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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... gases into the atmosphere , we have two choices of how to respond : adaptation or avoidance . With adaptation we ... gas production . They offer assessments of personal , corporate , government and international responsibility and a ...
... Gas Emissions . 135 8.2 Marginal Damages and Abatement Costs from Greenhouse Warming 136 8.3 Efficient Reduction of Greenhouse Gases 137 Table 1.1 The Main Greenhouse Gases 6.1 Carbon Dioxide 18 Emissions , 1990 109 9.1 Brief ...
... gases ( see Danielson's discussion of the Greenhouse Dilemma . ) Danielson's matrix analysis demonstrates that in a commons situation such as the global atmosphere , when individuals and governments ( acting as individuals ) choose ...
... gases . Danielson's original and imaginative pro- posal deserves careful study . Having looked at the responsibility ... gas emissions . This new environmental responsibility is causing corporations to develop a new model for doing ...
... gas emissions should be internalized and that , since the developed countries are most responsible for creating the problem , they should bear most of the costs associated with avoidance . The author goes on to argue that the atmosphere ...
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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