
itself.
Nature, it is argued, has
intrinsic value or inherent
worth apart from human
appropriation.
The conservation ethic
The conservation ethic
The conservation or management ethic stresses a
balance between total development and absolute
preservation.
It recognizes that we will use nature but that it should be
used in a sustainable manner.
Societal Environmental Ethics
Societal Environmental Ethics
Growth, expansion, and domination
remain the central sociocultural
objectives of most advanced societies.
Economic growth and resource
exploitation are the attitudes shared by
developing societies.
This attitude is deeply embedded in the
fabric of our society.
Corporate Environmental Ethics
Corporate Environmental Ethics
Many tasks of industry, such as
procuring raw materials, manufacturing
and marcketing, and disposing of
wastes, are in large part responsible
for pollution.
The cost of controlling waste can be
very important in determining a
companys profit margin.
Corporate Environmental Ethics
Corporate Environmental Ethics
Nations of the world must confront the
problem of corporate irresponsibility
toward the environment.
The coalition for Environmentally
Responsible Economics (CERES)
Principles.
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)s
sustainability Reporting Guidelines.
Corporate Decision Making
Corporate Decision Making
Automotive industry
Automotive industry
r
e
s
e
a
r
c
h

a
n
d

d
e
v
e
l
o
p
m
e
n
t
a
d
v
e
r
t
i
s
i
n
g
r
a
w

m
a
t
e
r
i
a
l
c
o
s
t
s
m
a
n
u
f
a
c
t
u
r
i
n
g
W
a
s
t
e

d
i
s
p
o
s
a
l
a
d
m
i
n
i
s
t
r
a
t
i
v
e

















c
o
s
t
s
s
a
l
a
r
i
e
s
p
r
o
f
i
t
CERES Principles
CERES Principles
CERES Principles
CERES Principles
Environmental Justice
Environmental Justice
In 1998, the EPA defined environmental justice
as fair treatment, meaning that 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.
Individual Environmental Ethics
Individual Environmental Ethics
As human populations and and economic
activity continue to grow, we are facing a
number of environmental problems that
threaten not only human health and the
productivity of ecosystems but in some
cases the very habitability of the globe.
If we are to response to these problems
successfully, our future environmental
ethic must express itself in a broader and
more fundamental ways.
Do we consume too much?
Do we consume too much?
Food Nature
Oil Water
The unknown
Global Environmental Ethics
Global Environmental Ethics
Global environmental concerns have become more
important.
An environmental disaster is no longer a local
problems but affects us globally. The increasing
economic difference between rich and poor nations
affects the global environment, since the poor aspire to
have what the rich take for granted. All peoples and
nations need to work together to solve environmental
problems.
Global Environmental Ethics
Global Environmental Ethics
lifestyle and environmental impact
lifestyle and environmental impact
lifestyle and environmental impact
lifestyle and environmental impact
Global Environmental Ethics
Global Environmental Ethics
Global Environmental Ethics
Global Environmental Ethics
lifestyle and environmental impact
lifestyle and environmental impact
Global Environmental Ethics
Global Environmental Ethics
lifestyle and environmental impact
lifestyle and environmental impact
shopping in a supermarket
shopping in a supermarket
Global Environmental Ethics
Global Environmental Ethics
lifestyle and environmental impact
lifestyle and environmental impact
Agriculture in India
Agriculture in India
lifestyle and environmental impact
lifestyle and environmental impact
Global Environmental Ethics
Global Environmental Ethics
Agriculture in
developed countries
Agriculture in
developed countries