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Environmental Ethics: Past, Present, and Future

Jeanette Cooper

Sociology 120

Brooke Estabrook-Fishinghawk

June 28, 2010

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Environmental Ethics: Past, Present, and Future

As we look at the environmental issues of today, it is important that we know the history

of environmental ethics, how they affect us as a people, and where do we go with it in the future.

Never has the field of environmental ethics been more important than they are today. The history

of environmental ethics dates back to late nineteenth and early twentieth century philosophy

though only began, as an academic discipline in the late 1960’s and 1970’s (Brennan, 2008).

Overpopulation was the issue faced by early ethicist though today we face an environmental

crisis unlike anything we have dealt with previously. The Gulf oil spill and global warming are

two examples where questions of environmental ethics have come into play. Enforcing

consequences for violations of environmental ethics must occur so that we may keep disasters

like this from happening again.

In the 1960’s the rethinking of the relationship of humanity within their natural

environment changed our perception about the effects humanity posed on this planet. Some of

the works that drew attention to the facts of an environmental crisis were Rachael Carson’s Silent

Spring (1963). This work consisted mainly of essays previously published in the New Yorker

magazine. These essays concerned themselves with pesticides and their effects on farming and

the food chain (Brennan, 2008). On the other end of the spectrum, we have Lynn White Jr.

whose much-cited essay published in 1967 based on the historical beginnings of the

environmental crisis. Mr. White argues, “the main strands of Judeo-Christian thinking had

encouraged the overexploitation of nature by maintaining the superiority of humans over all

other forms of life on earth, and by depicting all of nature as created for the use of humans”

(White, 1967). Mr. White believed that the arrogance of humanity and the Judeo-Christian faith

was the main cause of nature’s exploitation. In 1968, a Stanford ecologist, Paul Ehrlich,

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published a paper titled, The Population Bomb (1968). His idea was that the growth of Earth’s

population would threaten our natural resources and the life-support systems of our planet.

However, researchers from MIT led the way toward the discipline of environmental ethics. The

team, led by Dennis Meadows, published a study called Limits to Growth in 1972. Brennan

quotes a section of the commentary, “We affirm finally that any deliberate attempt to reach a

rational and enduring state of equilibrium by planned measures, rather than by chance or

catastrophe, must ultimately be founded on a basic change of values and goals at individual,

national and world levels” (Brennan, 2008). This call for change was the catalyst needed for the

development of environmental ethics, a new sub-discipline of traditional philosophy.

The importance of this new sub-discipline has never been greater than it is today. Global

warming affects people, animals, and even plants. The EPA reports that scientists have observed,

“effects that include sea level rise, shrinking glaciers, changes in the range and distribution of

plants and animals, trees blooming earlier, lengthening of growing seasons, ice on rivers and

lakes freezing later and breaking up earlier, and thawing of permafrost.” The other immediate

threat to our environment is our dependence on oil. The dependence on oil leaves us vulnerable

to disasters like the BP oil spill. The Gulf Coast region will suffer the effects of this spill for

generations to come. In a Time magazine, article the reporter states, “As catastrophic as the Gulf

oil spill has been for the region's environment and residents' livelihoods, experts say the impact

of the disaster on human health and well-being has not even begun to be quantified” (Walsh,

2010). Environmental ethics must be in place and enforced before we can slow the tide of this

ever-growing threat to our planet.

Due to the increasing concern for our environment, it is important that we develop this

discipline as we move forward in an uncertain future. Environmental ethicist need to come up

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with alternatives for resolving problems instead of just laying blame on those who fail.

Businesses need to take responsibility for their actions that affect the environment. Individuals

can also do their part by recycling, not littering, and keeping vehicles emission standards current.

The future though not written leaves us much we can do to effect change in the way we practice

environmental ethics. Alasdair Cochrane in her paper on environmental ethics states, “Whether it

be changes in our understanding of how ecosystems work, or changes in the evidence concerning

the environmental crisis, it is clear that such change will inform and influence those thinkers

writing on our environmental obligations” (Cochrane, 2007).

History shows us how environmental concerns led to the establishment of environmental

ethics as a sub-discipline of philosophy. Today’s environmental crisis reinforces the need to

employ environmental ethics in a way that lends protection to the environment and holds those

responsible to higher standards. The future demands change in how we as individuals,

businesses, and nations view our environment. Understanding our responsibility, making

necessary changes, and protecting that which sustains us speaks of the importance of

environmental ethics yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

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References

Brennan, Andrew, Lo, Yeuk-Sze, "Environmental Ethics", The Stanford Encyclopedia of

Philosophy (Winter 2009 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.) Retrieved on June 28, 2010.

URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2009/entries/ethics-environmental/>.

Cochrane, A. (2007). Environmental Ethics. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: A Peer

Reviewed Academic Resource. Retrieved on June 28, 2010.

http://www.iep.utm.edu/envi-eth/#H3

US Environmental Protection Agency. Climate Change - What You Can Do. (2010). Retrieved

on June 28, 2010. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/index.html

Walsh, B. (2010). Gulf Oil Spill Long-Term Health Effects: How Bad? Time Magazine.

Retrieved on June 28, 2010.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100628/hl_time/08599199947900

White, L., (1967). “The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis”. Science. 55:1203-1207

reprinted in Schmidtz and Willott 2002.