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Business Ethics MGT610

LESSON 25

WORLDWATCH FIGURES

Environmental ethics is the discipline that studies the moral relationship of human beings to,

and also the value and moral status of, the environment and its nonhuman contents. This entry

covers: (1) the challenge of environmental ethics to the anthropocentrism (i.e., human-

centeredness) embedded in traditional western ethical thinking; (2) the early development of

the discipline in the 1960s and 1970s; (3) the connection of deep ecology, feminist

environmental ethics, and social ecology to politics; (4) the attempt to apply traditional ethical

theories, including consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics, to support contemporary

environmental concerns; and (5) the focus of environmental literature on wilderness, and

possible future developments of the discipline.

Population Year

World population reached

1 billion in 1804

2 billion in 1927 (123 years later)

3 billion in 1960 (33 years later)

4 billion in 1974 (14 years later)

5 billion in 1987 (13 years later)

6 billion in 1999 (12 years later)

World population may reach

7 billion in 2012 (13 years later)

8 billion in 2026 (14 years later)

9 billion in 2043 (17 years later)

The importance of energy and raw materials derives from their dual role of providing the

underpinnings for economic activity and human well-being, while acting as the driving force

behind many environmental concerns, including climate change, acid rain and pollution.

Because energy consumption is a function of economic growth and level of development,

energy consumption is distributed unequally in the world. Although their share has been

falling, developed market economies, constituting one fifth of the world's population, consume

almost 60 per cent of the world's primary energy (figure IV). As a consequence of development

and the rapid replacement of traditional energy sources by commercial (mainly fossil) sources,

some developing countries have consumption patterns similar to those of developed market

economies.

Nevertheless, per capita consumption in developing countries as a group remains far below that

of developed market economies. The use of fossil fuels has led to substantial growth in global

emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and the build-up of greenhouse effects, contributing to

global warming. Since 1751, over 265 billion tons of carbon have been released to the

atmosphere, one half of these emissions having been produced since the mid-1970s (Marland

and others, 1999).

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Business Ethics MGT610

Annual global emissions of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels have quadrupled since 1950

(figure V). The highest per capita CO2 emissions are in North America, which is followed by

Europe where such emissions are less than one half those of North America (ibid.).

Continuation of these trends poses serious risks of global warming, inducing a possible rise in

sea levels, flooding of low-lying coastal areas, spread of vectorborne diseases and reductions in

agricultural yields. The magnitude of future carbon emissions depends on many factors,

including global energy demand, the pace of economic development, the introduction of

energy-saving technologies and the degree of shift away from fossil fuels. Models suggest that

immediate stabilization of atmospheric CO2 concentrations at present levels can be achieved

only if emissions are immediately slashed by at least 50 per cent and further reduced thereafter

(United Nations Environment Program, 1999). Because of the inertia of climate systems, even

with stabilization of emissions, global warming and the rise of sea levels could continue for

many years.

Agriculture, Food and Land Use

The persistence of under nutrition and food insecurity in some areas of the world, and the

increasing scarcity and unsustainable utilization of agricultural and other environmental

resources, have dominated the global assessment of food and agriculture prospects. World

agricultural production has outpaced population growth, and the real price of food has declined.

The green revolution that began in the 1960s enabled some developing countries to boost food

production dramatically by introducing modern agricultural techniques. Over the period 1961-

1998, world food for human consumption, per capita, increased by 24 per cent. A sufficient

amount of food is being produced to nourish the world's population adequately (Food and

Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2000a). Yet, recent estimates show that some

790 million persons were undernourished as of 1995-1997, owing to poverty, political

instability, economic inefficiency and social inequity (Food and Agriculture Organization of

the United Nations, 1999a). Although the number of undernourished people has decreased by

40 million since 1980, some countries are experiencing serious declines in food availability.

More recently, world agricultural growth has been slowing down. Many attribute this

slowdown to the declining growth of population and reduced economic demand for food;

others discern signs of production constraints which may ultimately threaten world food

security (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2000a; World Resources

Institute, 1996; World watch Institute, 2000). While world food production is projected to meet

consumption demands for the next two decades, long-term forecasts indicate persistent and

possibly worsening food insecurity in many countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa (United

Nations, 1997; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2000a). For most of

history, food production has been increased mainly by expanding the area cultivated; but in the

past few decades, rising crop yields have been the main factors and this trend is expected to

continue.

Constraints on expanding cultivated land include the scarcity of WATER An adequate and

dependable supply of fresh water is essential for health, food production and socio-economic

development. Though more than two thirds of the planet is covered with water, less than 0.01

per cent is readily accessible for direct human use (United Nations, 1997b). Moreover, no more

of this renewable fresh water is available today than existed at the dawn of human civilization.

As a result, the size of a country's population and the speed at which it grows help determine

the onset and severity of water scarcity. Although recent declines in population growth have

improved the outlook for future water availability, the problems associated with water scarcity

will continue to mount as the size of the world's population increases.

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Business Ethics MGT610

Currently, humans are using about half the fresh water that is readily available. Fresh water is

distributed unevenly over the globe, and already nearly half a billion people are affected by

water stress or serious water scarcity, while many more are experiencing moderate stress.

Given current trends, as much as two thirds of world population in 2025 may be subject to

moderate-to-high water stress (United Nations, 1997b). Many countries facing water scarcity

are low-income countries that have a rapidly growing population and are generally unable to

make costly investments in water-saving technologies.

About 300 major river basins and many groundwater aquifers cross national boundaries (United

Nations, 1997b). Therefore, the need for cooperative efforts will persist, particularly in areas

facing water shortages, and wherever pollution is carried downstream across national

boundaries. Estimates indicate that over 1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water and

two and a half billion lack adequate sanitation, and these factors contribute to the deaths of

more than 5 million people, of whom more than half are children (United Nations, 2000a).

Environmental damage inevitably threatens the welfare of human beings as well as plants and

animals. Threats to the environment come from two sources, pollution and resource depletion.

Pollution refers to the undesirable and unintended contamination of the environment by the

manufacture or use of commodities. Resource depletion refers to the consumption of finite or

scarce resources. In a certain sense, pollution is really a type of resource depletion because

contamination of air, water, or land diminishes their beneficial qualities.

Air pollution has been with modern society for nearly 200 years; its costs are increasing

greatly. It negatively affects agricultural yields, human health, and global temperatures. The

result is a large economic impact and a staggering effect on the quality of human life.

Global warming itself poses a difficult and frightening challenge. Global warming greenhouse

gases such as: carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, and chlorofluorocarbons, are gases that

absorb and hold heat from the sun, preventing it from escaping back into space, much like a

greenhouse absorbs and holds the sun's heat. Most scenarios concerning the effects of global

warming predict massive flooding, increase of disease, loss of plant and animal species, and

expansion of deserts at the expense of agricultural land. These effects will have high human

and economic costs. However, to halt the increase of greenhouse gasses, we would have to

reduce emissions by 60% to 70%, a level that would damage the economies of countries around

the world. To halt global warming, experts say that we would need to change our lifestyles and

values drastically.