Capstone Essay On Environmental Ethics

A positive consequence of DDT is its effectiveness, even in the face of pesticide resistance in the anopheles mosquito. The eradication of malaria in the United States and the health of US Soldiers while fighting in World War II can be greatly credited to the use of DDT

The following involves the second chapter of Carson’s book, Silent Spring that was written in 1962. In this chapter Carson argues persuasively the adverse impacts of pesticides upon the environment and the risks on human health and the environment associated with these “genetic invaders” (Carson, 1962). Many of the extremely diverse people from Carson’s audience targeted were under the impression that chemicals like DDT, at that time in history, were safe for their health. Carson reconciles and attempts to persuade the public to consider the idea that DDT, which in the 1950s and 60s was one of the many chemical pesticides being manufactured and sold to

Environmental scanning can be viewed as a way of acquiring information about outside events that can aid organizations in first identifying potential trends, then interpreting them

DDT has been used since WW2 as an insecticide to control the outbreak of malaria and typhus among troops and civilians. This is because malaria is spread by mosquitos and DDT was considered to be a powerful in eliminating these populations, thus decreasing the infection rate for malaria. Since it was first discovered as an insecticide, worldwide it was used in very large amounts because nobody knew any better and it was considered to be revolutionary. It wasn’t until 1962, when biologist Rachel Carson first outlined the potential harm DDT has on the environment, believing it caused cancer in humans and harmed bird wildlife. This led to the United Stated ban of DDT use in 1972, and later, a worldwide ban under the Stockholm

Having already established the harm to man, Rachel Carson now shifts to the effect the spraying has on birds, saying “So they sent in the planes on their mission of death-the casualty list included.(22-24). The reference to spraying as a mission of death lends it the connotation of being mass killing, in other words, genocide. The reference to the amount of dead as a large casualty list illustrate such sprayings as an act of war, of which the blackbirds were the innocent victims of. In addition, neat the end of the passage, another question is asked to the reader, demanding “Who has decided-who has the right to decide-”(56-57). The use of the word right appeals to the intended audiences sense of justice and belief in distribution of power and decision making. By asking this question, the decision to spray pesticides is seen as one made without the consent of all involved, and thus in need of changing. Both these descriptions and questions serve to provide an appeal to pathos for the

Carson’s other books, Under the Sea Wind, The Sea Around Us (which stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 86 weeks), and The Edge of The Sea all focus on nature’s strength and the inter-connectedness of nature and all living things. But DDT exposed the vulnerability of nature and I think this influenced the writing of Silent Spring. DDT was the most powerful pesticide in the world at the time of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. Unlike most pesticides, whose effectiveness is limited to destroying one or two types of insects, DDT was capable of killing hundreds of different kinds at once. Developed in 1939, it first distinguished itself during World War II, clearing South Pacific islands of malaria-causing insects for U.S. troops, while in Europe being used as an effective de-lousing powder. Its inventor was awarded the Nobel Prize.

In the book Silent Spring, Rachel Carson’s main concern is the widespread use of synthetic pesticides and their impact on the environment. Carson concentrates on a commonly used pesticide in the 1950s called DDT. She opposes the indiscriminate spraying of DDT because it has profound consequences on the environment, humans and animals. Carson collected information about how the DDT can cause cancer in humans, harm animals such as birds and remained in the environment for long periods of time. Subsequently, the chemicals in the pesticides are extremely harmful so she tries to raise awareness and convince others that there are better alternatives.

With all this focus on the development of new drugs to combat malaria, an old effective method has been forgotten. The chemical DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) has proven effective in reducing malaria cases. Popularly used as a pesticide in the middle of the twentieth century, killed the mosquito population that was responsible for malaria related deaths. The number of people in India that contracted malaria in the 1940’s was approximately 75 million a year with 800,000 dying as a result. With the introduction of DDT, the number of cases dropped to 50,000 by 1961. Similar cases have been documented in Sri Lanka, where the number of cases dropped in 18 years from 3 million to 29 after the introduction of DDT (“DDT Delirium,” 2002). The difference in numbers is staggering.

In 2008, the United States declared the polar bears an endangered species. Endangered species is defined as “a species at risk of extinction because of human activity, changes in climate, and changes in predator-prey ratios…” (Dictionary). Andrew Derocher, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Alberta, recalls that 30 years ago polar bears “could be seen up and down the icy shores of the Hudson Bay”, however within that time frame, their numbers decreased significantly to the point that they were added to the list by an environmental change that greatly impacts Earth (Palmer). 30 years ago, the population was above 100,000 polar bears, and now that population has dropped between 15,000 and 20,000 (Palmer). Derocher believes that “human-caused global warming is causing the Arctic Sea, the bears’ habitat and hunting ground, to melt and decline” (Palmer). In order to prevent any further damage to the environment, one must consider the ethics when addressing climate change. To do so, I have decided to look into how climate change affects biodiversity, our home, and why some believe that climate change doesn’t exist and possible solutions to better improve the environment to solve the climate change problem.

Since the beginning of civilization humanity has adopted a subjugating stance toward nature. Ecological exploitation has become the de facto standard, contributing to the illusion of self-subsistence provided by modern society. This mindset is untenable given humanities reliance on the natural world, as best demonstrated by the critical importance of various parts of the environment to humanities continued existence. This includes the importance of biodiversity to medicinal advancement and climate adaptation, the role of insects in the renewal of the biosphere, and the importance of the environment for humanities psychological health.

Environmental ethics is a branch of philosophy that examines human relationships to, and the ways they interact with, the environment. When it was noticed, that the increasing world population was negatively impacting the environment, as well as the use of pesticides, technology and industrialization, environmental ethics emerged as a field of study. Environmental ethics takes into consideration the value and moral standing of the environment and its non-human entities. It focuses on the value humans place on nature and defines their moral and ethical obligations to it, and there place in it.

Development processes is connected with environmental degradation and use of natural resources. Rudel et al. (2011) assumes the present of two distinct waves of development power which control environment. The first wave of political economy deals with the power of capitalism as the main agent for environmental degradation, while the second wave concern with the social power (community) to control the use of natural resources.

Environmental problems are something which belongs to nature or known as “Mother Earth” [13]. Nature was created to help people survive from gathering foods until build a house. This phenomenon happens continuously without thinking how much damage that nature has because human’s fault. Nature gradually becomes worse and animal’s life in danger. People who are aware of the importance of nature react. Those people do several ways to save the environment. Although these efforts can return back the environment, these efforts only can be hold temporarily. This problem happens because those people who are aware of the environment only slightly; for remaining, there are people either do not know or do not care about the nature. People’s efforts

The 20th century may be considered the ultimate expression of Western ideals and philosophy: "civilized" humanity's attempt to dominate "uncivilized" peoples and nature. The 21st century soberingly proclaims the shortsightedness and ultimate unsustainability of this philosophy. This paper shows the limitations of a modern Western world-view, and the practical applicability of ideas to be found in Asian philosophies. In outline, the contrast may be portrayed by the following overgeneralizations: (1) From a linear to a cyclical world view; (2) from divine salvation to karmic necessity; (3) from human dominion over nature to human place within nature; (4) from the perfectibility of humanity and the world through science; (5) from atomistic

Critiques of understanding development as regards the processes of economic growth, industrialization, and modernization are common on the grounds that it raises as many problems as it solves. As a reaction, some scholars propose a normative understanding of development as the point of departure for overcoming economic and social inequalities and deprivations. Hence, the question arises concerning how benefits and burdens of development should be distributed in society. This is also the main theme of what we call environmental justice. Apart from the problem of balanced distribution of costs and benefits, environmental justice also addresses the capacity of involvement in – either directly or indirectly – the decision-making process in the society. This account makes it imperative that addressing environmental injustice depends on understanding how environmental hazards affect some people more than others. The aspects of environmental justice, therefore, are twofold: the participation in the decision-making process and the just allocation of benefits and burdens. Taking this account into consideration, it can be argued with substantial evidence that the phenomena of environmental injustice are prevalent in Bangladesh. As a consequence of numerous development