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Environmental Ethics

is the part of environmental philosophy which considers extending the traditional boundaries of ethics from solely including humans to including the non-human world.

Marshall’s Categories of Environmental Ethics

Libertarian extension

echoes a civil liberty approach (i.e. a commitment to extend equal rights to all members of a community)

Ecologic extension

places emphasis not on human rights but on the recognition of the fundamental interdependence of all biological (and some abiological) entities and their essential diversity

Conservation ethics

is an extension of use-value into the non-human biological world

Ethical Decisions

* Should we continue to clear cut forests for the sake of human consumption?

* Why should we continue to propagate our species, and life itself? [1]

* Should we continue to make gasoline powered vehicles?

* What environmental obligations do we need to keep for future generations?[2][3]

* Is it right for humans to knowingly cause the extinction of a species for the convenience of humanity?

* How should we best use and conserve the space environment to secure and expand life? 

Why Environmental Ethics Important?

Global Warming

The recent increase in the world’s temperature that is believed to be caused by the increase of certain gases (such as carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere.

Environmental Issues

How ancient is ancient? The principal differences between 1000BC and 2000AD are possibly those of environment and technology. In the 3000 years that have elapsed since 1000BC, many things have been discovered, better understood or invented. Also the climate and landscape characteristics have altered as a result of human activity and non-human influences. In particular agriculture and deforestation have hugely changed the landscape. There has been little change in the type of problems faced by human society or their reaction to them. The Romans might not have had a word for...