PUAF 742: Environmental Ethics
Fall 2013, Mondays 7:00pm-9:30pm
University of Maryland School of Public Policy
Instructor: Thomas C. Hilde
Office: VMH 3141
Office hours: Mondays & Thursdays 4:30-6:30 or by appointment
Phone: MSPP main office or personal cell phone: 202-321-7384
E-mail: thilde@umd.edu
Texts




Bryan Norton. Sustainability. University of Chicago, 2005.
Light & Rolston III, eds. Environmental Ethics. Blackwell, 2003.
Anne Ross, et al. Indigenous Peoples and the Collaborative Stewardship of Nature. Left Coast, 2011.
Handouts
Course Summary
Environmental ethics as a field of inquiry has grown exponentially over the past three decades. It has helped to
broaden the discussion of value beyond economic or scientific assessments of natural environments.
Environmental policy disputes are usually about deeper philosophical differences than simply clashes of economic
self-interest. Good science and economic analysis are essential components to policy, but they do not necessarily
ascertain what we ought to do for policy decisions, but rather how effectively to do it. Environmental ethics
articulates, examines, and attempts to answer the value questions involved in environmental policy issues. Yet,
the practical considerations of policy in turn present constraints on ethical arguments. Our inquiry will tack
between these considerations of ethical norms and practical expediency. The goal is to think through ethical
issues in light of concrete policy and vice versa so that ethics might make a difference in practice.
This course will examine a range of ethical-philosophical arguments and positions that constitute environmental
ethics. The readings include classics of environmental thought and recent work. Issues include the nature of
ethical inquiry regarding the natural environment, what counts in moral consideration (non-human animals?
ecosystems? or humans alone?), basic differences regarding the concept of value and practical sustainability, and
how human interests and environmental justice issues are or should intersect with environmental values. We
shall link these discussions to matters of public policy while critiquing policy as practiced.
Class meetings are informal, minimizing lecture and maximizing discussion.
Course Requirements

50%: Participation is built into the course grade in two ways:
o a) Weekly analytical writing questions (one page, typed) over the texts assigned for that day.
Only the assignments from those who are in class that day will be accepted. I will collect these
assignments, without advance notice, seven times during the semester, taking the five best marks
for inclusion in the final grade. It’s best to make these a weekly habit.
o b) Participation in class discussion.

50%: 18-20-page term paper. Papers may be theoretical or applied, but should focus on an ethical
problem or bundle of problems. An abstract/proposal of your paper topic must be approved ahead of
time. I recommend discussing your topic with me prior to producing the formal abstract. Feel free to
contact me for help at any time while working on your papers.
Tentative Schedule of Readings
September 9: Introduction
September 16: Ethics and the Environment
 Light & Rolston: skim Palmer; read Leopold, Sylvan
 Handout: Shellenberger & Nordhaus, “The Death of Environmentalism”
September 23: Which Entities Merit Moral Consideration?
 Light & Rolston: Singer; Regan; Cahen
September 30: Intrinsic and Instrumental Value
 Light & Rolston: O’Neill; Rolston; Lee
October 7: Deep Ecology, Ecofeminism, Pragmatism

Light & Rolston: Naess; Gaard & Gruen; Weston
October 14: Environmental Justice
 Light & Rolston: Attfield, Hartley
 Handout: TBA
October 21: Sustainability and Adaptive Management I

Norton: skim A.4 and A.5 in Appendix; skim Preface and chapter 1; read chapters 2, 3
October 28: Sustainability and Adaptive Management II
 Norton: chapters 4-7
November 4: Sustainability and Adaptive Management III
 Norton: chapters 8-11
 Handout
November 11: Indigenous Peoples & Collaborative Management I
 Ross: chapters 1-3
 Handout on indigenous resource management systems
November 18: Indigenous Peoples & Collaborative Management II
 Ross: chapters 4-7
November 25: The Ethics of Climate Change I


Handout: Moellendorf, “Treaty Norms and Climate Change Mitigation”
Handout: TBA
December 2: The Ethics of Climate Change II: Geoengineering
 Handout: Hamilton, “Ethical Foundations of Climate Engineering”
 Handout: NKGCF, “The Debate on Geoengineering”
December 9: Conclusion: Environmental Ethics, Risk, & Uncertainty
 Handout: TBA
 Term paper due