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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... ozone problem , which is also global in nature . Thus , the question of how we should act to protect the atmosphere and the ocean demands sound ethical reasoning . Following the scientific analysis of chapter 1 , chapters 2-9 offer reli ...
... ozone , and nitrous oxide — raise the global mean annual surface air temperature to about 15 ° C. They do this ( and were so doing before humans appeared ) by freely admitting solar radiation while resisting the return flow of heat to ...
... Ozone , a 1980-1990 . Gas % Contribution to Global Warming , 1980-1990 % Annual Increase Carbon dioxideb 55 0.5 Chlorofluorocarbons 24 4.0 Methane 15 0.9 Nitrous oxide 6 0.3 Source : Data from Houghton 1990 . aWater vapour and clouds ...
... ozone depletion in the lower stratosphere . The authors conclude that these processes do indeed moderate the probable greenhouse warming , but they do not significantly alter the above conclusions . For the period 1990-2100 they find a ...
... ozone problem , in numerous ways . For example : □ The ozone layer's chemistry , in the stratosphere , depends on tem- peratures at those levels , which in turn reflect the greenhouse gas concentrations . Some of the synthetic gases ...
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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