Science, Ethics and Worldviews

45:211: Environmental Geography

Science, Ethics and Worldviews

Module 2


Context

• Environmental decision-making (all decision-making) is about choices.– Scientific, social, ethical (moral), economic,

and political inputs shape our opinions.


Outline• Role and nature of Science

– Scientific method– Limitations of science

• Ethics and Morals• Environmental Worldviews

– Views of Nature• Nature as provider; Aldo Leopold

– Expansionist– Ecological


Outline (cont.)

• Environmental Attitudes– Development– Preservation– Conservation

• Environmental Ethics – Societal – Individual– Global


Outline (cont.)

• Global Environmental Ethics– Sustainability and Equity– Agenda 21


Scientific Thinking

• Science is a body of knowledge – Science is a method of gathering and

organizing information.

• Science tells us about what is– It cannot tell us whether something is good or

bad (e.g. global warming)


Scientific Language

• It is important that we speak a common language for precision and clarity of meaning. – Unfortunately, our understanding of our

mother-tongue is somewhat limited. – For example, what is the definition of heat?


If you can’t (under)stand the heat …..

• In the past, students have defined heat as:– the opposite of cold or – what makes us warm.

• These definitions are colloquial and not very useful when trying to understand heat in scientific terms, as a factor in the environment.


Try to be more precise!

• Heat:– a form of energy the addition of which causes

substances to rise in temperature, fuse, evaporate, expand or undergo any of various other related changes: energy which flows to a body by contact with, or radiation from, bodies at higher temperatures, and which can be produced in a body (as by compression)


Finally!• This definition gives us a variety of useful facts

about heat and how it is important to and associated with natural bodies:– 1. Heat is a form of energy and is therefore associated

with all other forms of energy (e.g. potential, kinetic, electric, chemical, radiant and mechanical)

– 2. All natural bodies possess heat;– 3. Heat and temperature are associated;

cont…..


Heat (cont.)

– 4. Heat moves from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration by a variety of processes (e.g. conduction, convection and radiation);

– 5. Heat is involved in a variety of processes such as evaporation, condensation, expansion and contraction.


Numbers in Science• Discussions about the Earth environment

frequently use numbers that either very large or very small. For example:– the total number of molecules in the Earths

atmosphere is 1044; – the fraction corresponding to a mixing ratio of one

part per trillion by volume (pptv) is 10-12;– the amount of carbon emitted into the atmosphere

each year from fossil fuel combustion is about 1019

grams.


Numbers - big and small• If we had to write out the first number, it

would read:– 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,0

00,000,000,000. That is, the digit 1 followed by 44 zeros

– The second number would read: 0.000000000001.

• Clearly, such longhand numbers are clumsy and impractical.


Scientific Notation

• However, any large or small number can be expressed as the product of two terms. – The first term is the prefactor of order unity

(that is, a number between 1 and 10) that gives the precision of the original number.

– The second term is a power of 10 (that is, 10p, where p is the exponent or power of 10). The power of ten defines how many times the number 10 is to be multiplied by itself.


Examples

• For example:104 = 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 = 10,000.

• Consider the large number 1,100,000. – In scientific notation this is written 1.1 x 106.

• The very small number 0.0000000035 – is written 3.5 x 10-9.

• 1 mm is (1)x10-3 m; 1 km is (1)x103 m


Scientific Method

• A defined and accepted process for the acquisition of knowledge which involves:– hypothesis formulation– observation– hypothesis testing– evaluation of results– publication/dissemination of results


Elements of the Scientific Method


Scientific Experiments

• Situations/studies constructed to test specific hypotheses– Hypothesis = a logical statement that explains

an event or answers a question, that can be tested

• A controlled experiment involves changing one thing at a time and comparing it to the control (unaffected) situation (examples?)


Theories and Laws• Theory: a general statement of accepted truth;

– a unifying principle that binds together areas of scientific knowledge.

• Law: a categorical statement about the relation between two or more factors or variables; – a fundamental rule of nature that is considered

true.


Limits of Science

• Science is a powerful tool for understanding the world around us. However, it is important to differentiate between scientific knowledge and opinion.– Science cannot tell us what to do, what

could/should be, or whether something is good or bad

These are value judgements


What is Ethical?• Ethics - seeks to define fundamental rights

and wrongs, regardless of cultural differences.

• Morals - are reflective of the predominate feelings of a culture about ethics.– Morals have to do with how we act.

• Environmental issues require consideration of ethics and morals, since we must usually decide whether something is good or bad.


Ethics and Morals

• Ethics and morals are not always the same.– Therefore, it is difficult to clearly define what is

right and what is wrong in specific situations. E.g.

• There is plenty of food in the world but many go starving.

• Is this unethical?• Indifference to this situation, however, says that we

are not morally bound to share our wealth with others.


Aldo Leopold: On Nature

• “a thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise…We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”


A different viewpoint• Some people see little value in an undeveloped

river or forest.– They feel it is unreasonable and uneconomic to leave

them in their natural state. • It makes little sense to preserve the environment if

preservation causes economic collapse.

• They feel that not to use these resources is wasteful.– Converting natural resources into useful things

provides employment and economic growth.


Worldviews

• Worldviews are commonly shared values, ideas and images concerning the nature of reality and the role of humanity within it.– A society’s worldview is reflected in and

transmitted through its culture.– Beliefs, ideas and values shape attitudes toward

nature and human-environment relationships.• Attitudes lead to lifestyle choices and behaviours.


Competing Worldviews

• There are two major competing worldviews:– Expansionist (advocates economic growth,

without limits)– Ecological (advocates unity of humans with

nature and finite limit of global ecosphere)

• These views are brought into conflict by the concept of Sustainable Development.– Our Common Future, WCED, 1987


Expansionist Worldview• Faith in technology to control nature for

human needs and benefit

• Belief in the inherent rights of the individual– Accumulation of material wealth

• Human Development is Economic Growth– Exploitation of nature and resources to achieve

these ends


Ecological Worldview• Stresses the unity of human life with nature

• Quality not quantity of life is important– Emphasizes spiritual and emotional well being

as opposed to material wealth

• Draws attention to the destructive effects of the expansionist (dominant) cultural beliefs and practices on the environment– Ecosystems have finite capacity for production

of resources and absorption of wastes


Environmental Attitudes

Development Ethic

Preservation Ethic

Conservation Ethic


Development Ethic

• Assumes the human race is, and should be, masters of nature, and that resources exist solely for our benefit.

• Reinforced by work ethic - humans should always create “progress.”

• Bigger and more is better


Preservation Ethic

• Nature has intrinsic value.– Preserve all nature for future generations, and

work towards a balance of resource use and availability.

– Rapid, uncontrolled growth is self-defeating in the long-run.


Conservation Ethic• Recognizes the desirability of decent living

standards and a balance between development and absolute preservation.

• Society should live off the production of ecosystems and not deplete their natural capital.– Rapid and uncontrolled population growth and

material consumption is self-defeating in the long run.


Where is “our environment”• Interactions between people and environment

are as old as human civilization.– However, the 20th Century was witness to

unprecedented increases in the rate, magnitude and extent of human impacts.

• E.g. Atmospheric pollution (acid rain, ozone depletion, greenhouse enhancement) now may involve local to global scales, multiple regions and political boundaries.


So, where is “our environment?”

• Conflicts between ecological preservation and economic growth now involve multiple linkages and geographies which can blur and obscure where our environment is, and the distinctions between right and wrong.


Societal Environmental Ethics

• Western (industrial) societies have acted as if the Earth has unlimited reserves of natural resources, and an unlimited ability to assimilate wastes.

• Since the first European settlers arrived in North America, nature has been considered an “adversary” which needs to be “conquered” or “subdued.”


Individual Environmental Ethics

• A 1994 Roper Poll indicated that Americans think environmental problems can often be given a quick, technological fix. – Thus, while many individuals want the

environment cleaned-up, they do not want to make any major lifestyle changes to accomplish that goal.


Global Environmental Ethics• Ecological degradation in any nation almost

inevitably impinges on the quality of life in others.

• Much of the current environmental crisis is rooted in the widening wealth gap.

• Rapid industrialization causes intense production of pollution ,which in turn will lead to environmental degradation.

• Consumption patterns and degradation patterns are geographically dissociated.


Sustainable Development

• Sustainable development integrates economic progress, social development and environmental concerns. – The goals of economic and social development

must be defined in terms of the sustainability in all countries of the world – developed and developing (Our Common Future, WCED, 1987).


Sustainability: Two Sides

The necessary conditions for developing sustainability:

– Securing a satisfactory quality of life for all (socioeconomic imperative). While

– Reducing the Ecological Footprints of the industrialized countries (ecological imperative).

Ecological sustainability underpins socioeconomic sustainability


Earth Summit: Agenda 21

• First worldwide meeting of heads of state directed towards the environment took place at the Earth Summit (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development) in Rio de Janerio in 1992.

Complete information available at www.igc.org/habitat/agenda21

http://www.igc.org/habitat/agenda21


Agenda 21: Principles

1: Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.

4: In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection shall constitute an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it.



7: States shall cooperate in a spirit of global partnership to conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earth's ecosystem.

• The developed countries acknowledge the particular pressures that they place on the global environment and their responsibilities to the global community.



8: To achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life for all people, States should:

• reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and

• promote appropriate demographic policies.


SUMMARY• Different cultures view their place in the

world from different perspectives.

• Most environmental decisions have actually been economic decisions.

• Resource exploitation may be costly to individuals but profitable to corporations.

• Societies are composed of individuals.

• The world is a closed-interrelated system.

Science, Ethics and Worldviews

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