7) Environmental Ethics

what are ethics

the philosophy of right and wrong

western ethics are anthropocentric
environmental ethics is a discipline in philosophy that studies the moral relationship of human beings to and also the value and moral status of, the environment and its non-human contents

what are the two beliefs about nature in western culture

humans are separate and superior to nature

nature only has value as it is useful to humans

what are biblical roots of ethics

human disconnect form nature
judeo-christian notion of humans as the image of a transcendent supernatural god who is radically separate from nature, which in turn separates humans from nature

human superiority
dominion thesis: humans should control nature and use it how they wish
humans have stewardship over nature, and must care for the environment

difference between instrumental and intrinsic value

instrumental value: value of things as means to further (human) interests

intrinsic value: value of things as ends in themselves, regardless of whether they are useful to anything or anyone

who was aristotle

384-322 BCE greek philospher and scientist

anthropocentric position
problematic to articulate what is wrong with the cruel treatment of non-human animals
problematic to articular what is wrong with the cruel treatment of non-human animals, except to the extent that such treatment may lead to bad consequences for human beings

who was john locke

1632-1704 english philosopher and physician, influences enlightenment and liberalism

nature only has value if it is useful to humans
freedom: ability to acquire and possess property, including ones body, labor, and nature
inspires a utilitarian view of nature in which anything that is left unused has no value and is wasted

who was immanuel kant

1724-1804 german philosopher, substantially influences modern philosophy

cruelty towards non-human animals would be instrumentally rather than intrinsically, wrong

anthropocentric position; recognizes some non-instrinsic wrongness of anthropogenic environmental devastation which might damage the wellbeing of human beings now and in the future

who was lynn white

1967: science article modern critique, historical roots of the environmental crisis

believed judeo-christian beliefs have encourage environmental overexploitation
assumption of human superiority
anthropocentric perspective that humans are the only things that matter on earth, so they may use and consume everything else to their advantage without any injustice

what is enlightened anthropocentrism

human moral duties already arise affectively from protecting the earth’s envr to protect humankind across generations

what was the emergence of environmental ethics

new subdiscipline of philosophy in early 1970s

challenge traditional anthropocentrism: questioned moral superiority of human beings to other species and explored intrinsic value of the natural environment

what was the hetch valley conflict in yosemite national park example

gifford pinchot: utilitarian conservationist
resources can be used as long as they are used sustainably, best thing to do is greatest good for greatest number of people

john muir: preservationist
nature should be left alone as much as possible
wilderness areas that have had little human impact should be protected

what is the land ethic

more details

something is right if it promotes healthy ecosystem functioning and wrong when it doesn’t

depends on whether it is used sustainably

based on field of ecology: study of interactions between organisms and their environments
moral extensionism: the expansion of ethics beyond humans to and, plants, animals
placing humans as a part of environment rather than separate from it

shallow vs deep ecology

shallow: focuses on specific envr issues and seeks to eliminate the symptoms rather than the causes

deep: focuses on interactions between humans and the environment
self-realization recognizing one’s dependence on the envr and leads to ecocentrism, nature has an intrinsic value

what is holism

protection of wholes (ecosystem) is more important than its parts (species, individuals)

what is scientism, critiques of scientism

promoting science as a supposedly value free (objective/absolute) information, leading to ultimate authority

naturalistic fallacy, assumes that because ecosystem functions in a certain way, it should do so
ecology often places too much authority in scientific observation to make balanced ethical considerations

details on distinction between animal name and food name

beef vs cow, pork vs pig
rich vs poor, marketing, separate the eating animal with the farm animal
speaking french was considered superior, the french/latin version of the food name was rich
don’t eat dogs, but pigs are sentient, they experience boredom, joy, pain too
consciousness of eating, then plants have some type of consciousness too

details on tuna

most valuable fish in the sea, high extraction pressures, more efficient methods of fishing became profitable

swim fast and for long time

global commodity
ecological destruction
overfishing and collateral marine damage crises

what were the problems with tuna

too valuable for their own good
became highly valuable in 1960s when japanese sushi fad took off

overfishing caused drop down to 2% of historical population levels
still readily available on market despite declining wild populations

when you catch tuna, you harm other species
fishing methods, catch strays (bycatch),
keystone species, remove top trophic level, cause domino effect

details on tuna video

focusing on danger for workers, not really the effects on the tuna

shark is given agency, but not tuna

humans portrayed as heroes

leaving netting in water

what are the now added tuna protection

minimum catch size

population has recovered since 2006

details on tuna and dolphins

tuna often swim below dolphin pods

dolphins eat young tuna not older

tuna and dolphins prefer similar ecological conditions, especially yellowfin in eastern pacific

opportunistic feeding, both eat similar species, but different ocean layers

tuna benefit from dolphin pods water turbulence to compress prey pods

what are 2 tuna fishing techniques

tuna ranching: young wild tuna are captured and reared for human consumption

purse-seine fishing: a net encircles the school of fish and the bottom is drawn shut
other species also caught, speedboats drive in tight circles near opening to prevent tuna from escaping

what were attempts at solutions to tuna fishing

ammendments to mmpa to have more dolphin friendly fishing techniques

created a cap in dolphin mortalities

medina panel, finer mesh that dolphins cannot get caught in

time progression of tuna management

1972: US marine mammal protection act, prohibits killing or sale of marine mammals

1979: interamerican tropical dolphin conservation

late 1980s, dolphin death increased again
1990 US public movement and market boycott

details on tuna boycott and green consumerism

boycott worked, 3 main tuna companies started using dolphin-safe practices and labels

foreign tuna was banned, didn’t have a way to prove they used dolphin safe practice

green consumerism: responsible consumer purchasing can change the behaviour of firms and industries

is the dolphin safe label a victory for environment?

what is FAD

fewer dolphins killed, but tuna still being overharvested
dolphin safe doesn’t mean ecologically sustainable, or safe for other bycatch species

FAD: fish aggregation devices, logs or rafts tethered to the ocean to attract fish
unintentionally kills so much marine life that get scooped up along with the tuna

details on animal ethics of dolphins and tuna

dolphins are socially constructed as charismatic intelligent species, with behaviours valued by humans

tuna are socially constructed as just fish, or just food

details on rights for noble creatures

emphasis on protection of individual dolphins rather than ocean ecosystem

ecological ethic: its okay to kill individual animals as long as the species is not threatened

animal rights ethic: animals should have rights because they suffer, so any action that causes suffering is wrong

moral extensionism: equal consideration of non-humans

summary on can a rights victory produce an ecological defeat

when tuna became dolphin safe, the boats started using other means to harvest tuna, resulting in:

fewer dolphin kills, but 2-3 times more bycatch of other marine species, rapid overexploitation of other fisheries

what is maximum sustainable yield? what does it lead to

largest amount of natural resource that can be harvested indefinitely

race to harvest more fish faster
exclusive economic zones (EEZs) were implemented in order for countries to control fish stocks within 200 miles of their coast