Lecture 5: Environmental Ethics PDF

General Education Humanities Engineering Ethics & Safety SCH 263 Lecture 5: Professional Ethics Environmental Ethics Prof. Dr. Zainab Awad  In the Previous Lecture Publi...

General Education Humanities Engineering Ethics & Safety SCH 263 Lecture 5: Professional Ethics Environmental Ethics Prof. Dr. Zainab Awad  In the Previous Lecture Publication Ethics  Peer review process  Good practice in publication  Originality  Conflict of interest  Authorship Lecture 5 Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 2  In this lecture Environmental Ethics  What is the environment?  Engineers and the Environment  What is environmental ethics?  Environmental Ethics: perspectives / worldviews  Anthropocentrism, Biocentrism & Ecocentrism  Other Ethical Perspectives  Conservation, Preservation & Land Ethics  Deep Ecology & Environmental Justice Lecture 5 Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 3  Environment & Its Value What is the environment? From the French word environs, which means “in circuit” or “turning around in” From this comes the common meaning of environment as surroundings; note its spatial meaning as an area. The environment stands in relation to the beings within it, not externally, but internally. Lecture 5 Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 4  Engineers and the Environment Engineers are responsible for the creation of the technology that damage the environment and are also working to find solutions. The environmental movement has led to an increased awareness among engineers to use their knowledge and skills to protect the environment. Sustainable Design / Green Engineering Lecture 5 Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 5  Sustainable Design Sustainable design includes ensuring that a product = has minimal environmental impact during its use = can be manufactured and disposed of without harming the natural world. Lecture 5 Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 6  Engineers responsibilities toward the environment The minimal requirement is that the engineer must follow the applicable federal, state, and municipal laws and regulations. Engineers have a responsibility to ensure that their work is conducted in the most environmentally safe manner possible (professional codes of ethics). An engineer should not be compelled by his employer to work on a project that he finds ethically troubling, including projects with severe environmental impacts (personal ethics). Lecture 5 Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 7  Environmental Ethics A modern branch (since 1960) of ethics that explores the ethical roots of the environmental movement to understand what ethics tells us about our responsibility to the environment. It considers extending the traditional boundaries of ethics from solely including humans to including the non-human world; i.e. the ethical relationship between humans and the environment. Lecture 5 Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 8  Environmental Ethics Can be defined as *The philosophical discipline that studies the moral relationship of human beings and the value and moral status of the environment and its non human contents. *Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Lecture 5 Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 9  Environment & Its Value Environmental issues  Depletion of natural resources  Impact of overpopulation on ecosystems  Pollution Lecture 5 Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 10  Do we have moral obligations with regard to the environment? Lecture 5 Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 11  Environmental Ethics Do we have moral obligations to the environment?  What is of value?  Just human beings?  or also species, ecosystems, natural objects (rivers, mountains)?  How should we make decisions about environmental issues?  Should humans drive other species to extinction?  Should we conserve resources for future generations?  Is it OK to destroy a forest to create jobs for people? Lecture 5 Why these questions are not easy to answer ? Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 12  Environmental Ethics Why these questions are not easy to answer ? Because  Environmental ethics depends on  The person’s ethical standards  The person’s domain of ethical concern Lecture 5 Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 13  Environmental Ethics: Worldviews Lecture 5 Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 14  Environmental Ethics: Worldviews 1) Anthropocentric only humans have intrinsic value 2) Biocentric some non-humans have intrinsic value 3) Ecocentric all ecological systems have value A holistic perspective that preserve connection Lecture 5 Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 15  Other Perspectives 1) Conservation ethic - It is concerned with the protection of & the health of natural world. - It focuses on the worth of the environment in terms of its utility or usefulness Gifford Pinchot to humans. - Principle: use natural resources wisely for the greatest good for the most people. Lecture 5 Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 16  Other Perspectives 2) Preservation ethic Nature should be protected from harm for its own inherent value. 3) Land ethic Healthy ecological systems depend on protecting all parts. Leopold believe that Land ethics changes the role of people from conquerors of the land to citizens of Aldo Leopold it. Lecture 5 Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 17  Conservation vs Preservation Conservation and preservation are closely linked and may indeed seem to mean the same thing. Conservation seeks the proper and responsible use of natural resources while preservation seeks protection of nature from harmful human activities. For example, conserving a forest typically involves sustainable logging practices to minimize deforestation. Preservation would involve setting aside part or even all of the forest from human development. Lecture 5 Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 18  Deep Ecology Principle: humans must change their relationship to nature from one that values nature solely for its usefulness to human beings to one that recognizes that nature has an inherent value. Humans are one component of the ecosystem with equal value to the rest of Lecture 5 the members Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 19  Environmental Justice A social movement to address the unfair exposure of poor and marginalized communities to harms due to environmental damages Fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people (regardless of race, color, national origin, or income,) in environmental issues (e.g. development, enforcing laws, regulations, and policies). Lecture 5 Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 20  Environmental Justice  Unfair actions against environmental justice are 1. Wealthy nations dump hazardous waste in poorer nations with uninformed residents 2. The poor and minorities are exposed to more pollution, hazards, and environmental degradation 3. 75% of toxic waste landfills in the southeastern U.S. are in communities with higher racial minorities Lecture 5 Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 21 Lecture 5 Professional Ethics (Environmental Ethics) 22