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Environmental Ethics

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Environmental Ethics In today’s global environment, environmental ethics have become a required practice for everyone around the world. Creating effective strategies for protecting the environment often brings ethical issues to the forefront. When people are confronted with the issues of how to get rid of hazardous waste, air or water pollution, ethics play a major role in the decision when there is an absence of laws to manage the issue. Environmental ethics is the scientific study of various issues related to the rights of individual on the environment. It is the moral relationship of human being with the environment (Jyoti 94). The actions humans do while on this Earth can affect the rights of all the beings today and in the future. Knowing what is right and wrong can help protect future generations. One must know the standards to help conserve the Earth’s resources and the consequences if they do not. Environmental ethics is a moral theory that grants moral significance to entities beyond those that are human beings (Jyoti 94). This means that humans not only have rights but all living organisms as well. We must not forget we are not the only creature living and breathing on this Earth. Amar Jyoti points out that there are two ways to approach environmental ethics: Anthropocentrism or humanistic approach and Non-anthropocentrism or ecological approaches.
Anthropocentrism states that only humans have intrinsic value or value in themselves. All other things have only instrumental value like being useful to human beings. Some of the main traditions in this approach are as follows:
(a) Teleological Tradition- Aristotle watt the main propagator of this tradition. According to him, everything and every object in nature have a purpose, function or utility and it is good if it fulfills its natural function. In this view undisturbed nature may be considers well, whereas under human interference with natural system is considered wrong (Jyoti 95).
(b) Utilitarianism- The basic principle of utilitarianism is the greatest good of the greatest good of the greatest number. In this context good has been considered to be either pleasure or the satisfaction of destines (Jyoti 95)/
(c) Deontology- It considers action as independent of its consequences. As act is good or bad because of its consequence but by the very nature of the act itself (Jyoti 95). Non-Anthropocentric or the ecological approach argues for the moral rights of all non-living things. Some of the important ecological approaches to environmental ethics are as follows:
(a) Biocentrism- This view holds that each individual organism in the nature, whether it is an animal, a plant or a micro-organism, is a teleological center of life, having a gold or well-being of its own in sense that it can be benefitted or harmed. (Jyoti 95).
(b) Egocentrism- It argues for the right of not just animals but also the inanimate extending moral standing to ecosystems, communities, and this shifting moral consideration from inclivedual objects to the wholes, therefore, also known as ethical holism. Noticing that this principle might require sacrifices of individuals including human beings for the good of the whole (Jyoti 96).
(c) Deep Ecological Ethics- it considers that all living things are alike in having value in their own right independent of their useful him to human purposes, It considers human best one species among equal species, and does not five primary to human wants over and needs of other life forms, It believes that even inanimate object such as rivers and mountains have intrinsic value (Jyoti 96).
(d) Ecofeminism- According to Ecofeminism, civilization has been characterized by the made dominated societies for many millennia that show strong hierarchical social organization commerce, occupational specialization and militarism, and manifests itself in al morality conceived in terms of right and rules, whereas women conceives of morality in terms of relationship and accusation. Thus made dominated ethics has easily bad to the exploitation and degradation of the environments where as female dominated ethics stresses to create healthy, sustainable relationships which promotes the maintenance of the natural environment. (Jyoti 96). Now that we know how environmental ethics work and its theories, let’s take a look at some example situations. In the past few decades, a rapid growth in new technology has changed the way society works, communicates, interacts, and lives. Many of these innovations focus on the design, production, and use of electronic and electrical equipment ranging from computers to cell phones to digital cameras to smart appliances. The constant change for new more advanced technology makes current models outdated after only a few months or years. Once outdated, society throws away these items making them e-waste (electronic waste) or e-scrap (electronic scrap). This has become a problem for the waste management community. This electronic waste contains toxins like lead, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls, and components that possess great monetary value like gold, platinum, and copper.
In Townsend’s article, “Environmental Issues and Management Strategies for Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment” the word WEEE is used often. By his definition WEEE is equipment which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields to work properly and equipment for the generation, transfer, and measurement of such currents and fields as well as designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 1000 Volt for alternating current and 1500 Volt for direct current. On the basis of this definition, WEEE includes common household and personal items such as TVs, computers, cellular phones, and printers as well as devices such as large and small appliances, fluorescent lamps, power tools, toys, and drink dispensers (Townsend 588). According the Recycling for Charities website, this WEEE contains several toxins that are bad for the environment. Lead can damage both the central and peripheral nervous systems. Beryllium and cadmium can be carcinogenic. Arsenic used in circuits and conductors is poisonous and can damage the digestive tract. Mercury found in batteries can damage the central nervous and endocrine systems. Antimony also used in batteries is poisonous like arsenic. This website shows the potential dangers of electronic waste and helps prevent such hazards from contaminating the environment (Electronic Waste Environalmental Effects). We don’t want this waste to contaminate our water or soils.
Companies that produce these constantly evolving technologies may have an environmental obligation. The chemicals they use to produce these innovations are obviously dangerous to our environment if they are not disposed correctly. Most of these companies do not advocate the promotion of correctly recycling these products. Instead environmental enthusiasts and waste companies are stuck with the responsibility of influencing society to do the right thing. The ethical question technology producing companies need to ask their self is do we have a responsibility of helping manage our products future waste? In a way, they should take responsibility for future product waste because it’s simply their product that could affect our environment. Can they deal with the moral debt of allowing their product damage human bodies and our soils? On the other hand, waste management must take on whatever waste consumers dispose of and correctly manage this waste. That is their sole duty and should companies have to share this duty?
Another rising concern for the world is global warming. Wastes and chemicals used by nuclear power, electronic waste, and chemical waste affect the ozone layer. Our air layer is polluted by wastes developed by production and consumption processes as a result of human activities and it endangers the life of humans and living beings on earth. Our air which has an indispensable place and importance for the continuity of life on earth is polluted with industrial wastes that affect the entirety of life. Greenhouse gases which cause the greenhouse effect (warming of the Earth) in the world are 36-70% for water vapor, 9-26% for carbon dioxide, 4-9% for methane and 3-7% for ozone (V. Cimen 52). Some of greenhouse gases are created by themselves and some of them are produced by humans. The most important one of greenhouse gases which cause global warming is CO2 and its ration in total greenhouse gases is more than
80% (V. Cimen 52). CO2 is often created as a result of burning of fossil-fuels. It can also be created from natural things like organic decay, forest fires, and volcanoes. CO2 is the most recalcitrant of the greenhouse gases, since it does not decompose easily in the atmosphere (Beauchamp 524). The world has averaged an increase of 0.6˚ F over the 20th century. It is predicted by 2100 the world temperature will increase 1.4˚ F. The concerning question to ask is who’s responsibility is it to stop this global warming. Is it the businesses, the people, or the government? We obviously can’t scream at the volcanoes to quit emitting CO2 or yell at the cattle to quit releasing methane from their rectum. It is up to the people to find ways to fight against global warming. The burning of fossil fuels and deforestation have been the major causes of high emissions of CO2. Many people blame the companies for not taking more responsibility for preventing our worldly concern. Do these companies have an environmental ethical obligation outside of what the law has already required? I suppose it depends on what theories these companies live and prosper by. Now let’s take a good look at the consumers, or ourselves. Should we be making smarter choices in the products we buy and use? We know by now that aerosol can and gas hogging vehicles are bad for the environment. However, some of us continue to use the items that pollute our ozone layer. Are we the ones to blame for not taking a stand against what is good and bad? Last, we have the government to point the finger at. The government should know more about global warming that the average citizen. They are the ones with money to do the research necessary to know the effects, the causes, and future prediction of global warming. They are the ones that set the standards and laws for companies that produce the dangerous emissions. Politicians are constantly debating about their concern about the Earth warming but little is being done. They should be participating more in what changes need to be made rather than running their mouth.
In theory, the businesses, the consumers, and the government should be working together.
We can sit around and point the finger at who we think is at fault or who isn’t helping, but we all should be helping. Global warming is a serious thing and if we want to preserve a safe environment for future generations we need to start fixing our problems sooner than later. The same goes for electronic waste. Let’s prevent poor dumping decisions before it’s too late. We don’t want to pollute our waters and soils and then have nothing to live off of. A blackberry and a fancy laptop won’t be able to provide clean water and grow healthy crops. Each individual should have environmental ethical responsibility. People have to keep in mind what is truly important. If we help protect the environment and its entities today, we can have something to protect in the future.

Works Cited

Beauchamp, Tom L., Norman E. Bowie and Dennis G. Arnold. "Ethical Issues Regarding the Natural Environment." Ethical Theory and Business. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009. 512-570. Book.
"Electronic Waste Environmental Effects." Electronic Waste Prevention. Recycling for Charities. Web. 03 May 2012. .
Jyoti, Amar. "Environmental Ethics: Initiatives for the Removal of Environmental Problems." International Journal of Education & Allied Sciences 2.2 (2010): 93-100. Academic Online Search from Kent Library for “Environmental Ethics”. 3 May 2012.
Townsend, Timothy G. "Environmental Issues and Management Strategies for Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment." Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association 61.6 (2011): 587-610. Academic Online Search from Kent Library for “Environmental Issues”. 3 May 2012.
V. Çimen, et al. "Environmental Issues of Climate Change and Economical and Political Approaches Used In Analysis of These Problems." Trakia Journal of Sciences 9.4 (2011): 50-62. Academic Online Search from Kent Library for “Global Warming”. 3 May 2012.

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