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. |
From inside the book
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... environmental studies , and researchers from the corporate sector . The methodology adopted ensured an interdisciplinary- as ... policy decision makers , corpo- rate executives , non - governmental organizations , and the public . It sum ...
... climate change and is employed by the authors of later chapters . Hurka's approach proceeds by looking at the consequences of an act or policy : Good consequences count ethically in its favour , bad consequences against it . He begins ...
... policies intended to avoid further global climate change : the developed countries ( who seem largely responsible for current environmental degradation ) or the developing countries ? Such rights - based ethical analysis is shown by ...
... climate change — thus procedural customary law reflects Hurka's " humans everywhere " ethical stance . Section 2 , the bulk of the chapter , offers a detailed evaluation and critique of the Convention on Climate Change signed at Rio de ...
... policy instruments for reduc- ing greenhouse gas emissions . Government standards ( e.g. , for automo- bile exhaust ) or prohibitions ( e.g. , on tree cutting ) are ... policies can help to 8 Ethics and Climate Change : The Greenhouse Effect.
Contents
1 | |
11 | |
2 Ethical Principles | 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 |
175 | |
187 | |
Other editions - View all
Ethics and Climate Change: The Greenhouse Effect Harold Coward,Thomas Hurka No preview available - 1993 |
Common terms and phrases
References to this book
The Life and Death of Planet Earth: How the New Science of Astrobiology ... Peter D. Ward,Donald Brownlee No preview available - 2003 |