Ethics & Climate Change: The Greenhouse EffectWilfrid Laurier Univ. Press, 1993 M08 19 - 199 pages Faced with the prospect of global warming, the anticipated rapid rise in global air temperatures due to the release of gases into the atmosphere, we have two choices of how to respond: adaptation or avoidance. With adaptation we keep burning fossil fuels, let global temperatures rise and make whatever changes this requires: move people from environmentally damaged areas, build sea walls, etc. With avoidance we stop warming from occurring, either by reducing our use of fossil fuels or by using technology such as carbon dioxide recovery after combustion to block the warming effect. Yet each strategy has its drawbacks—adaptation may not be able to occur fast enough to accommodate the expected temperature increases, but avoidance would be prohibitively expensive. An ethically acceptable goal must involve some mixture of adaptation and avoidance. Written by a team of scientists, social scientists, humanists, legal and environmental scholars and corporate researchers, this book offers an ethical analysis of possible responses to the problem. Their analyses of the scientific and technological data and the ethical principles involved in determining whose interests should be considered point to a combination of adaptation and avoidance of greenhouse gas production. They offer assessments of personal, corporate, government and international responsibility and a series of recommendations to aid decision-makers in determining solutions and apportioning responsibility. |
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... action . Once again , a range of rights is examined , from human rights to animal rights to ecosystemic or environmental rights . The rights approach has a further aspect : that compensation is owed when a rights - violation occurs ...
... action , through voluntary trades in greenhouse gas abatements , so as to respon- sibly retire his or her share of the problem . In this way , the individual could act to bring about the goal of avoidance through a mechanism that avoids ...
... clear that the opportunity cost of any action or policy aimed at reducing global warming must be carefully assessed . Such costs are not always evident and are frequently not considered . Although the authors of Introduction 7.
... action that can be taken to avoid global warming is ethically required . The chapter pro- poses that if , as a first ... Actions of this sort would be in the interests of people , would use less fossil fuel , and would produce less ...
... actions that augment the greenhouse effect , that is , the warming influence of certain atmospheric gases . So extensive is this belief , and the fear it has created , that global climate change domi ... action , on slightly 1. The Challenge.
Contents
1 | |
11 | |
23 | |
3 Religious Responsibility | 39 |
4 The ArcticA Canadian Case Study | 61 |
5 Personal Responsibility | 81 |
6 Corporate Responsibility | 99 |
7 International Responsibility | 115 |
Efficiency and Ethical Considerations | 133 |
9 Energy Efficiency at Home and Abroad | 149 |
Conclusion | 165 |
About the Authors | 171 |
Bibliography | 175 |
Index | 187 |
Other editions - View all
Ethics and Climate Change: The Greenhouse Effect Harold Coward,Thomas Hurka No preview available - 1993 |
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