1. In the wake of the series of global environmental changes (climate change, ozone layer depletion, biodiversity loss, air, and water pollution), do we still agree that environmental ethics is still a concept to be considered paramount to environmental sustainability in the century? Can you rate its relevance and give your reasons?
2. Could you give an example or a description of how environmental ethics and principles apply to the solution of environmental problems?
My experience with the US Forest Service and interactions with many professionals suggest to me that environmental ethics and sustainability are important considerations to National Forest and in general forest management in the various states I have been involved with, where forest industry decided years ago they preferred voluntary BMPs and land ethics over regulation. Much of my career was involved with the development and/or application of quality land management practices such as best management practices (BMPs), soil and water conservation practices (SWCPs), Management Measures (MMs - coastal plain), etc. To my knowledge, most if not all of the National Forest Land and Resource Management Plans would be appropriate examples of land ethics and sustainability. A book that comes to mind on environmental ethics is The Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold.
Vice can only be contained and kept under controllable limit if the laws are clear and well-enforced.
No virtue can be instilled by norms and regulation.
Environmental protection demands both, control and containment of the vice by regulation and prevalence of the virtue in society.
Virtuous environmental behaviour can stem only from civic solidariety and social cohesion, besides magico-religious traditions (usually, the most archaic tribal communities display superior environmental ethics compared to modernites).
Leaving aside the magico-religious source of environmental ethics, people's ethical environmental behaviour depends on civic solidariety and social cohesion which, in turn, require a widespread perception of security and fairness in the economic system.
Therefore, in contemporary societies, environmental ethics depends on a welfare state and a progressive economic governance.
This is evident from the differences in environmentally ethical mass behaviour among the contemporary societies, nations and regions.
- Badges
- Science topic