environmental issues intro

environment definition

the surroundings on which humans and animals live and depend on for survival

environmental ethics definition

discipline in philosophy that studies moral relationship of human beings to, and also the value and moral status of the environment and other animals

historical western view points on animal welfare/ protection

given little consideration to welfare

aristotle views on animal welfare

argued that animals are subordinate to humans due to inferior rational capacity

bible quote on animal welfare

‘rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky’ genesis 1:26

eastern viewpoint on animal welfare

Hinduism/ Buddhism/ Jainism have a principle of ahimsa which means do not harm

21st century viewpoint on animal welfare

many organisations campaign for animal welfare

agriculture stats

• uses 70% worlds freshwater supply

• 38% worlds land

• 19% worlds total greenhouse emissions

sustainability definition

earth’s capacity to continue supporting life

lack of sustainability

use of fossil fuels for transportation and energy, and the destruction of natural habitats for agriculture takes a heavy toll on the natural world

types of waste managment

• incineration (burning waste) produces harmful chemical by-products which can cause air pollution or health issues for animals and humans. also is expensive and energy intensive

• landfils are unsustainable bc of a limit of space available. contaminate soil and groundwater, while methane produced contributes to global warming

climate change definition

large scale, long term shift in the planets weather patterns or average temp

evidence for climate change

• global average surface temps have incr by 0.7 degrees over the 20th century

• greenhouse gases are accumulating in the earth’s atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing surface air temps and subsurface ocean temps to rise

• IPPC has ‘very high confidence that the globally averaged net effect of human activities since 1750 has been one of warming’

responsibility for annual global emissions

• USA responsible for more than 20%

• China responsible for nearly 15%

• EU responsible for aprox 14%

• Russia responsible for aprox 5%

emissions trading

• capitalist solution to the problem of greenhouse gas emissions and is a method through which countries that emit more than their fair share of those gases can still meet their targets

• they do so by purchasing extra capacity from other countries that have been set limits on emissions that they fall below

• as high emitters tend to be rich countries, and developing countries are poor ones, everyone benefits

• however, it can be said that this stops high emitters from facing up to their responsibilities