Ethical Sustainability: Environmental Ethical Challenge - Term Paper Example

Introduction Ethics is, in a broad sense, concerned with exploring the issues of good and evil, right and wrong, and decisions pursuing the characteristics of a good society. Depending upon the varying assumptions about origin of goodness such as nature, human conscience or reason, different ethical frameworks have been developed. Applied ethics attempts to analyze and recommend morally correct strategies for addressing issues in a practical manner. Environmental ethics is a branch of applied ethics which is mostly concerned about the entire ecosystem and the relationship between humans and the natural environment. The concept gained traction in the west by works of Henry David Thoreau and John Muir, who raised concerns about the value of non human nature. However, Aldo Leopold’s essay The Land Ethic published in 1949 is generally considered as the key turning point in the field of environmental ethics. As an academic discipline, environmental ethics surfaced only after the early 1970s when the effects of industrial revolution on the natural environment were widely witnessed by ecological researchers. Environmental ethics includes anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric (bio-centric or eco-centric) schools of thought. The former is human-centered, considering only human species as of primary concern, whereas the later focuses on other aspects and components of nature as well (Kibert et al., 2012). The contemporary industrial consumer societies hold planetary worldview (anthropocentric) which asserts that as humans are the keystone species, they have the right to exploit natural resources to maximize their own benefit. Other species and natural components are valuable according to their usefulness to us. This world view is quite widely accepted due to the advancement in the human living standards after rapid industrial development since 1970s. The eco-centric worldview focuses on conservation of natural resources and ecosystems so that they are sustainable for humans as well as all forms of life. Major global challenges related to the environmental degradation such as biodiversity loss and the degradation of ecosystems, natural resource depletion due to population growth, pollution and global warming due to climate change are all considered essentially ethical problems under this worldview. Eco-centric approaches emphasize that human race as a keystone species have ethical and moral obligations and responsibilities towards protecting the environment. This paper attempts to identify and examine an environmental ethical challenge such as global warming due to climate change and explore its consequences in the light of eco-centric school of thought. The paper will also suggest various strategies for resolving the issue. The Issue One of the most important global challenge posing threats to human race in the 21st century is global warming. Anthropogenic activities such as rapid deforestation, uncontrolled burning of fossil fuels and emissions from vehicles have led to a substantial increase in pre-existing levels of green house gases, particularly carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere. These gases are responsible for entrapment of solar radiation of specific wavelength to keep the earth warm, a phenomenon called green house effect. The temperature can decline to as low as -18 Celsius in absence of these gases making the environmental conditions unfavorable for all life forms to even exist. However, the huge anthropogenic inputs in these gases since the industrial revolution have escalated green house effect causing rapid warming of the earth. Scientist have predicted that rise in temperatures overtime could result in rise of sea level reducing land cover, and trigger extreme climatic events such as floods, storms and droughts. In addition, a number of species are at the risk of extinction due to intolerable temperature extremes. Researchers studying past climates have revealed that humans have raised such levels of pollution in a single century, which are comparable to natural variations encompassing thousands of years (Maslin, 2009). The observation of all three key indicators of warming such as temperature, precipitation and sea level increase by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) revealed that 0.3-0.6 degrees Celsius temperature rise has occurred since the nineteenth century. Every passing year is found to be warmer than the previous one (Maslin, 2007). The impacts of global warming are evident from several research studies in various regions of the world. The snowpack in the western mountains of North America is continuously decreasing. An increase of 5-20 % in yields of rain-fed agriculture suggests that precipitation has increased. The intensity and duration of solar heat waves in cities has also increased. Significant biodiversity loss has been observed in Latin America. Coastal flooding, erosion, decrease in snow cover and rise in sea level has been observed in European region. Africa is increasingly becoming a water stressed area, whose water problems were projected to be further intensifying in the coming years. In Asia, fresh water availability is on a continuous decline and risk of frequent flooding and droughts has increased (NASA, 2007). It is also convincingly evident from a documentary film An Inconvenient Truth that humans have major impacts on planet’s ecological systems. Global warming is catalyzing the process of desertification decade by decade. The highest average temperature was recorded for the year 2005 since atmospheric temperatures have been measured. Additionally, the ten hottest years have all been since 1990. The extra heat trapped by greenhouse gases in turn results in increased temperature melting the polar snow-cover rapidly, directly affecting the favorable conditions of natural environment. As Al Gore notes, ”Global warming paradoxically cause not only more flooding, but also more droughts”, there are quite broader consequences of global warming that need individual as well as collective attention globally (Gore, 2006). The Ethics Along with scientific, economic and political dimensions, climate change is also considered an ethical problem. Ironically, the people suffering most from the impacts of climate change are not the ones actually causing it. The poorest people of developing nations who are least responsible for burning of fossil fuels due to economic constraints are the most unfortunate and vulnerable. In 2003 and 2005, heat waves in Europe and Asia caused severe heat and blood pressure problems in the elderly. Some categories of people are more exposed to infectious diseases as range of pathogenic vectors changes with climate. Over the past decade, millions of lives have been lost because of extreme weather events such as flooding, storms and droughts. Humans are not the solely affected creatures. The lives of plants, animals and humans on small islands are equally at stake. The well-being of humans, plants and animals is interdependent as evident from several processes such as the acidification of oceans. People were heavily dependent on marine food, but acidification resulted in their decrease affecting the entire food chain. From eco-centric point of view livelihood and food security of closely interacting species was compromised, which affected all the natural components alike. The risks to cultural heritage and traditions can also not be ignored. The natural disasters as a result of climate change pose serious threats to the economic stability of vulnerable nations. As a result, massive immigration as refugees into other countries has associated risks of crime, economic burdens and disease transmission. Moreover, the dignity of the affected can also be compromised leading to various behavioral issues (COMEST, 2010). Another key ethical concern related to the harmful anthropogenic activities is the economic fairness or social justice being the root cause of such environmental issues. The richest are consuming more resources in such an inappropriate manner that nature can not afford or sustain the same for everyone. It is thus a challenge questioning the ethics of distributive social injustices. The rapid depletion of fixed natural resources generation by generation leaves the coming generation with fewer resources. The countries implementing mitigation policies have to suffer heavy economic losses at the expense of polluters. The issue of participation is also debatable on ethical grounds. Who among the global participants should have the power to policy and decision making? All these are ethical dilemmas which need to be addressed on global as well as national levels (Warner, 2009 a). The Solution The solutions to climate change are rather simple in nature, but not yet achieved due to varying interests. The only viable solution for reduction in emission of green house gases is setting action plan through mutual cooperation between countries on the international levels. Instead of just signing treaties, countries will have to adopt and practice self-restraint. In order to tackle the ethical issues of climate change, the widening gap between social classes needs to be addresses first. The concept of sustainable development which according to Brundtland Report 1997 states that “a development which corresponds to the needs of the present generation, without threatening the possibilities of future generations to satisfy their own needs and to choose their way of life. The demand that this development be produced in such a way that it is ‘sustainable’ applies to all countries and individuals. The possibility of future generations to satisfy their own needs is threatened by the destruction of the environment just as by the underdevelopment in the Third world”, should be incorporated in every aspect of life. Renewable energy sources should be extensively used and non-renewable should be least exploited. Micro-level economic activities should be expanded to address well-being of poor social classes. The countries, in principle, suffering from direct consequences and those experiencing loss of capital due to reformed policies should be compensated. The causes, impacts, harms and benefits of activities need to be separately addressed. The anthropocentric advocates should be motivated to adopt natural capitalism approaches so as to address their economic and political concerns (Warner, 2009 b). Conclusion Climate change is an environmental problem which entails ethical obligations and moral responsibility. The ethical issues relevant to global warming can be widely addressed if the eco-centric or bio-centric ethical school of thought is followed. Awareness among unconcerned groups needs to be raised and individual lifestyles be changed in order to bring a collective behavioral change in the global society. The concerns of the deprived and vulnerable groups and nations can only be addresses through international understanding and cooperation. All ethical dilemmas should be addressed on priority basis to conserve resources for future generations as well as avoid consequences of climate change. If every individual embraces an ethical obligation and responsibility towards protecting both the human as well as environmental health, and adopt a healthier lifestyle accordingly, mother earth would probably become a much better and safer place to live in. References COMEST. The Ethical Implication of Global Change. Paris: UNESCO, 2010. Print. Gore, Al. An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It. New York: Rodale Press, Inc. 2006. Print. Kibert, Charles J. et al. Working toward sustainability: ethical decision making in a technological world. Hoboken, NJ : Wiley, 2012. Print. Maslin, Mark. Global Warming: Causes, Effects, and the Future. USA: MBI Publishing, 2007. Print. Maslin, Mark. Global Warming: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford, 2009. Print. NASA. The Current and Future Consequences of Global Change. USA Gov. 2007. Web. July 02, 2012. < http://climate.nasa.gov/effects/> Warner, Keith D. The Ethical Dimension of Sustainability. Santa Clara University. May 2009 a. Web. July 02, 2012. Warner, Keith D. Climate Ethics. Santa Clara University. May 2009 b. Web. July 02, 2012. Read More