Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Jeanette Cooper
Sociology 120
Brooke Estabrook-Fishinghawk
As we look at the environmental issues of today, it is important that we know the history
of environmental ethics, how they affect us as a people, and where do we go with it in the future.
Never has the field of environmental ethics been more important than they are today. The history
of environmental ethics dates back to late nineteenth and early twentieth century philosophy
though only began, as an academic discipline in the late 1960’s and 1970’s (Brennan, 2008).
Overpopulation was the issue faced by early ethicist though today we face an environmental
crisis unlike anything we have dealt with previously. The Gulf oil spill and global warming are
two examples where questions of environmental ethics have come into play. Enforcing
consequences for violations of environmental ethics must occur so that we may keep disasters
In the 1960’s the rethinking of the relationship of humanity within their natural
environment changed our perception about the effects humanity posed on this planet. Some of
the works that drew attention to the facts of an environmental crisis were Rachael Carson’s
Silent Spring (1963). This work consisted mainly of essays previously published in the New
Yorker magazine. These essays concerned themselves with pesticides and their effects on
farming and the food chain (Brennan, 2008). On the other end of the spectrum, we have Lynn
White Jr. whose much-cited essay published in 1967 based on the historical beginnings of the
environmental crisis. Mr. White argues, “the main strands of Judeo-Christian thinking had
encouraged the overexploitation of nature by maintaining the superiority of humans over all
other forms of life on earth, and by depicting all of nature as created for the use of humans”
(White, 1967). Mr. White believed that the arrogance of humanity and the Judeo-Christian faith
was the main cause of nature’s exploitation. In 1968, a Stanford ecologist, Paul Ehrlich,
Environmental Ethics 3
published a paper titled, The Population Bomb (1968). His idea was that the growth of Earth’s
population would threaten our natural resources and the life-support systems of our planet.
However, researchers from MIT led the way toward the discipline of environmental ethics. The
team, led by Dennis Meadows, published a study called Limits to Growth in 1972. Brennan
quotes a section of the commentary, “We affirm finally that any deliberate attempt to reach a
rational and enduring state of equilibrium by planned measures, rather than by chance or
catastrophe, must ultimately be founded on a basic change of values and goals at individual,
national and world levels” (Brennan, 2008). This call for change was the catalyst needed for the
The importance of this new sub-discipline has never been greater than it is today. Global
warming affects people, animals, and even plants. The EPA reports that scientists have observed,
“effects that include sea level rise, shrinking glaciers, changes in the range and distribution of
plants and animals, trees blooming earlier, lengthening of growing seasons, ice on rivers and
lakes freezing later and breaking up earlier, and thawing of permafrost.” The other immediate
threat to our environment is our dependence on oil. The dependence on oil leaves us vulnerable
to disasters like the BP oil spill. The Gulf Coast region will suffer the effects of this spill for
generations to come. In a Time magazine, article the reporter states, “As catastrophic as the Gulf
oil spill has been for the region's environment and residents' livelihoods, experts say the impact
of the disaster on human health and well-being has not even begun to be quantified” (Walsh,
2010). Environmental ethics must be in place and enforced before we can slow the tide of this
Due to the increasing concern for our environment, it is important that we develop this
with alternatives for resolving problems instead of just laying blame on those who fail.
Businesses need to take responsibility for their actions that affect the environment. Individuals
can also do their part by recycling, not littering, and keeping vehicles emission standards current.
The future though not written leaves us much we can do to effect change in the way we practice
environmental ethics. Alasdair Cochrane in her paper on environmental ethics states, “Whether it
be changes in our understanding of how ecosystems work, or changes in the evidence concerning
the environmental crisis, it is clear that such change will inform and influence those thinkers
employ environmental ethics in a way that lends protection to the environment and holds those
businesses, and nations view our environment. Understanding our responsibility, making
necessary changes, and protecting that which sustains us speaks of the importance of
References
Philosophy (Winter 2009 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.) Retrieved on June 28, 2010.
URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2009/entries/ethics-environmental/>.
http://www.iep.utm.edu/envi-eth/#H3
US Environmental Protection Agency. Climate Change - What You Can Do. (2010). Retrieved
Walsh, B. (2010). Gulf Oil Spill Long-Term Health Effects: How Bad? Time Magazine.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100628/hl_time/08599199947900
White, L., (1967). “The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis”. Science. 55:1203-1207