132243 Business & Social Responsibilities Ethics and the - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

132243 Business & Social Responsibilities Ethics and the Environment 1

Introduction  Industrial technology has enabled us to manipulate and control nature, but has also polluted our environment and depleted our natural resources.  Environmental trends in the 21 st century  Population growth  Rising temperature  Falling water tables  Shrinking cropland per person  Collapsing fisheries  Shrinking forests  Loss of plant and animal species 2

Introduction (cont.)  Environmental Issues  What damage produced by industrial technology?  How large does this affect our welfare?  What must be sacrificed to slow down such damage?  Whose rights are violated by pollution?  Who should be responsible for polluting?  What obligations do firms have to future generation? 3

The Dimensions of Pollution and Resource Depletion  Pollution: the undesirable and unintended contamination of the environment by the manufacturer or use of commodities  Air pollution  Water pollution  Land pollution  Resource depletion: the consumption of finite or scarce resources  Depletion of species and habitats  Depletion of fossil fuels and minerals 4

Air Pollution  Global Warming  Causes: the industrial release of greenhouse gases (e.g. co 2 , nitrous oxide, methane, and CFC) into the atmosphere, particularly by the burning of fossil fuels  Consequences: deserts expanded, polar ice melted, sea levels risen, several species extinct, farming disrupted, distribution and severity of diseases increased  Solutions: difficult (expensive) to solve, perhaps we could try to stabilize the concentration of greenhouse gases already in the air 5

Air Pollution (cont.)  Ozone Depletion  Causes: the industrial release of CFCs (particularly via the use of aerosol cans, refrigerators, air conditioners, industrial solvents, and industrial foam blowers) into the air  Consequences: ultraviolet rays increased, skin cancer developed, crops destroyed, plankton destroyed  Solutions: we could try to reduce the release of CFC gases, however the already existing CFC gases in the air will continue their danger and will persist for many years 6

Air Pollution (cont.)  Acid Rain  Causes: the industrial release of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides (from the combustion of fossil fuels used by utilities to produce electricity) into the atmosphere  Consequences: acidity of the water raised, aquatic organisms died, forest and wildlife species destroyed, drinking water contaminated, buildings damaged  Solutions: need international cooperation 7

Air Pollution (cont.)  Airborne Toxics  Causes: the industrial release of airborne toxic substances (e.g. phosgene used in warfare, methyl isocyanate, carcinogens such as benzene and formaldehyde released from the chemical brew, neurotoxins such as toluene and trichloroethylene released from the chemical brew)  Consequences: cancer developed  Solutions: less catastrophic because levels of most airborne toxics have been reduced gradually as a result of the strict regulation, but still highly worrisome 8

Air Pollution (cont.)  Air Quality  Causes: gases and particulates spewed out by autos and industrial processes (e.g. carbon monoxide released by autos, sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides released by electrical plants, ozone or photochemical smog, particulates, and airborne lead)  Consequences: lung function deteriorated, infant deaths (caused by sulfur oxides) increased, deaths from pneumonia and influenza (caused by particulates) increased, acid rain produced, people’s health deteriorated  Solutions: the last decade has seen a considerable improvement in the air quality as a result of environmental legislation and regulation 9

Water Pollution  Water pollutants: organic wastes, dissolved salts, metals, radioactive materials, and suspended materials such as bacteria, viruses, and sediments  Salt brines from mines and oil wells drain into water sources, where they raise saline contents.  High saline levels kill organisms inhabit in water sources.  Water drainage from coal mines contains sulfuric acid as well as iron and sulfate particles.  High acid levels are lethal to most organisms living in the aquatic environment 10

Water Pollution (cont.)  Organic wastes (largely untreated human wastes, sewage, and industrial wastes from processing various food products, from the pulp and paper industry, and from animal feedlots) deplete oxygen.  The household and industrial releases of phosphorus compounds found in cleansing detergents give rise to explosive expansions of algae populations.  Inorganic pollutants (e.g. mercury, kepone, cadmium, asbestos fibers) pose serious health hazards 11

Water Pollution (cont.)  Heat from water used as a coolant in various industrial manufacturing processes is also a water pollutant.  Oil spills, which result from offshore drilling, discharges of sludge from oil tankers, and oil tanker accidents, is also a water pollutant.  Oil spills are lethal to sea life. 12

Water Pollution (cont.)  Radioactive wastes (e.g. plutonium, cesium, etc.) in seawater are hazardous.  Underground water supplies are contaminated by organic chemicals, inorganic chemicals, radioactive wastes, and microorganisms.  Today many people lack access to safe water.  Summary: water pollution is very costly, and benefits from removing it is extremely high 13

Land Pollution  Toxic Substances  Causes: the household and industrial releases of acidic chemicals, inorganic metals (such as mercury or arsenic), flammable solvents, pesticides, herbicides, phenols, explosives, and so on, into the land  Consequences: reproductive defects in animals increased, abortions increased, people’s health deteriorated  Solutions: toxicity of some substances is known but that of many is still unknown and difficult to determine 14

Land Pollution (cont.)  Solid Wastes  Causes: the release of residential garbage  Consequences: several toxic substances released from the garbage dumps (e.g. cadmium from rechargeable batteries, mercury and lead from car batteries and TV picture tubes, vanadium, copper, zinc, and PCBs from refrigerators, stoves, engines, and appliances built and dumped) are hazardous to public health and the environment  Solutions: costly to solve 15

Land Pollution (cont.)  Nuclear Wastes  Causes: the release of radioactive materials (e.g. carcinogens such as strontium 90, cesium 137, barium 140, and iodine 131, plutonium, ) from nuclear plants  Consequences: various types of cancer developed  Solutions: make sure that our descendants will never accidentally reach nuclear repositories 16

Depletion of Species and Habitats  Human beings have depleted dozens of plant and animal species to the point of extinction. 17

Depletion of Fossil Fuels  Fossil Fuels include coal, oil, and natural gas.  Exponential depletion  The rate at which resources were being used had doubled with the passage of a regular fixed time period.  The amount consumed can be represented by a parabolic curve.  Peaked depletion rate  The extraction will peak and then continue, but at a declining rate coupled with rising prices.  The amount consumed can be represented by a Hubbert curve with no definite depletion point. 18

Depletion of Minerals  Minerals  E.g. aluminum, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, tungsten, zinc, copper, lead  The depletion of these minerals can be predicted on the basis of an exponential growth model or on the basis of a peaked growth model.  Conclusions: there are physical limits to our natural resources. More substitute materials may be found for many of these resources, but not all of them. Whatever substitutes are developed will also be limited. 19

The Ethics of Pollution Controls  Ecological approach: non humans have intrinsic value  Environmental rights approach: humans have a right to a livable environment  Market approach: external costs violate utility, rights, and justice 20

History of Pollution  For centuries, businesses have seen the environment as a free and unlimited good, and ignored the damages they have inflicted on it.  Pollution problems are not rooted only in business activities, but also in the use of customer products and from human waste products. In fact, every human being pollutes. 21

Ecological Ethics  Ecological system: an interrelated and interdependent set of organisms and environments  Fish and aquatic organisms in a lake  Business firms and natural environment  Ecological ethics: the view that nonhuman parts of the environment deserve to be preserved for their own sake, regardless of whether this benefits human beings  non humans (e.g. animals, plants, and natural species) have intrinsic value and humans have a duty to respect and preserve them 22

Ecological Ethics (cont.)  Utilitarian: the pain of an animal is equal to the pain of a human  Non-utilitarian: each animal has a certain moral rights (e.g. right to be treated with respect)  Virtue lovers such as Paul Taylor: to be a person who has reverence for life is to see life itself, in all its forms, as having inherent worth, a worth that inspires an unwillingness to destroy and a desire to preserve 23