Environmental Ethics and History

Environmental Science

The study of our environment and the ways in which we both depend on it and influence it.

Studies all aspects of the environment in an interdisciplinary way. 

System Issues

These are often issues in which normal functioning natural systems are changed by human involvement.

Economic Issues

These are related to economies of the world not including human degradation of environments.

Environmentalism

A social movement through which citizens are involved in activism to further the protection of environmental landmarks and natural resources.

This is not a field of science, but incorporates some aspects of environmental knowledge to advance conservation and sustainability efforts.

Sustainability

The study of how natural systems function, remain diverse and produce everything it needs for the ecology to remain in balance. It also acknowledges that human civilization takes resources to sustain our modern way of life.

Economic Interests

Define the framework for making decisions, the flow of goods and services, and the facilitation of commerce, including the knowledge, skills, competences and other attributes embodied in individuals that are relevant to economic activity.

Environmental Aspects

Recognize the diversity and interdependence within living systems, the goods and services produced by the world's ecosystems, and the impacts of human wastes.

Socio-political

Refers to interactions between institutions/firms and people (legislation for public health), human values, aspirations and well-being, ethical issues, and policy that depends upon collective action of governments and people.

How are Population and Consumption affected?

• ~7.9 Billion people

• Economies depend on growth

• Population growth & Income correlation

• Hunger

  • 800 million people are chronically undernourished

  • Not just developing nations

Who was Americas first Environmentalist?

Benjamin Franklin

What are the 4 Environmental Stages?

1. Pragmatic Resource Conservation

2. Moral and Aesthetic Nature Preservation

3. Health and Ecological Damage

4. Global Environmental Citizenship

Utilitarian Conservation

The first Environmental Stage. This means that natural resources should be conserved to help the greatest amount of people.

Natural resources should be viewed as something to preserve, not because of the beauty or intrinsic value, but because there was economic value that could help the individual.

Backed by Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot this movement lead to the creation of most of our National Parks, National Forests, game protection laws and wildlife refuges with the first National Park being Yellowstone in the late 1800’s. This movement was signed into law by President Ulysses Grant.

Anthropocentrism

A human centered ethical viewpoint, which values humans over anything else. This is considered the most narrow of environmental ethics.

Moral and Aesthetic Nature Preservation

In the second stage we begin to integrate humans as part of the natural system and not outside. We begin to expand moral and ethics to all living organisms as we see the importance they have in functioning ecosystems.

John Muir

John Muir was instrumental in Stage 1 with Roosevelt and Pinchot, but opposed Pinchots utilitarian approach.

Muir was in favor of biocentric preservation, that nature should exist for its own sake, regardless of its usefulness to us. This concept expands the value of nature to not only what we can get from nature, but the importance of all living creatures to the living world.

Land Ethic

The relationships between people and land are intertwined: care for people cannot be separated from care for the land. A land ethic is a moral code of conduct that grows out of these interconnected caring relationships.

Health and Ecological Damage

Being a direct result of increased effects of pollution due to economic expansion after World War II, Many nations experienced industrial growth following the end of the war (Third Industrial Revolution - There is more than one). Air pollution had been a problem in the late 1800's but continued to grow as nations grew.

Silent Spring

Written by Rachel Carson Silent Song documented the adverse effects of pesticide use on wildlife and human health starting a movement in the United States. This stage brought to light how the non-living parts of the environment can affect us. This is ecocentric.

Ecocentric

Extends morals to animals and the entire ecosystem including the non-living aspects like water, landscape and nutrients.

Thomas Malthus

• Proposed that humans would outgrow food production

• Population vs land

Global Environmental Citizenship

• Stage 4 incorporates modern environmentalism but moves further into global environmentalism. This movement addresses social progress as a way to combat many environmental issues at their cause. 
  

• Much like the United States, as countries make economic and social progress, we begin to move away from harmful practices. 

• One of the goals is to help nations move forward but helping them in a way that they avoid the environmental pitfalls we experienced in the past.

Sustainable Development

To meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Another was to consider sustainable development is to use resources at the same rate, or less, that they are produced in nature.

Eliminating poverty to protect our environment. 

The poorest are often forced to meet short-term survival needs at the cost of environmental degradation.

What is the concern in circular economies?

Overload one side of the equation. Here the important is consumption and production.

Renewable Resources

Natural resources that are replaced through natural processes

Nonrenewable Resource

Resources that are not replaced on a human timescale

Inherent value

An intrinsic right to exist

Instrumental Value

Usefulness to someone

Stewardship

This is the idea that it (people) is the responsibility of overseeing and protecting the environment.

Environmental Justice

Combines civil rights with environmental protection to demand a safe, healthy, life giving environment for everyone.

Science

Uses various forms of inquiry to explore life

Inquiry

A search for information and explanation, often focusing on specific questions

Discovery Science

Describing Nature

Hypothesis-based science

Explaining Nature

Observation

- Systematic gathering of qualitative or quantitative information

Qualitative – description

Quantitative – number

Hypothesis

A testable explanation for an observation

• An explanation on trial

• A hypothesis is never tested just once.

Experiments

A controlled study of a factor that influences the study system

Replication

A hypothesis being tested multiple times and the outcomes are the same

What are the limitations of science set by?

Its Naturalism

• Science seeks natural causes for natural phenomena

• Science cannot support or falsify supernatural explanations, which are outside the bounds of science

Theory

General explanation of a phenomenon supported by repeated observation, experimentation, and modeling of hypotheses.

System

Network of inter-dependent components and processes, with materials and energy flowing from one component of the system to another. Systems are often stable, but experience various levels of disturbance

Open Systems

Those that receive input from their surroundings and produce outputs that leave the system. 

• Things move in and things move out

Closed Systems

Those that receive no input of energy or matter from its surrounding. (There really isn't a closed system, unless you count the universe as a whole)

Throughput

A way to describe energy and matter that moves around or through a system. Systems often rely on feedback systems to maintain that balance

Homeostasis

A well-functioning system to be more or less in a state of equilibrium

Negative Feedback

A process that suppresses change.

Your body temperature must remain around 98.6, so your body will shiver when cold or sweat when hot to regulate your internal temperature.

Positive Feedback

A self-perpetuating process.

Think circular. Ice and snow are very good as reflecting heat back into space because it is white. As global temperatures rise, more ice melts which exposes darker waters or ground cover, which absorbs more heat. This causes more heat to be kept instead of reflected, causing more ice and snow to melt. This is the Ice-albedo effect.

Resistance

The ability of a system to resist change from an outside disturbance.

Resilience

The ability of a system to recover from an outside disturbance

What is the Straw Man Strategy?

A straw man strategy is all about creating an argument that barely has anything to do with your point – it’s used in order to make the opposing view look bad. Basically, it’s creating an assumption that because they believe in one thing – they must believe in another thing as well.

For example, if a person likes orange juice better than apple juice, then they must hate apples. Having a preference between two things doesn’t mean that you dislike one of them – this is a straw man argument

Conflict of Interest

Personal or financial interest that may interfere with scientific integrity

Publishing and Peer Review

Other scientists review your work anonymously

Research Misconduct

Purposeful Deception

Data Collection

Needs to be accurate

Uncertainty

• Not to be confused with doubt 

• humans and instruments can make errors

• Precautionary Principle

What Is Matter?

Anything that occupies space and has mass. np2n was here <3

What are the different kinds of matter?

• Atom

  • Smallest particle of a pure substance

    • Proton

    • Neutron

    • Electron

• Element

  • A substance composed of a single type of atom

Molecule

Multiple atoms together

Compounds

A molecule made of two or more different kinds of atoms

Energy

The capacity to do work

Potential Energy

Stored energy that can be released

Kinetic Energy

The energy of movement

What form of energy does the sun have?

The sun has both kinetic and potential

Potential energy are the gases yet to undergo fusion

Kinetic energy of radiation that powers the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. This in part drives the heat cycle on earth known as the green house effect

1st Law

• Total amount of energy remains the same after transformation

  • “Conservation of energy”

2nd Law

• Each energy conversion leaves less energy available for work

  • Efficiency

  • “Entropy”

Photosynthesis

Uses sunlight energy to convert CO2 to Sugar

Respiration

Releases chemical energy in biomass

Ecosystem

All the organisms and the biological, physical and chemical aspects of the environment in which they interact

Economics

The science of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services (resources)

• Voluntary Exchange

  • At what price do both parties feel they benefit

  • Competitive markets do well in efficiency

    • Consumers decide

Mixed Economy

Governments intervene to some extent

Centrally Planned Economy

The government determines how to allocate resources

Capitalist Market Economy

Buyers and sellers interact to determine prices and production of goods and services

Subsistence Economy

People get their daily needs directly from nature; they do not purchase or trade

Economy

A social system that converts resources into

• Goods: manufactured materials that are bought, and

Services: work done for others as a form of business

Externalities

• Cost or benefit to the environment or society resulting from the production and use of a product that is not included in the market price.

• The most common example of this kind of externality is the pollution caused by a business during the production of their goods. 

• Pollution affects the entire population, however as long as companies are not held accountable for their activities, they have no incentive to reduce their economic impact (since that would be more expensive).

Ecological Services

Services or resources provided by environmental systems. Often times these services are "free" to us and are of great benefit to the public.

Genuine Progress Indicator

A national-level measure of economic growth and prosperity. GPI is an alternative metric to GDP but which accounts for externalities such as pollution.

Pigovian Taxes

• We need roads, but they need to be maintained

• Vehicle license fees and gas taxes

• These taxes are used to fix roads

• Used in Environmental Economics

Incentives

Government subsidies to encourage environmental friendly actions

State Property

• May be used by permit

  • Forest Service – National Parks – City Parks

Private Property

Owner has full right to use as long as others are not harmed

Common Property

• Private property owned by a group

  • HOA – Timeshare - Office

Open Access Property

• No restrictions on who can enter or use resources

  • Ocean – Early American West

Garrett Hardin

A resource is held in common for use by all, then ultimately that resource will be destroyed.

• The concept is that if a resource is freely available,
  there is no incentive to protect that resource. 

• There is actually an incentive to take as much to
  benefit yourself, without thought to the repercussions.

If an individual voluntarily decides not to take all the
resources, this give opportunity to take the rest.

Air

• No one owns it, we do not pay a fee to own it or to clean it. 

• There is a natural ecosystem service that does this. 

• Prior to recent air quality regulations, air pollution was not
  regulated and we have seen the results of it.

Command-and-Control Regulations

• Ozone hole was caused by CFCs

• Industry did not want to stop producing them

• Regulation forced them to stop