v
Preface
This year we have decided to return to our roots as the Global Ecological Integrity
Group which started as a small group of scientists and one ethicist before evolving
into an interdisciplinary network. At our meeting at the University of Salerno in
2018, science scholars among us suggested to focus on methodologies for the next
meeting at the University of Trieste, Italy, in 2019. We were successful to attract
many scientists attending the meeting and contributing to this book.
The present collection includes many from different disciplines who enjoy a
worldwide reputation. The first such scholar is Donald Brown, whose work on climate change has netted him the Avicenna Prize, just awarded to him. His chapter
analyzes the IPCC work on climate change and finds it severely lacking in ethical
analysis and even the acknowledgment of existing soft law. The author of the second chapter Virginia Zambrano reprises the theme of climate change from the standpoint of industrial/animal agriculture, not only for its role in climate change through
the presence of methane that results but also because of the hazardous chemical
inputs that industry depends on.
Matteo Fermeglia addresses climate change in a more positive vein. He discusses
three cases where climate change litigation acknowledged to some extent the
responsibility of the respective states to change their policies. The very fact of
accepting some responsibility for the present impasse on the part of state administrations or courts gives hope for further accountability on the part of
policy-makers.
Janice Gray examines a specific issue in her country. She establishes the presence of the Water Act 2007 and the presence of specific plans addressing the
Murray–Darling Basin, which should have protected the area’s waters. Yet, she
says, the water “has been stolen by some irrigators, traded commercially” and the
local fish have been exterminated. In addition, “water buybacks” have taken place
in ways the author defines as “shady deals.” Gray concludes that even the presence
of science-based law should be closely monitored in order to ensure compliance.
The final chapter in Part I by Joseph Dellapenna deals with a grave challenge for
what he calls the “frontline states” in the Mediterranean Sea, as thousands of
migrants/refugees face not only a perilous journey but also a high possibility of
Preface
This year we have decided to return to our roots as the Global Ecological Integrity
Group which started as a small group of scientists and one ethicist before evolving
into an interdisciplinary network. At our meeting at the University of Salerno in
2018, science scholars among us suggested to focus on methodologies for the next
meeting at the University of Trieste, Italy, in 2019. We were successful to attract
many scientists attending the meeting and contributing to this book.
The present collection includes many from different disciplines who enjoy a
worldwide reputation. The first such scholar is Donald Brown, whose work on climate change has netted him the Avicenna Prize, just awarded to him. His chapter
analyzes the IPCC work on climate change and finds it severely lacking in ethical
analysis and even the acknowledgment of existing soft law. The author of the second chapter Virginia Zambrano reprises the theme of climate change from the standpoint of industrial/animal agriculture, not only for its role in climate change through
the presence of methane that results but also because of the hazardous chemical
inputs that industry depends on.
Matteo Fermeglia addresses climate change in a more positive vein. He discusses
three cases where climate change litigation acknowledged to some extent the
responsibility of the respective states to change their policies. The very fact of
accepting some responsibility for the present impasse on the part of state administrations or courts gives hope for further accountability on the part of
policy-makers.
Janice Gray examines a specific issue in her country. She establishes the presence of the Water Act 2007 and the presence of specific plans addressing the
Murray–Darling Basin, which should have protected the area’s waters. Yet, she
says, the water “has been stolen by some irrigators, traded commercially” and the
local fish have been exterminated. In addition, “water buybacks” have taken place
in ways the author defines as “shady deals.” Gray concludes that even the presence
of science-based law should be closely monitored in order to ensure compliance.
The final chapter in Part I by Joseph Dellapenna deals with a grave challenge for
what he calls the “frontline states” in the Mediterranean Sea, as thousands of
migrants/refugees face not only a perilous journey but also a high possibility of