ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS

Introduction:
Industrialisation has created material prosperity but also created unparallel
environmental problems to the present and future generations. Though technology has
controlled nature but has polluted environment and depleted the natural resources.
The Worldwatch Institute a highly respected research group has given the following
report: "As the twenty-first century begins, several well established environmental trends
are shaping the future of civilization. This includes population growth, rising
temperature, falling water tables, shrinking cropland per person, collapsing fisheries,
shrinking forests and loss of plant and animal species.

Environmental issues raise a number of questions:

 What is the extent of damage done by industrial technology?
 How large a threat is posed by this damage to our welfare?
 What values should we sacrifice to halt these damages?
 Whose rights are violated by pollution and who should pay the costs?
 How long will natural resources last?

Various dimensions of pollution:

There are two sources of environmental threats, namely,
 pollution
 resource depletion.
Pollution
Pollution refers to the undesirable contamination of the environment by the production
and use of commodities. Resource depletion refers to the consumption of scare resources.
Air pollution:
Air pollution has started from the days of Industrial Revolution. But the costs of air
pollution increased in an exponential manner as industrialisation has taken place. In
modern days, air pollution affects agriculture, brings hazards to life, increase medical
costs and lessen the enjoyment of life.
Green house gases, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide etc. absorb and hold heat
from the sun, preventing it from escaping back into space. The carbon dioxide is
increasing at the rate of 2 percent annually.
This leads to global warming. Global warming is a difficult problem affecting the
different parts of the world.
Ozone depletion:
Ozone is a layer in the lower stratosphere prevents all life on earth from harmful
ultraviolet radiation. But this ozone layer is destroyed by chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs)gases. These gases have been used in refrigerators, air conditioners, industrial
solvents and industrial foam blowers. Several studies reveal that ozone depletion would
affect agricultural growth and cause several cases of skin cancer.
Acid rain:
Acid rain is a threat to the environment like global warming. It is related to the
combustion of fossil fuels like oil, coal and natural gas. The fossil fuels are used to
produce electricity. The burning of coal containing sulphur releases sulphur oxides and
nitrogen oxides. When these gases are carried out into the air, they combine with water
vapour in clouds produce acid rain. This acid rains are causing threats to fish population
and rivers have become acidic. The drinking water is contaminated.
Acid rain affects some other country. For example, Netherlands suffer from acid rain
originated from Germany.

Water pollution:
Though water pollution is a time old problem, it has taken new dimensions. In modern
days, water pollution is consisting of not only organic wastes but also dissolved salts,
metals, radioactive materials etc. Nearly 50 percent of surface water is polluted. Water
drainage from coal mining operations contains sulphuric acid. In this process there is
depletion of oxygen in water. The oxygendepleted water is not able to support fish life
and other organisms.
Various inorganic pollutants pose serious health hazards for drinking and cooking water.
The mercury finds its way into fresh water supplies can cause brain damage, paralysis
and death. The mining companies are notorious for causing several severe hazards. Oil
spills are also a form of water pollution. Oil spills result from offshore drilling. The
contamination produced by oil spills leads to threats to sea life, including fish, plants and
aquatic birds.

The underground water supplies have also become more and more polluted. The
underground water contaminations are linked to cancers, liver and kidney diseases and
damage to the central nervous system.

Land pollution:
Toxic substances are those that can increase morality rates or incapacitating illness. There
are nearly 20,000 different chemical compounds currently used in India. In the U.S.A. it
is nearly 60,000 different chemical compounds. Many chemicals cause chronic diseases
in the long run.

Moreover the quantity of solid wastages is increasing every year. The amount of garbage
is increasing each year but the facilities to handle the wastage have been decreasing.
73 The depletion of minerals is also a serious threat to the economy. There is a decline in
the availability of copper. It is estimated that by 2070 the copper ores will be exhausted.
Thus there are physical limits to natural resources.

Ideas of ecological ethics:

(1) The environment has to be protected not only for the sake of human beings but also
for the non human parts of the environment.
(2) The richness and diversity of life contribute values to human beings.
(3) The human beings have no right to reduce the richness and diversity except to satisfy
their vital needs.
(4) The human interference in environment is excessive and the situation is rapidly
worsening.
(5) The quality of life has to be given more importance than the standard of living.
(6) Very often the social costs are greater than the private costs. The ideal situation is that
the social costs should be lesser than the private costs.

The modern environmental crisis is due to a long period of utilitarian and rights-based
approaches.
Hierarchy and economic domination cannot provide a way to dominate nature. Justice
has to play an important role in environmental ethics.
What is required is sustainable development. Sustainable development seeks to meet the
needs and aspirations of the present without compromising the needs of future
generations. Sustainable development can be achieved only if the environment is
conserved and improved. The overall capital assets should remain constant. Sustainable
development is a complex concept involving ecological,
economic and ethical aspects.

Ethical guidelines for sustainable development:

(1) The harvest rates not to exceed the reproduction rates.
(2) The wastages have to be recycled.
(3) The environmental governance should be a commitment to all organisations.
(4) Control of too much of consumerism by persuasion and ethical education.
(5) Efforts should be made to promote bio diversity.
(6) There should be the promotion of non-consumption values such as aesthetic, cultural,
tourist and future.

Environmental governance:
Environmental governance is an ethical effort supported by the administration and co-
operation of people.
It consists of the following elements:
(a) Monitoring pollution and over use.
(b) Development and maintenance of green areas.
(c) Encouragement of public transport.
(d) Promotion and encouragement of non-conventional sources of energy.
(e) Environmental regulations of mega cities.
(f) Control of too much of consumption by motivation.
(g) Reduction of inequalities at regional level.
Bio-diversity has to be promoted not only for economic development but also for
ecological development. Bio-diversity should be supported by cultural diversity.
NGOs can promote environmental ethics through the following methods:
(a) Conducting surveys.
(b) Assessment of environmental impact.
(c) Promotion and maintenance of parks.
(d) Exploring the sources of finance.
(e) Providing local solutions to local problems.
(f) Encouragement of ecological tourism.
(g) Prevention of environmental exploitation.

As Gandhiji has said that control over and management of local resources by village
communities could pave the way for all-round development of the nation. NGOs can help
to bridge the gap between science, policy making and the citizen.

Questions
Section 'A'
(1) Define environmental ethics.
(2) Mention the different forms of pollution.
Section 'B'
(1) Discussthe issues of ecological ethics. (2) What is environmental governance?
Section 'e'
(1) Examine the major issues of environmental ethics. Suggest suitable guidelines for
managing these ethical issues and promoting sustainable development.