A BRIEF HISTORY
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v4n1/homepage.html
A BRIEF HISTORY
• Pragmatic resource conservation
• George Perkins Marsh (1864)
A BRIEF HISTORY
“the operation of causes set in action by man has
brought the face of the Earth to a desolation almost as
complete as that of the moon.”
A BRIEF HISTORY
• Utilitarian conservation:
• “Forests should be saved not
because they are beautiful, but
Only to provide homes and jobs
for people…resources should be
used for the benefit of people who
live here now.”
“Conservation is the foresighted
utilization, preservation and/or
renewal of forests, waters, lands
and minerals, for the greatest
good of the greatest number for
the longest time.”
A BRIEF HISTORY
• Moral and Aesthetic Nature
Preservation
• John Muir – (1838-1914)
• President of Sierra Club (1892)
• At the core: Spiritual values
• “Nature’s object in making
animals and plants might
possibly be first of all the
happiness of each of them”
A BRIEF HISTORY
“Why should man value himself as more than a small
part of the one great unit of creation? And what
creature of all that the Lord has taken the pains to make
is not essential to the completeness of that unit - the
cosmos? The universe would be incomplete without
man; but it would also be incomplete without the
smallest transmicroscopic creature that dwells beyond
our conceitful eyes and knowledge."
From “A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf” (1916)
A BRIEF HISTORY
• Modern Environmentalism
• 1962: Silent Spring (Carson)
• 1970s: A Decade of Awakening
and cleanup
• Earth Day
• The majority of Americans
now consider themselves
“environmentalists”
A BRIEF HISTORY
• Global Concerns/Environmentalism
ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
“A community dedicated
to learning, TCU educates
individuals to think and act
as ethical leaders and
responsible citizens in the
global community.”
Stewardship
“One who acts as a supervisor or administrator, as of
finances and property, for another or others.”
What makes an informed and
responsible decision?
• Ethics: morals (distinction between right and
wrong)
values (ultimate worth)
• Environmental ethics:
“Moral relationships between humans and the world
around us”
STEWARDSHIP
•
Should we continue to clear cut forests for the sake of
human consumption?
•
Should we continue to make gasoline-powered vehicles,
depleting fossil fuel resources, when the technology
exists to create zero-emission vehicles?
•
Should we continue to dam rivers for water supply for
non-essential uses, such as lawn irrigation, knowing
full-well the detrimental impacts dams can have?
•
Is it ethical for humans to knowingly cause the
extinction of a species for the (perceived or real)
convenience of humanity?
STEWARDSHIP
Does the company have a moral obligation to restore the
landform and surface ecology?
What is the value of a human-restored environment
compared with the original natural one?
“How much is a scenic river worth?”
Inherent versus instrumental value