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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... consequences of an act or policy : Good consequences count ethically in its favour , bad consequences against it . He begins by considering the consequences for " humans here and now , " moves to a consideration of consequences for ...
... consequences , the rights approach makes central to ethi- cal analysis the constraints that respect for the rights of others imposes upon policy and action . Once again , a range of rights is examined , from human rights to animal ...
... consequences of global climate change . Seven specific recommendations are proposed to effect this new corporate responsibility . In chapter 7 Nigel Bankes addresses the difficult question of interna- tional responsibility . In section ...
... consequences of the warming are enormous , for na- ture and for humankind ; it is better to be safe than sorry . □ Scientific modelling of the greenhouse effect , based on sound the- ory , offers a nearly unanimous verdict that the ...
... consequences in human suffering . Streamflow and lake - level records , which reflect the balance be- tween gains ( rain or snow ) and evaporative losses , offer other evidence of altered climate . Here , again , no global synthesis can ...
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 |