Environmental Ethics Midterm Review

Addition from quiz #1

Slippery Slope Fallacy

That one action would lead to more and more without any support, citing why and how.

Confirmation Bias

Selective information that supports what you already believe/think. Ignoring the other side of the argument.

Tu Quoque

Just because the person saying you committed a crime, who also committed a crime, doesn't make them wrong.

Moral Realativism

Moral truth is relative to each individual (morally)

Moral Objectivism

There is a moral truth that objectivists only take. They think sometimes it's good to do something, and sometimes it's not

Moral Absolutive

People who think specific actions are either right or wrong, never changing their minds (absolute).

Cultural Relativism

The view that moral truth is relative to the culture.

Grounded in Morality

Morality is something that evolves in us over time, through experiences

Utilitarianism

An action that's morally right and minimizes suffering for everyone/ all parties.

Anthropocentrism

Human-centered view, everything else is instrumental, while humans have intrinsic value

Christian Anthropocentrism

(Whether it is/was a cause or symptom of anthropocentrism

Implicit Anthropocentrism

impossible to see it any other way; we must see the world from a human point of view.

Ecocentrism

All of nature is interconnected.

Have intrinsic value; everything else is instrumental: nature, natural ecosystems, incidental

Biocentrisim

Non-living things are instrumental, while things with life have value

Sentiocentrisim

Sentient creatures (humans + animals) have intrinsic value; everything else is instrumental. An ability to suffer is the sole morally relevant characteristic)

Ethical protesting principles

1.) Target responsible parties

2.) Don't alienate the public

3.) Be factually correct

4.) Be non-violent

Nature/ Happiness ( Japanese/Finnish Study)

Showed that exercise in nature had more physical and mental health benefits than in an urban setting

Nature/ Happiness (Texas A&M study)

Showed that people become more relaxed when watching videos of nature

Nature/ Happiness ( Strayer (author) Study )

Found that our brains are tapped of less mental resources, long backpacking trip

Nature/ Happiness (California Berkley Study)

Shown beautiful photos of nature, prosocial benefits

Christian Stewardship

We are the caretakers of the world

Basics Of Climate Change - Greenhouse Effect

A natural process where greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere trap heat from the Sun, keeping the planet warm enough to support life

Basics Of Climate Change - Greenhouse Gases

Greenhouse gases are gases in Earth's atmosphere that get trapped.

Basics Of Climate Change - Feedback Loops (Ice-Albedo)

A positive feedback loop where melting ice exposes darker surfaces, causing the Earth to absorb more heat and melt even more ice.

How we know the temperature is rising and humans are causing it?

Ice measurements and measurements of the air in pockets found in the ice.

Temperature Rise

2 degrees so far, an additional 4 to 8 degrees possible in the next century.

Deflecting material

(ice/snow, some clouds, aerosols)

 Biomass and Biofuels - Pros and Cons of energy source?

(Cheap & Available) ( But takes as much fossil fuels to make the amount of biomass fuel to use)

Fossil Fuels - Pros and Cons of energy sources?

(Cheap & Available) ( Carbon Emissions) (Air Pollution) (Non renewable) ( Has to be found and sourced)

Solar, Wind and Hydroelectric - Pros and Cons of energy sources?

(No carbon emissions) (High start up cost) (uses a lot of land) (Intermittency / Time variability) ( Use of rare earth materials)

Nuclear - Pros and Cons of energy sources?

(Safety reputation) (Nuclear weapons) (No carbon emissions) (High start up cost) ( No air pollution) (Very concentrated - small footprint) (Not really non renewable -energy expended)

Basics Of Climate Change - Feedback Loops (Water Vapor)

The strongest positive feedback loop in the atmosphere where warmer air holds more water vapor, which traps more heat and drives temperatures even higher.

Co2 levels over the last 100,000 years has been (120 to 240 ppm) Since industrialization it has risen to…

425 ppm which can be measured from the air currently and trapped in deposits. The goal is to get it down to 350.