8/3/2019 EVSP508 Forum Week 6 - Who Owns the Air

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American Military University - EVSP508: Environmental EthicsWeek 6 Forum Topic: Who Owns the Air?

The Assignment

This week we consider the topics of pollution of the water, soil, and air and also the contemporary topic of

climate change and energy policy. There are so many excellent essays to cover this week ranging from

discussion on the dirtiest city on the planet to ethics surrounding global climate change. What were yourthoughts as you read through these essays? Is there any guidance provided as you synthesize these essays on

who owns the common pool resources, and is ownership even necessary for management and preservation of

these resources?

After reading these two chapters on pollution and climate, I find I have more questions than answers. What

were some of the major questions you had after reading? Keep in mind that we are in a course on

environmental ethics and not the science of pollution or global climate. If you decide to argue these concepts,

be sure your posts are well researched and properly cited. Focus on academic research on the topics and not

common media sources. Identifying the nature of the source of the information you have researched is

actually a critical focus for all of your graduate level research.

My forum posting

After reading the two chapters on pollution and climate, I think the biggest question I have (and had,

actually, before the reading) are, Why do some American corporate and political leaders insist on denyingthe existence of, and contributors to anthropogenic climate change, or for many of those that dont engagein such denialwhy dont they comprehend or why do they re fuse to acknowledge how seriously

detrimental climate change is to the future of life on earth?

For cynical me, it seems that underlying the answer to those questions is an almost incomprehensible and

abhorrent attitude of gross entitlement, selfishness, and greed possessed by many of those people. It is that

assessment of leadership personseven though they are probably a numerical minoritythat serves a

primary driver of my advocacy for environmental pragmatism. No amount of moralizing or pointing out theirobviously unethical behavior is going to convince executives at Massey Energy to stop mountaintop removal

mining; or executives at Perdue to switch from caged to free ranging poultry; or executives at Halliburton to

abide by strict regulation of methodology in, and limits on amount of, hydrofracturing for natural gas. In

other words, people of such moral paucity (who I contend do all inclusively or in the great majority

actually understand that anthropogenic climate change is real and that their industrial practices are

significantly contributing to it) also fail to understand or refuse to concede the legitimacy ofTraxlers (2002)premise for duty to act responsibly:

Given that it is highly likely that climate change will cause serious distress to large portions of the

future human population, all those who can do something about it are under an obligation to deal

with this threat to future humanity. Our obligation comes from two sorts of universal moral duties: a

duty of non-maleficence [sic]--not doing wrongful harm to others--and a duty to assist those whoneed help in order to avoid harm and suffering. (internet site pg 1)

The essay by Monbiot (2006) gives a fairly understandable explanation as to why people of wealth and

power, i.e. the professional classes, willfully ignore climate change or minimize its effects: they have the

most freedom to lose and the least to gain from an attempt to restrain it. (p. 459). However, I have neverbeen able to wrap my brain around this: if the leadership in business and government agree to policy and

regulations that properly minimize pollution and regulate resource depletion, the financial costs to those

people will in no way decrease their standard of living in the short term, and in the long term will improve

the standard of living for all people, and all life on earth.

8/3/2019 EVSP508 Forum Week 6 - Who Owns the Air

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Piling onto my confused consternation: those same executives invest huge sums of cash and effort into

creating and perpetuating front organizations that have only one purposethe convincing spread of

disinformation to create public doubt and thereby hamper passage of regulations and policies that mitigate

pollution and slow climate change. From previous reading and viewing of news stories and analyses, Idbeen aware of the better known lobbying groups posing as reputable think tanks or academic organizations,

like the Cato Institute, the Heritage Foundation, and Americans for Prosperity. However, reading Monbiots

essay really brought home just how perniciously successful some of these organizations have become, and towhat abysmal depths executives, politicians and at least one media company leader (Fox News head Rupert

Murdoch) will go to increase their billions of dollars in wealth and to impoverish millions or billions of

people.

I do hold some hope that good leaders in industry, academia, government and the nonprofit sector will win

the hearts and minds of a majority of American people, who will in turn vote for and support policies and

regulations, and act in new and far more responsible ways, that stop the trajectory towards annihilation that

life is currently on. By new ways, I refer to a dramatic decentralization of food and energy production and

distribution, as described by Rising Tide North Americas (2011) essay introduction:

Rising Tide North Americas (RTNA) mission is to phase out fossil fuel usage make ajust transition

to sustainable ways of living. RTNA firmly believes that the means by which our society reducesgreenhouse gases are as important as the ends of preventing climate change and organizes against

climate solutions that harm communities or the environment. RTNA strives to bring an earth-centered, global justice analysis to the climate change movement, to support community-based

solutions to the climate crisis, and to end corporate control over systems of food and energy

production, land management, and other areas that influence climate change. (p. 471)

Is it too late? Have the truly evil lords of Mordor (Big Oil; King Coal; the Defense Industry; Banks, maybe

especially The World Bank) and Isengard (Congress) already sent the world irreversibly toward virtual or

complete ruin? I suppose I and/or my classmates will still be alive to find out!

ReferencesTrexler, M. (2002) Fair chore division for climate change. Retrieved from

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6395/is_1_28/ai_n28933411/?tag=content;col1

Gardiner, S. (2011) Ethics and global climate change. In L. P. Pojman & P. Pojman (Eds.), Environmental

ethics: Readings in theory and application (6th ed., pp. 437-457). Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Inc. (Original

work published 2004).

Monbiot, G. (2011) The denial industry. In L. P. Pojman & P. Pojman (Eds.), Environmental ethics:

Readings in theory and application (6th ed., pp. 458-471). Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Inc. (Original work

published 2006).

Rising Tide North American. (2011). Hoodwinked in the hothouse: false solutions to climate change. In

L. P. Pojman & P. Pojman (Eds.), Environmental ethics: Readings in theory and application (6th ed., pp.

471-480). Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Inc. (Original work retrieved from

www.risingtidenorthamerica.org).