Ethics and the Environment
GOING GREEN:
A PAPER ON ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
Members:
David, Ann Carmel
Dolor, Catherine Ann
Landayan, Maria Angelica
Neri, Rhea Maureen
PREFACE The plight of the environment has never been as critical as it is today. Recent events such as the flooding in Australia, China, India, and the Philippines, extreme heat waves in the USA and in Europe, wild fires in California, extreme winters and blizzards, massive oil spills, has made us experience real, tangible consequences of mankind’s incessant and deliberate misuse of the Earth as a resource.
With whole countries declaring states of emergency, countless of lives lost, billions of dollars worth of property damaged, hundreds of thousands of people and animals displaced, and whole landscapes wiped out overnight, one cannot help but wonder: Did nature betray us? Or did we betray nature?
While most people will likely agree that the current environmental situation is bad, mankind still has yet to clearly define and collectively agree upon at least a basic set of standards for how humans ought to relate to their environment.
This paper studies environmental ethics. It includes a brief history on the rise of environmental ethics in the 1970s and a discussion on the two central themes that govern the study of environmental ethics. This paper also applies some ethical principles (as discussed in class) in the study of environmental ethics. A handful of case studies will be presented, where questions will be posed to the reader to (hopefully) facilitate thoughtful reflection on the realness of environmental issues. The group will be sharing our position in relation to the necessity of studying environmental ethics to us as future leaders and managers, as well as our take on the readiness of the Philippines to adapt an environmentally ethical mindset.
Attached as appendices to this paper are personal reflections from each of the group members.
INTRODUCTION
A PAPER ON ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
Members:
David, Ann Carmel
Dolor, Catherine Ann
Landayan, Maria Angelica
Neri, Rhea Maureen
PREFACE The plight of the environment has never been as critical as it is today. Recent events such as the flooding in Australia, China, India, and the Philippines, extreme heat waves in the USA and in Europe, wild fires in California, extreme winters and blizzards, massive oil spills, has made us experience real, tangible consequences of mankind’s incessant and deliberate misuse of the Earth as a resource.
With whole countries declaring states of emergency, countless of lives lost, billions of dollars worth of property damaged, hundreds of thousands of people and animals displaced, and whole landscapes wiped out overnight, one cannot help but wonder: Did nature betray us? Or did we betray nature?
While most people will likely agree that the current environmental situation is bad, mankind still has yet to clearly define and collectively agree upon at least a basic set of standards for how humans ought to relate to their environment.
This paper studies environmental ethics. It includes a brief history on the rise of environmental ethics in the 1970s and a discussion on the two central themes that govern the study of environmental ethics. This paper also applies some ethical principles (as discussed in class) in the study of environmental ethics. A handful of case studies will be presented, where questions will be posed to the reader to (hopefully) facilitate thoughtful reflection on the realness of environmental issues. The group will be sharing our position in relation to the necessity of studying environmental ethics to us as future leaders and managers, as well as our take on the readiness of the Philippines to adapt an environmentally ethical mindset.
Attached as appendices to this paper are personal reflections from each of the group members.
INTRODUCTION