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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... cause . Human activity is seen to be responsible for this warming . The natural greenhouse effect is beneficial , making life on earth possible , but our tampering is setting the thermostat too high , endangering human , plant , and ...
... caused by global warming is predicted to be greater than in the rest of Canada . An anticipated warming of 8-10 ° C would result in the disappearance of the ice pack from the Arctic Ocean during the summer months , leading to more ...
... causing corporations to develop a new model for doing business . Whereas the old model focused on economic considerations only , sought the required government approvals , and adopted an adver- sarial approach to those who objected ...
... caused by human actions that augment the greenhouse effect , that is , the warming influence of certain atmospheric gases ... cause . The sceptics , however , include some of the most re- spected figures in the field . The thrust towards ...
... cause of the changes . The warming at the earth's surface has been geographically uneven . Over much of the United States , for example , it has been quite small , with some areas showing cooling ( Karl , Baldwin , and Burgin 1988 ...
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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The Life and Death of Planet Earth: How the New Science of Astrobiology ... Peter D. Ward,Donald Brownlee No preview available - 2003 |