Class #14, 4/29/13

Last Class!

**Final Exam next week (May 6), same time, same place.

For tonight:

**Hand in and briefly discuss your project papers.

**Brief overview of exam content and expectations, and questions.

**Return remaining weekly reflections.

**Dismiss.

Class #13, 4/22/13

**Exam date?

**Renewing the earth--see and discuss previous post.

**Due tonight:  from Chapter 9, "Race, Class and Gender"--Read:
------>Westra, "The Earth Charter," pp 606ff.

**Discussion of tonight's reading.

** For next week:
------>Due:  Nature observation project!  Questions?
------>General exam prep; hand back assignments.

Something worth discussing

Here is welcome news about some efforts that a group of individuals from Michigan is spearheading--to recover ancient strains of tree life and begin planting new groves of these either endangered or now-lost species.

Here's the news item.

Here's the website.

Like the famous Methuselah trees, these old redwoods and other species will also help reverse the narrowing of the number of tree species commonly seen around the country, planted at the hands of developers and municipal/park system planners with good intentions but little imagination and environmental sophistication.

Class #12, 4/15/13

Due tonight: **For next week: From Chapter 11, Economics, Sustainability and Response--
------>Rees, "Sustainable Development: Economic Myths and Global Realities," pp 661ff;
------>Pojman, "The Challenge of the Future...," pp 735ff
------>Foresman, "Strategic Monkeywrenching," pp 747ff
------>Martin, "Ecosabotage and Civil Disobedience," pp 751ff
Write a page: Summarize the main points in Martin's argument.

**Examination/discussion over the radical side of environmentalism.

**One more document to look at, on EcoAnarchism (handout).

**For next week: from Chapter 9, "Race, Class and Gender"--Read:
------>Westra, "The Earth Charter," pp 606ff.

Class #11, 4/8/13

**Due this week: From Chapter 8, Climate Change--
------>Pew Center, "Understanding the causes of Global Climate Change," pp 413ff
------>Gardiner, "Ethics and Global Climate Change," pp 437ff.
Writing: Go to Bjorn Lomborg's website, lomborg.com, and survey what he says about climate change and environmentalism in general. Compare his critique with that of Gardiner. Who's right?

**Some discussion on climate change positions today.

**Carbon Footprint quizzes and discussion.

**Group work on global priorities.

**For next week: From Chapter 11, Economics, Sustainability and Response--
------>Rees, "Sustainable Development: Economic Myths and Global Realities," pp 661ff;
------>Pojman, "The Challenge of the Future...," pp 735ff
------>Foresman, "Strategic Monkeywrenching," pp 747ff
------>Martin, "Ecosabotage and Civil Disobedience," pp 751ff
Write a page: Summarize the main points in Martin's argument.

Class #10, 4/1/13

**Due tonight:   From Chapter 9:  "Pollution:  Soil Air Water."  Read:

------>French, "You Are What You Breathe,"  pp 314ff

------>Bradford, "We All Live in Bhopal," pp 322ff

------>Baxter, "People or Penguins...," pp 327ff

Write:

------>The oil company British Petroleum and its partners have spent billions of dollars to clean up the effects of the Gulf of Mexico spill and to compensate both individuals and governmental bodies for their losses and expenses relating to the accident.  Do you feel that the punishments have been just and that enough has been done to prevent and deter further carelessness in the extraction of energy resources?  

**Discussion of readings and tonight's topic.

**Here are links to some of the videos related to tonight's lesson--
------>On the Bhopal tragedy:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT4lz4hzPWQ
------>On the Pacific trash vortex,  #1:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc6LvdsyJ4U
------>and #2:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yiPZNsW8fI
------>On another type of pollution--from diet and medicine:  http://www.ted.com/talks/award_winning_teen_age_science_in_action.html
  

**Feedback/sharing on  progress with nature observation.

**For next week, 4/8/13:  From Chapter 8, Climate Change--

------>Pew Center, "Understanding the causes of Global Climate Change," pp 413ff

------>Gardiner, "Ethics and Global Climate Change," pp 437ff.

Writing:  Go to Bjorn Lomborg's website, lomborg.com, and survey what he says about climate change and environmentalism in general.  Compare his critique with that of Gardiner.  Who's right?  

Class #9, 3/25/13

**Due this week:   Still from Chapter 5:  "Population and Hunger."  Read:
------>Hardin, "Lifeboat Ethics," pp 296ff
------>Murdoch and Oates, "Population and Food...," pp 306ff
Writing: 
------>About a page:  Why do you think it's important to settle the question of whether there is actually enough food to prevent starvation in the world, or, if not, then is Hardin' solution the only just one? 

**Discussion of readings.

**Assessment of correlation between governmental corruption and hunger.  We'll use the index compiled on transparency.org.

**For next week:  From Chapter 9:  "Pollution:  Soil Air Water."  Read:

------>French, "You Are What You Breathe,"  pp 314ff

------>Bradford, "We All Live in Bhopal," pp 322ff

------>Baxter, "People or Penguins...," pp 327ff

Write:

------>The oil company British Petroleum and its partners have spent billions of dollars to clean up the effects of the Gulf of Mexico spill and to compensate both individuals and governmental bodies for their losses and expenses relating to the accident.  Do you feel that the punishments have been just and that enough has been done to prevent and deter further carelessness in the extraction of energy resources?  

Class #8, 3/17/13

**Due tonight--remaining mid-term papers handed in (I've received several).

**Due tonight--reading:   Chapter 5, Population and Consumption

------>Bill McKibben, "...The Challenge of Overpopulation and Overconsumption," pp 260ff
------>Garrett Hardin, "The Tragedy of the Commons," pp 272ff
------>Jacqueline Kasun, "The Unjust War against Population," pp 282ff.

**Discussion of Kohak's essay.

**Discussion of McKibben, Hardin and Kasun.

**----->Working in groups: Here are a group of lifestyle questions to consider. On the first time through them, answer each question about how you and your family have dealt with these issues in the past few years or months.

1--What wakes you up in the morning?

2--How do you find out what the weather will be today?

3--Who fixed breakfast; what did you eat?

4--What type of work do you do?

5--How do you get to work?

6--What do you bring for lunch? (--or do you bring a lunch?)

7--What time did you leave work to get home?

8--Who fixed dinner? How long did it take?

9--How did you obtain the meat items you had for dinner?

10--What about vegetables, and fruit?

11--Where do you keep your milk and butter?

12--When's the last time you ate something that had been frozen?

13--What did you do with the dinner waste and leftovers?

14--What do you do with your household trash?

15--I know this is nosy, but what happens to the human waste from your household?

16--What happened the last time someone got sick from the flu? What did happen (or would have happened) when someone broke a bone or had another serious injury?

17--When is the last time you heard from your family in Massachusetts? Assuming you needed to get a message to them, how long would it take to reach someone? What if it were urgent?

18--What is the anticipated level of education of the majority of your family (of your generation or younger)?

19--What do you do for entertainment? What pastimes does your family enjoy together?

Now your instructor will give you another processing assignment to go over, using the same questions. You'll need to use your imagination.... General discussion will follow, and you'll be asked to make a decision.

**For next week:  Still from Chapter 5:  "Population and Hunger."  Read:
------>Hardin, "Lifeboat Ethics," pp 296ff
------>Murdoch and Oates, "Population and Food...," pp 306ff
Writing:
------>About a page:  Why do you think it's important to settle the question of whether there is actually enough food to prevent starvation in the world, or, if not, then is Hardin' solution the only just one?

Class #7, 3/4/13

We'll have an abbreviated class this evening, because I have to return to the other side of town before it gets too late.   Dismissal will probably be around 6:45.

**For tonight--Reading:  Some classic formulations of ecological morality--Chapter 4:
------>L-M. Russow, "Why do Species Matter?" pp 190ff
------>A. Schweitzer, "Reverence for Life," pp 198ff
------>Aldo Leopold, "Ecocentric Ethics: The Land Ethic," pp 222ff
------>C. Stone, "Should Trees Have Standing?"  pp 246ff
------>Write a page:  Why, in the absolute sense, should I care about the rest of life on earth, now or in the future?  Or, should I not care?  Explain your answer.

**Discussion of readings, especially Schweitzer and Leopold.

**For next meeting, March 18:  Readings from Chapter 5, Population and Consumption
------>Bill McKibben, "...The Challenge of Overpopulation and Overconsumption," pp 260ff
------>Garrett Hardin, "The Tragedy of the Commons," pp 272ff
------>Jacqueline Kasun, "The Unjust War against Population," pp 282ff.

**Writing:   A short mid-term paper.
Read the article (handout) by Dr. Erazim Kohak, and follow the directions (also a handout) for the synopsis and critique.  If you lose your article, it's here.  And the rubric is here. The rubric has been a little fussy to open.  If you can't, e-mail me.

 

Class #6, 2/25/13

**For tonight--Reading:  "The World's Perspectives"
------>R. Guha, "Radical Environmentalism and Wilderness Preservation:  A Third World Critique," pp 176ff
------>Genesis 1-3, pp 615ff
------>M.Y. Izzy Deen, "Islamic Environmental Ethics, Law and Society," pp 633ff
------>O.P. Dwivedi, "Satyagraha for Conservation:  A Hindu View,"  pp 640ff
------>Starhawk, "Pagan Environmentalism:  Principles of Unity,"  pp 655ff
AND,
------>Write a page:  Based on the readings, what do the world's religious traditions appear to contribute to environmental ethics?  How, if at all, does this contribution add to the positions we have discussed so far?  (Substantiate your claims, one way or the other.)

**Discussion of readings.

**For next week--Reading:  Some classic formulations of ecological morality--Chapter 4:
------>L-M. Russow, "Why do Species Matter?" pp 190ff
------>A. Schweitzer, "Reverence for Life," pp 198ff
------>Aldo Leopold, "Ecocentric Ethics: The Land Ethic," pp 222ff
------>C. Stone, "Should Trees Have Standing?"  pp 246ff

**Write a page:  Why, in the absolute sense, should I care about the rest of life on earth, now or in the future?  Or, should I not care?  Explain your answer.

Class #5, 2/18/13

**Due tonight:  Your short preliminary report on the tract of land you will "follow" for the next 2+ months.

**For discussion:  Readings from John Stuart Mill and Arne Naess--a drastic contrast of theories about Nature.

**Video about Arne Naess and attitudes toward the environment.

**For next week--Reading:  "The World's Perspectives"
------>R. Guha, "Radical Environmentalism and Wilderness Preservation:  A Third World Critique," pp 176ff
------>Genesis 1-3, pp 615ff
------>M.Y. Izzy Deen, "Islamic Environmental Ethics, Law and Society," pp 633ff
------>O.P. Dwivedi, "Satyagraha for Conservation:  A Hindu View,"  pp 640ff
------>Starhawk, "Pagan Environmentalism:  Principles of Unity,"  pp 655ff

**For next week--Write a page:  Based on the readings, what do the world's religious traditions appear to contribute to environmental ethics?  How, if at all, does this contribution add to the positions we have discussed so far?  (Substantiate your claims, one way or the other.)

Class #4, 2/11/13

The good news is that we are back to work Monday evening. I got back into town Thursday evening, a little later than expected because of a flight delay. The "bad news" is that we need to catch up with our material and get going on the big project. Please come to class ready to discuss the reading assigned so far, and with any assignments due. I will be posting the next set of assignments before class time. Meanwhile, I look forward to seeing all of you Monday evening!

Reading for next week, from Chapter 3, "Value in Nature Itself:"
------>John Stuart Mill, "Nature," pp 122ff.
------>Arne Naess, "The Shallow and the Deep...," pp 129ff.
------>Arne Naess, "Ecosophy T...," pp 133ff.

Written work for next week:  Please prepare your "preliminary report" on the piece of territory you plan to observe for the semester project.  A page of general description (see handout) and a couple of photos will do nicely.  You can incorporate the photos into the text of the report if you want.

For Class #3, 2/4/13

I'm very sorry to have to cancel class one more time. My dad passed away Thursday evening and services are scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday) morning.

We WILL resume classes on the 11th, next Monday, and at that meeting we can discuss adjustments that need to be made to the reading and assignment schedules. We will also give the semester project a thorough discussion. A few of you have e-mailed your first week's reflections to me. Please continue to do so. Whatever comes in I will try to have back to you next Monday.

Here is the next set of assignments, due the eleventh.

Reading, from Chapter 2, "Animal Rights," some classic positions on the treatment of animals and "sentient life:"
------>Immanuel Kant, Rational Beings Alone Have Moral Worth, pp 60-61, from the late 1700s;
------>Peter Singer, A Utilitarian Defense of Animal Liberation, pp 71-80, from 1976;
------>Dale Jamieson, Against Zoos, pp 96--102, from 1985.

Writing:
------>about a page: does Dr. Singer make a convincing case about the need to change our thinking about how we treat certain living things other than ourselves? If so, does that influence your agreement or disagreement with Dr. Jamieson's ideas about the morality of zoos? Please develop your answers sufficiently.

See you all next week!

For Class #2, 1/28/13

Unfortunately I'm in Massachusetts with my Dad, who is terminally ill and not expected to be with us beyond the next week. I was looking forward to this coming meeting, but I have to cancel class for this week and simply let you know the next assignment:

Reading: from Chapter 1, "Introduction," read the following--

------>Clare Palmer, "An Overview of Environmental Ethics," pp 10-35;
------>Thomas Hill, "Ideals of Human Excellence and Preserving Natural Environments," pp 36-45.

And type a page: Professor Hill's point seems to be that a person's attitude and relationship with nature and use of resources reflects one's true character and moral framework. (A) Do you agree that that is a fair summary of his views? (B) If that is his view, do you agree or disagree that his conclusion is true? Be sure to support both of your points.

Please e-mail your reflection to me--use the address on the course description/syllabus page.

I expect to have class on schedule February 4th. Thanks!

Class #1, 1/14/13 Welcome!

This is the course blog for PHIL 3320, Mr. Gagne's Environmental Ethics class, Spring 2013.


Agenda for tonight:

1. Welcome/General Orientation/Roster Check.
2. Textbook and materials.
3. Course overview, syllabus and calendar.
4. Finding Things.
5. Philosophy, Philosophical Method, and Applied Fields of Philosophy.
6. Environmental Ethics.
7. Handouts and assignment for 1/28.
8. Complete info sheet and survey.

Resources:

• The text for this class is an anthology. Here are the specs:

Environmental Ethics: Readings in Theory and Application
Louis P. Pojman and Paul Pojman
Wadsworth Publishing, 6th Edition, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0538452847.

• Syllabus/Course Description.
• Course Calendar.

Assignment:

• Do: Reflection #1--Basic Definitions.
• Read Handouts:
• Collection of poetry--Is the truth found in nature?  How?
• Two short excerpts describing symbiotic relationships between plants and animals--What sort of "mind" does nature exhibit, if any?
• Kirkpatric Sale's essay, "Five Facets of a Myth"--Do you agree or disagree with his premise about human progress?