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9 Environmental Ethics
Ethical issues about the environment have been discussed for centuries, but
environmental ethics emerged as a philosophical discipline during the 1970s. It
resulted from increased awareness during the 1960s about the adverse effect of
population, technology, and industrial growth on the environment. The development
of this awareness was helped by the publication of two important books: Silent
Spring, published by Rachel Carson in 1962, and The Population Bomb that
was published by Paul Ehrlich in 1968. Silent Spring raised awareness about the
widespread use of chemical pesticides and asserted that it was seriously threatening
public health, as well as leading to wildlife destruction. On the other hand, the
Population Bomb book warned about the devastating impacts incurred on the
resources of the planet from our increasing population.
Natural resource depletion and pollution have not been the only environmental
concerns in recent years. Other concerns include declining biodiversity, loss of
wilderness, ecosystem degradation, as well as climate change. These are “Green
issues” that have emerged in public policy and consciousness in subsequent years.
Environmental ethics seeks to outline the moral obligations associated with these
concerns.
Environmental ethics helps define the ethical and moral obligations of citizens
towards the environment. However, human values are essential when examining
environmental ethics. Conceptually, human values are things that are beneficial to
people that they then utilize for evaluation of events or actions. In other words,
humans assign value to some things and then use this assigned value for decisionmaking regarding the rightness or wrongness of something. Human values are
distinct to each person since not everyone places the same significance on each life
element. For instance, someone who lives in abject poverty within an undeveloped
nation could find it morally acceptable to practice deforestation as a way of making
room for a farm to plant food for their family. Contrarily, someone in a developed
nation could find the action morally unacceptable, since deforestation leads to an
increase in carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere that can negatively impact
the environment. There are various important theories, concepts, and definitions that
are vital in the field of environmental ethics.
9.2 Ecocentrism
The ecocentrism perspective focuses on interests of natural features and species
of the Earth’s ecosystems. It mainly focuses on the intrinsic value of the entities
while appreciating their instrumental value as part of the natural process. According
to ecocentrists, the ecosystem is the most fundamental source of value. This is
contrary to the anthropocentric views that prioritize human needs and wants as
being more valuable and beneficial compared to other natural entities. The earliest
ecocentrist is Aldo Leopold because of his writings during the 1940s (Marshall
1993). For instance, environmental ethicists still cite his book, A Sand County
9 Environmental Ethics
Ethical issues about the environment have been discussed for centuries, but
environmental ethics emerged as a philosophical discipline during the 1970s. It
resulted from increased awareness during the 1960s about the adverse effect of
population, technology, and industrial growth on the environment. The development
of this awareness was helped by the publication of two important books: Silent
Spring, published by Rachel Carson in 1962, and The Population Bomb that
was published by Paul Ehrlich in 1968. Silent Spring raised awareness about the
widespread use of chemical pesticides and asserted that it was seriously threatening
public health, as well as leading to wildlife destruction. On the other hand, the
Population Bomb book warned about the devastating impacts incurred on the
resources of the planet from our increasing population.
Natural resource depletion and pollution have not been the only environmental
concerns in recent years. Other concerns include declining biodiversity, loss of
wilderness, ecosystem degradation, as well as climate change. These are “Green
issues” that have emerged in public policy and consciousness in subsequent years.
Environmental ethics seeks to outline the moral obligations associated with these
concerns.
Environmental ethics helps define the ethical and moral obligations of citizens
towards the environment. However, human values are essential when examining
environmental ethics. Conceptually, human values are things that are beneficial to
people that they then utilize for evaluation of events or actions. In other words,
humans assign value to some things and then use this assigned value for decisionmaking regarding the rightness or wrongness of something. Human values are
distinct to each person since not everyone places the same significance on each life
element. For instance, someone who lives in abject poverty within an undeveloped
nation could find it morally acceptable to practice deforestation as a way of making
room for a farm to plant food for their family. Contrarily, someone in a developed
nation could find the action morally unacceptable, since deforestation leads to an
increase in carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere that can negatively impact
the environment. There are various important theories, concepts, and definitions that
are vital in the field of environmental ethics.
9.2 Ecocentrism
The ecocentrism perspective focuses on interests of natural features and species
of the Earth’s ecosystems. It mainly focuses on the intrinsic value of the entities
while appreciating their instrumental value as part of the natural process. According
to ecocentrists, the ecosystem is the most fundamental source of value. This is
contrary to the anthropocentric views that prioritize human needs and wants as
being more valuable and beneficial compared to other natural entities. The earliest
ecocentrist is Aldo Leopold because of his writings during the 1940s (Marshall
1993). For instance, environmental ethicists still cite his book, A Sand County