Ethics and Sustainability Analysis - Assignment Example

Ethics and Sustainability Analysis Students Name: Institutional Affiliation: Department Course: Date: Q1. The link between the selected topic and sustainability Explanation of the topic/issue Ethics in environmental affairs is concerned with the impact of human actions upon natural and non-human entities. In this regard, there exist increasing efforts aimed at developing an ethical framework to provide guidance to human interactions with the rest of nature. Ethical considerations supersede the human relationship existing between humans and nature especially when it comes to the causes and solutions of environmental problems. This is true for the case of global commons. Brown (2012, p. 240) defines a global common as a ‘domain that is beyond the exclusive jurisdiction of any one country, but one that all countries may mutually use for their own purposes’. The dual nature of ethics in (human to human/ human to nature) in environmental affairs is best illustrated by the pollution of the global commons. Grenne (2001, p. 32) admits this case by referring to the overuse of commons to the point that it becomes totally depleted, unusable, and contaminated. One moral concern is the manner in which human activities pose severe effects on the environment and that there exists amongst humans, an inequality on the part of those perpetrating and those suffering from unethical environmental activities. Definition of sustainability Tara (2010, p. 27) defines sustainability ‘as an alternative path for humanity’. The pollution of the global commons can be best considered in relation to issues such as sustainability. The commons dilemma has stood as a model for a great variety of resource problems happening in the present society, including forests, water, as well as non-renewable resources such as coal and oil. Ssustainability concepts The dimension of culture is often added to the mix of objectives and combined to make the sustainability objective. The criteria for sustainability includes: 1) preserving the natural environment, 2) maintaining economic viability, 3) preserving cultural diversity, 4) ensuring social welfare for every individual person including equitable intergenerational allocation of resources. Carbon management is best managed through avoiding inhibitors that prevent carbon to flow in the ecosystem. This is done by carefully maintaining and adhering to ecological sustainability rules. Ecological footprints can be followed if those people in the environment are serious with the implementation of the system. Future governance of the earth’s resources would only be viable if the present resources are managed well. The concept of sustainability can never be isolated, but has to be accompanied with ethics. Sustainability is what would hold future decision making regarding the manner in which resources should be handled the best way possible. For example, managing global commons is a monumental task and that Brown (2012, p. 234) admits that failures should not be deterrents to those who aim to govern and preserve such global commons. Past failures that were experienced while managing the commons should be seriously taken as lessons that can best guide the learning curve for the commons. Link between pollution to sustainability Pollution, happening in various forms, can be linked to sustainability. Sustainability is a measure that can be adopted to counter the effects of spreading pollution. If sustainability measures are not put in place, there would damages that could exceed the control. Sustainability helps to ensure that there is no duplication of past mistakes into the present and also in the future. Sustainability would also mean that some of the deadly and potential, pollution agents are reduced as much as it takes. Q2. The most significant ethical issues concerning this topic Main issues of pollution that causes problems Ethical issues in the present times have been neglected, causing a lot of damage to the ecosystem and to the environment. According to the theory of Utilitarianism, human beings are mandated with the task of giving equal respect the lives of non-humans (animals, ecosystem) the same way they do to their fellow humans. Utilitarianism, as an ethical issue, is concerned with doing good for the society and others, even when that ‘good’ do not benefit you directly. It is the failure to observe utilitarianism that has caused multiple effects on the environment around us. Going by the concept of pleasure and pain, this theory adjudicates that harm done to the non-human beings would also cause ‘pain’ (Grenne, 201, p. 34). According to Kant’s ethical theory, the environment holds no intrinsic value and that every non-human animals do lack inherent worth. Kant’s ethics are purely based on the conception of doing well for its own sake and refuting self-interest (Owen, 2001, p. 291). The theory of virtue ethics, on the other hand, suggests that support should be accorded to environmental ethics, and recommends that the environment should be well take of because it benefits both human beings and non-living things. Moral virtues should be developed on a daily basis, and should include conserving energy, car-sharing, cycling/walking where possible, and recycling. Local communities have a long history of living with under scarcity of resources where individuals are the primary actors. Pollution often starts with negligence of a pollutant entering the surrounding environment, spreading and finally harming the same environment. The major issues of pollution exist in air, soil and water. Various contaminants exist in these three forms. Humans are solely blamed for being big agents of pollution. This is because they negligently allow penetration of harmful pollutants into the environment. Importance of the chosen ethical issue Q3. Importance of the topic for business & relevance of threats and opportunities to economic viability Relevance of pollution to business and economics viability Moving towards sustainability is a social challenge that entails international and national law, urban planning and transport, local and individual lifestyles and ethical consumerism. Ways of living more sustainably can take many forms from reorganizing living conditions. Sustainable development essentially offers a vision of advancement that incorporates immediate and long-term objectives, global and local action, and touches mostly on environmental, economic, and social issues as interdependent and inseparable elements of human progress. Sustained development concerning pollution will not be initiated by policies alone. Rather, by the entire society as a principle guiding many choices made by each citizen on a daily basis. This needs the presence of profound changes in thinking, social, and economic structures, and in consumption and production patterns (Brown, 2012, p. 236). Every member of the society has a role to play in maintaining high levels of sustainability development. Threats to viability (evidences) Improper disposal of plastic bottles instead of recycling them is a major threat. This generated 3.2 million tons of carbon dioxide (Posen, 2003, p. 5). Reports by Tara (2010, p. 28) have documented that each year, more than 5 billion pounds of PET plastic bottles end up either in landfills or roadside litter. The saddening part of this story is that only less than 20% of plastic water bottles are successfully recycled. Leaking of water pipes and tanks leads of loss of water that could have been used elsewhere for important purposes. Posen (2003, p. 4) agree that water is lost through negligence and leaving taps running, therefore there is less storage of water to take people through seasons of dry land and famine. Oil and petroleum deposits (whether on land or in water) coat the fauna and blocks them from getting enough carbon dioxide. When these plants die, none or very few are replaced. Emission of harmful/poisonous gases to the environment leads human beings and other living things to inhale these harmful gases; leading to rampant, unexplainable diseases that affect a human being of the 21st century. Opportunities to viability (evidences) Recycling of waste products plays an instrumental role in reducing environmental harm. Most firms have been instructed and guided to ensure the quality of their products and safe delivery of refreshment for billions of people both across the globe every single day. As they strive to improve their packaging, they aim to balance environmental concerns with the need to protect product quality and manufacturing as well as the need to transport products economically. U.S. firms’ approach is increasingly informed by an understanding of particular packaging needs in different locations around the world and by the impacts of various packages over their entire lifecycle. Proper and safe disposal is needed to reduce the effects of garbage. That sustainable development is still chasing a divergent set of policy goals, at the international level at least; it is highly evident in the more recent academic literature (Brown, 2012, p. 236). Q4. Ethical and sustainable response to the problems inherent in this issue Identification of the problems Substantial amounts of both trash and used waster products supposed to be disposed are transported to other regions far away from urban areas. Incineration is often not a common type of disposal for wastes, and it has been found out that the amount of waste products being incinerated is unknown. Posen (2003, p. 6) advocates that incineration should not be championed as a viable option for waste product disposal, because of its potential contribution to both health pollution and adverse health impacts (Kim, 2014, p. 5). Currently, out of the many options available, recycling of plastic bottles is perceived to be the most suitable management alternative and it is proposed in many nations globally. According to data provided by Gregory, Treverton, & Nemeth (2012, p. 4), in America about 50% of used PET bottles are collected for recycling. Used PET bottles recycling rate in America is close to 30% (2010 data). The majority of used water products are often down-cycled in a process where a recyclable material is transformed into a second, non-recyclable material. Owen posits that recycling of used plastic bottled water consumes a lot of energy in the process (2001, p. 5). In the face of all these dynamics, there is need to initiate proper sustainable development measures. In the words of Marchetti (2013, p. 56), ‘sustainable development refers to development that meets the aspirations and needs of the present without compromising the capability of future generations to cater for their own needs.’ Sustainable development is essentially concerned with sustaining finite resources in order to provide for the needs of future generations. Sustainability for earth resources will entail reservation of resources by focusing entirely on the present generations’ responsibility to generate, improve, and maintain planetary resources for use by future generations. In the past decade, sustainability for humanity was not taken seriously. Present global developments are currently being made to focus on sustainability as an explicit goal. Conclusion Legislative bans that have been imposed lately to safeguard against safe disposal of wastes are bound to decrease the amount of waste that gets tossed aside, the amount of plastic that gets used, as well as the amount of private and civic resources. It essentially decreases the entire carbon footprint of each individual who is in need of just a sip of water. Whereas the banning of improper resource management is the ideal way of eliminating unneeded waste in several landfills, ongoing recycling programs being undertaken are required to bring a considerable change (Tara, 2010, p. 11). Responsible government across the globe, working jointly with other concerned authorities, are committed to spreading the concern about the impact of poor waste disposal and sensitizing the public on alternatives. The capability to realize the waste and problems that this kind of practice could cause to the environment in the long run, some of the authorities such as National Environment Management Agency (NEMA) are currently spearheading recycling processes to make the world a better place.   Reference List Brown, Trevor. (2012). ‘Space and the Sea: Strategic Considerations for the Commons’, Astropolitics: The International Journal of Space Politics & Policy, 10.3, 234-247. Grenne, Owen. (2001). ‘Environmental issues’, in The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations, 2nd edn, ed. by John Baylis and Steve Smith (New York: Oxford University Press) Kim, Bo Min. (2014). ‘Governance of the Global Commons: The Deep Seabed, the Antarctic, Outer Space’, KIEP World Economic Update, 4(29), 1-8. Marchetti, Raffaele. (2013). ‘Modes of Governance for the Global Commons’, in Global Commons: threat or opportunity? Finmeccanica Research Department Occasional Paper series ed.by Claudio Catalano. Posen, Barry R. (2003) ‘Command of the Commons: The Military Foundation of U.S. Hegemony’, International Security, 28(1), 5-6. Tara Murphy. (2010) ‘Security Challenges in the 21st Century Global Commons’, Yale Journal of International Affairs, 5(2 ), 28-43 (p.28). Owen Greene. (2001). ‘Environmental issues’, in The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations, 2nd edn, ed. by John Baylis and Steve Smith (New York: Oxford University Press), p.395. Gregory F. Treverton, Erik Nemeth, Sinduja Srinivasan, Threats Without Threateners? Exploring Intersections of Threats to the Global Commons and National Security, (Santa Monica CA: RAND, 2012) p.4. Read More