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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... oceans and rocks are also involved . We seem to be witnessing a human - induced upset of the entire atmosphere- ocean - chemical equilibrium , with major implications for life . The com- plexity of the challenge is that the problems ...
... Ocean during the summer months , leading to more precipitation , cloudiness , and significant shoreline erosion ... ocean circulation patterns , thus rendering change in the Arctic im- portant for the whole of the earth . It is further ...
... ocean - chemical equilibrium , with major implications for life . □ The problem is global ; it raises large questions of equity between north and south , rich and poor , and competing trading blocs . In common with many colleagues , I ...
... Ocean , that recurs every few years . The observed surface warming was only about half what might have been expected , considering the rate of increase of the greenhouse gases over the past century . The models used to reach this ...
... ocean water column . These estimates are very uncertain , as are predictions that the rise of sea level will accelerate . Par- ticularly uncertain is the role of the continental ice sheets , especially that of Antarctica . The media ...
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 |