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1.
Norton’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sustainability</Emphasis>: Some Comments on Risk and Sustainability
Paul B. Thompson 《Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics》2007,20(4):375-386
Bryan Norton’s 2005 book Sustainability describes a pragmatic approach to environmental philosophy that stresses philosophy’s role as one of mediating between scientific
and ordinary language. But on two topics, Norton’s approach is not pragmatic enough. In the case of his discussion of risk,
he accedes to a scientific notion that fails to acknowledge the way that ordinary usage of the word risk involves pragmatic
links to human action and moral responsibility. With respect to the word sustainability, his analysis fails to acknowledge
important scientific work that characterizes the functional integrity of system cycling, opting instead for usage grounded
either in economic accounting or in an even less substantive sense of a broad social movement for environmental improvement.
On each of these topics, adherence to the pragmatic orientation of Norton’s philosophy results in a different analysis of
the concepts in question. 相似文献
2.
Jennifer Welchman 《Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics》2007,20(4):353-363
Norton argues on pragmatic “Deweyan” grounds that we should cease to ask scientists for value neutral definitions of “sustainability,”
developed independently of moral and social values, to guide our environmental policy making debates. “Sustainability,” like
human “health,” is a normative concept from the start—one that cannot be meaningfully developed by scientists or economists
without input by all the stake holders affected. While I endorse Norton’s approach, I question his apparent presumption that
concern for sustainability for the future is at odds with and ought to trump concern for enhancement in the present of public opportunities to access the goods nature represents. I argue that the two are not separable in practice.
I argue for Passmore’s position that unless we take care to enhance equitable access to the good and services nature represents
in the present, we cannot succeed in promoting sustainability for future generations. 相似文献
3.
Gilbert Gude 《The Environmentalist》1984,4(1):47-50
Summary When people are in government, they are always involved in some type of information communication, but for more than five
years now I have been involved with the Congressional Research Service, CRS, an institution which is totally committed to
research and transfer of information to the United States Congress. The Congressional Research Service works exclusively for
congress—for al the members and all the committees; and CRS’s scope—information, reference and research—covers all subject
areas, including environmental issues, which are of congressional interest. The inquiries from members and staff—by phone,
letter or in person—exceed 400 000 a year, and the number of requests has increased at an average rate of almost 9 percent
each year over the past decade. Small wonder the service employs about 825 people, 550 of whom are professionals.
Gilbert Gude is Director of the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress, appointed by Librarian Daniel J.
Boorstin in January 1977. Mr Gude’s career in public service began in 1953 when he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates;
he served as a Member of the Maryland State Senate from 1962–1966, before being elected to the US House of Representatives
for the 8th District of Maryland in 1967. During his 10-year career in the House he served as ranking member of the Subcommittee
on Conservation, Energy and Natural Resources of the Government Operations Committee and ranking member of the Committee on
the District of Columbia; he was also a member of the Select Committee on Aging. Mr Gude’s legislative work concentrated in
the areas of urban and regional affairs and environmental issues. He was a key sponsor of the bill creating the C&O Canal
National Historical Park and developed a number of legislative initiatives involving the Potomac River. Mr Gude is Vice Chairman
of the Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America and a member of the National Academy of Public Administration.
He is a former member of Members of Congress for Peace Through Law and former chairman of the 1976 Anglo-American Conference
on Africa. Mr Gude received a B.S. from Cornell University in 1948 and an M.A. in public administration from George Washington
University in 1958. 相似文献
4.
P. S. Elder 《The Environmentalist》1982,2(1):55-71
Summary Assessing the desirability of large scale resource development is an extremely complicated process. In the past, the presumption
has been that economic criteria were decisive. Lately, however, we have accepted the idea that social and environmental factors
will affect the design and procedures of development, and, in extreme cases, may even indicate the abandonment of a project.
Public input and formal environmental and social impact assessment have been accepted in principle, and the challenge is to
incorporate them within an orderly and expeditious governmental decision process.
This is a case study of such a process for Esso Resources Canada Limited's proposed heavy oil project at Cold Lake, Alberta,
Canada.
P. S. Elder was Gold Medallist and Law Review Editor upon graduating from the Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia
(1965). Following his call to the Bar and graduate work at the University of London (London School of Economics), he was an
aide to various Canadian federal cabinet ministers (1967–70) and taught law at the University of Western Ontario (1970–73).
In 1973 Professor Elder joined the Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada where he teaches
legally related subjects. He has written widely in environmental law and policy, and public participation.
In his free time Elder engages in municipal and provincial politics 相似文献
5.
Ellen-Marie Forsberg 《Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics》2007,20(5):455-468
The ethical matrix approach was developed by Prof Ben Mepham and his colleagues at the University of Nottingham in the early
1990s. Since then the approach has received increasing attention and has been used by several researchers in different projects
related to assessing ethical impacts of different food production technologies and other policy options of societal concern.
The ethical matrix is sometimes understood simply as a checklist of ethical concerns, but might also be seen as a guide to
coming to conclusions on moral questions. The problem I discuss in this paper relates to how using the ethical matrix method
as a decision guide can be combined with respecting pluralism. The aim of the paper is to suggest a framework making it possible
to – at the same time – enhance public justification of judgments and respect pluralism. I argue that pluralism is fundamental
to the ethical matrix approach; I distinguish between intuitionist principled pluralism and societal value pluralism; and I show how both kinds of pluralism imply restrictions on how conclusions can be made. No substantive moral decision
principles can be allowed. Still, I argue, decision principles of a more epistemological or procedural character can be acceptable
even within pluralism. The pragmatist principle of inquiry is defended as an account of moral problem solving compatible with
both principled pluralism and value pluralism. When an ethical matrix is used within such a participatory inquiry process
substantive conclusions can be drawn. 相似文献
6.
Kimberly K. Smith 《Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics》2009,22(3):241-256
Elizabeth Anderson’s “pluralist–expressivist” value theory, an alternative to the understanding of value and rationality underlying
the “rational actor” model of human behavior, provides rich resources for addressing questions of environmental and animal
ethics. It is particularly well-suited to help us think about the ethics of commodification, as I demonstrate in this critique
of the pet trade. I argue that Anderson’s approach identifies the proper grounds for criticizing the commodification of animals,
and directs our attention to the importance of maintaining social practices and institutions that respect the social meanings of animals. Her theory alone, however, does not adequately address the role of the state in this project. Drawing on social
contract theory to fill this gap, I conclude that the state’s role in regulating the pet trade should be limited to ensuring
the welfare of animals in the stream of commerce, not prohibiting their mass marketing altogether. 相似文献
7.
Large-scale public infrastructure projects have featured in China’s modernization course since the early 1980s. During the
early stages of China’s rapid economic development, public attention focused on the economic and social impact of high-profile
construction projects. In recent years, however, we have seen a shift in public concern toward the environmental and ecological
effects of such projects, and today governments are required to provide valid environmental impact assessments prior to allowing
large-scale construction. The official requirement for the monitoring of environmental conditions has led to an increased
number of debates in recent years regarding the effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and Governmental
Environmental Audits (GEAs) as environmental safeguards in instances of large-scale construction. Although EIA and GEA are
conducted by different institutions and have different goals and enforcement potential, these two practices can be closely
related in terms of methodology. This article cites the construction of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway as an instance in which
EIA and GEA offer complementary approaches to environmental impact management. This study concludes that the GEA approach
can serve as an effective follow-up to the EIA and establishes that the EIA lays a base for conducting future GEAs. The relationship
that emerges through a study of the Railway’s construction calls for more deliberate institutional arrangements and cooperation
if the two practices are to be used in concert to optimal effect. 相似文献
8.
This article critically reviews the evolution of urban environmental management in Shanghai since 1978. Established in a transitional
postsocialist economy and shaped by a spectacular urban redevelopment process, the current environmental management framework
of Shanghai has succeeded in mitigating major industrial pollution and improving urban amenities with unprecedented pace and
magnitude. However, it generally failed to take social equity and environmental justice issues into consideration. Based on
Haughton’s models of sustainable urban development, this article proposes four priorities and five principles within the framework
of a fair shares cities model for the future environmental management of Shanghai and briefly discusses their policy implications
and implementation issues. The authors argue that Haughton’s approach is relevant to Shanghai’s case because the essence of
his argument—the multidimensional equity principles—is the core of the concept of sustainable development. 相似文献
9.
Bryan G. Norton 《Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics》2012,25(4):447-465
The revelatory paper, “Dilemmas in the General Theory of Planning,” by Rittel and Webber (Policy Sci 4:155–169, 1973) has had great impact because it provides one example of an emergent consensus across many disciplines. Many “problems,” as addressed in real-world situations, involve elements that exceed the complexity of any known or hoped-for model, or are “wicked.” Many who encounter this work for the first time find that their concept of wicked problems aptly describes many environmental disputes. For those frustrated with the lack of progress in many areas of environmental protection, Rittel and Webber’s work suggested a powerful explanatory hypothesis: Complex environmental problems cannot be comprehended within any of the accepted disciplinary models available in the academy or in discourses on public interest and policy. What should we conclude about the future of social improvements, and about the possibilities for rational discourse leading to cooperative action, with respect to this huge number of pressing public, environmental problems? Can we find ways to address environmental problems that improves the ability of communities to respond creatively and rationally to them? I will argue that, while the Rittel-Webber critique requires us to abandon many of the assumptions associated with a positivistic view of science and its applications to policy analysis, it also points to a more productive direction for the future of policy analysis. I will introduce “boundary critique,” developed within Critical Systems Theory (CST), an approach that offers some reason for optimism in dealing with some aspects of wickedness. 相似文献
10.
Investigation into local peoples’ perceptions can produce useful information that could be incorporated into the decision-making
process to help resolve environmental problems. Within the arena of land degradation, a number of studies have also been conducted
to explore local peoples’ views of the problem. However, the perceptions of land-degrading practices of the general public
have so far not been actively solicited. This study aimed to contribute to this area of research by adopting the psychometric
scaling technique to empirically explore the lay public’s ecological risk perceptions of land-degrading activities in Minqin
County in Gansu Province, northern China. The primary data were collected via a questionnaire survey (n = 1,138) administered between 14 and 31 December 2002. The major findings of the survey were: (1) Respondents perceived the
ecological risks posed by different land-degrading activities to be different. (2) There was a considerable incongruence in
the way in which mining of groundwater was conceived by experts and laymen, respectively. (3) Respondents were pretty unsure
of expert knowledge. (4) Respondents’ ecological risk perceptions were significantly affected by their personal attributes.
As far as the policy implications of these findings are concerned, this study accentuates that we must be aware of, and involved
in, the environmental perceptions of the lay public in order to succeed in guiding any human-environment tensions along more
sustainable trajectories and navigating the transition to sustainability. 相似文献
11.
Forest certification is a mechanism involving the regulation of trade of forest products in order to protect forest resources
and improve forest management. Although China had a late start in adopting this process, the country has made good progress
in recent years. As of July 31, 2009, 17 forest management enterprises and more than one million hectares of forests in China
have been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Several major factors affect forest certification in China. The
first set is institutional in nature. Forest management in China is based on centralized national plans and therefore lacks
flexibility. A second factor is public awareness. The importance and value of forest certification are not widely understood
and thus consumers do not make informed choices regarding certified forest products. The third major factor is the cost of
certification. Together these factors have constrained the development of China’s forest certification efforts. However, the
process does have great potential. According to preliminary calculations, if 50% of China’s commercial forests were certified,
the economic cost of forest certification would range from US$0.66–86.63 million while the economic benefits for the forestry
business sector could exceed US$0.66–86.63 million while the economic benefits for the forestry
business sector could exceed US150 million. With continuing progress in forest management practices and the development of
international trade in forest products, it becomes important to improve the forest certification process in China. This can
be achieved by improving the forest management system, constructing and perfecting market access mechanisms for certificated
forest products, and increasing public awareness of environmental protection, forest certification, and their interrelationship. 相似文献
12.
John F. Disinger 《The Environmentalist》1984,4(2):109-112
Summary It appears that Harvey’s mediating definition and structural model have in fact subsumed the substance of earlier definitions
and models; it also appears that no definitions or models proposed since the completion of his work in 1976 are at variance.
The same might also be said about Lucas’ in, about, and for analysis, and to Johnson’s definitional study. But these works
do clearly lie ‘mostly unattended by professionals’ (Hungerfordet al., 1983).
The basic problem apparently is one of communication—either those concerned are not aware of what each other are saying, or
they choose not to acknowledge, discuss, or debate it, for what they must assume are sufficient reasons. A number of apparently
viable definitions and models have been advanced; Harvey has provided an analysis of most, and proposed a middle ground. A
basis for resolution exists. 相似文献
13.
The Lyon-Turin High-Speed Rail: The Public Debate and Perception of Environmental Risk in Susa Valley,Italy 总被引:1,自引:1,他引:0
When the construction of the Lyon-Turin segment of the new European high-speed rail network was first publicly announced at
the beginning of the 1990s, it immediately found fierce opposition from the inhabitants of Susa Valley, Italy, one of the
areas to be cut across by such infrastructure. At issue were the project’s potential environmental impact and its consequences
on public health. This study intends to clarify environmental risk perception and public debate between the national government,
local advocacy groups, and the inhabitants of Susa Valley. Two major phases of public reaction were identified: (1) an initial
rebellious period of no real dialog among the project’s major stakeholders (exemplified by the popular “No TAV” [No High Speed
Train] movement), followed by (2) a yielding period of intense multilateral negotiations centered on the activities of the
“Lyon-Turin Environmental Observatory.” The results of a qualitative cross analysis of the residents’ perception of the proposed
high-speed rail revealed that public acceptance of risk in Susa Valley was influenced by the characteristics of hazards perceived
by the residents and by the communicative approach used by the project’s various stakeholders. It also emerged that early
dialog among all the parties involved was critical in forming a personal viewpoint on risk, which, once consolidated, defied
new information and perspectives. Likely, a greater and earlier care taken by the other stakeholders to inform and consult
the local population about the railway would have greatly eased the public debate. 相似文献
14.
The economic policy needs to pay increasingly more attention to the environmental issues, which requires the development of
methodologies able to incorporate environmental, as well as macroeconomic, goals in the design of public policies. Starting
from this observation, this article proposes a methodology based upon a Simonian satisficing logic made operational with the
help of goal programming (GP) models, to address the joint design of macroeconomic and environmental policies. The methodology
is applied to the Spanish economy, where a joint policy is elicited, taking into consideration macroeconomic goals (economic
growth, inflation, unemployment, public deficit) and environmental goals (CO2, NO
x
and SO
x
emissions) within the context of a computable general equilibrium model. The results show how the government can “fine-tune”
its policy according to different criteria using GP models. The resulting policies aggregate the environmental and the economic
goals in different ways: maximum aggregate performance, maximum balance and a lexicographic hierarchy of the goals. 相似文献
15.
Raymond Anthony 《Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics》2012,25(2):123-144
Agricultural technologies are non-neutral and ethical challenges are posed by these technologies themselves. The technologies
we use or endorse are embedded with values and norms and reflect the shape of our moral character. They can literally make
us better or worse consumers and/or people. Looking back, when the world’s developed nations welcomed and steadily embraced
industrialization as the dominant paradigm for agriculture a half century or so ago, they inadvertently championed a philosophy
of technology that promotes an insular human-centricism, despite its laudable intent to ensure food security and advance human
flourishing. The dominant philosophy of technology has also seeded particular ethical consequences that plague the well-being
of human beings, the planet, and farmed animals. After revisiting some fundamental questions regarding the complex ways in
which technology as agent shapes our lives and choices and relegates food and farmed constituents into technological artifacts or commodities, I argue
that we should accord an environmental virtue ethic of care—understood as caretaking—a central place in developing a more
conscientious philosophy of technology that aims at sustainability, fairness, and humaneness in animal agriculture. While
technology shapes society, it also is socially shaped and an environmental virtue ethic of care (EVEC) as an alternative design
philosophy has the tools to help us take a much overdue inventory of ourselves and our relationships with the nonhuman world.
It can help us to expose the ways in which technology hinders critical reflection of its capacity to alter communities and
values, to come to terms with why we may be, in general, disengaged from critical ethical analysis of contemporary agriculture
and to consider the moral shape and trajectory and the sustainability of our food production systems going into the future.
I end by outlining particular virtues associated with the ethic of care discussed here and consider some likely implications
for consumers and industry technocrats as they relate to farming animals. 相似文献
16.
Emmanuel K. Yiridoe 《Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics》2000,13(1-2):101-120
Although various studies have shown that farmers believe there is the need for a producer-led initiative to address the environmental
problems from agriculture, farmers in several Canadian provinces have been reluctant to widely participate in Environmental
Farm Plan (EFP) programs. Few studies have examined the key issues associated with adopting EFP programs based on farmers’,
as opposed to policy makers’, perspectives on why producers are reluctant to participate in the program. A study adapting
Van Raaij’s (1981) conceptual model of the decision-making environment of the firm, and prospect theory on value functions
associated with the gains and losses from risky choices can be used to characterize how farmers perceive potential risks in
environmental farm planning. This framework can be used to assert that farmers are concerned about risks of public disclosure
of potentially incriminating environmental information from farms because the EFP program requirements for identification
and extensive documentation of farm information is perceived by farmers as facilitating the accessibility of environmental
information to the public, and public investigative efforts. Although the EFP program does not explicitly generate information
about the environmental conditions of a farm nor the disclosure of such information to the public, it creates the possibility
of generating and divulging potentially incriminating information that the farmer may want to treat as confidential. Yet,
alone, these risks of public disclosure concerns should not prevent farmers from participating in the EFP. Awareness of and
participation in environmental farm planning can be increased if farmers and policy makers understand what the risks are,
and how they arise. Aspects of the EFP process that have the potential to generate risk of public disclosure concerns relate
to farm reviews, documentation and record keeping, and corrective action plans. There are legal and policy instruments that
can offer various forms of protection and help minimize such risks, and these need to be assessed. 相似文献
17.
The European Union’s policies regarding genetically modified food (GMF hereafter) are based on the precautionary principle
and the requirement of respecting consumers’ autonomy. We ask whether the requirement of respecting consumers’ autonomy regarding
GMF implies that both GMF and non-GMF products should be available in the market. According to one line of thought, consumers’
choices may be autonomous even when the both types of products are not available. A food market with only GMF or only non-GMF
products does not strictly speaking compel people to buy the type of products available, and a possibility to refuse to buy
is enough for consumers’ choice to be autonomous. According to another line of thought, the unavailability of GMF or non-GMF
products restricts the autonomy of those consumers who are unwilling to use the only type of products (GMF or non-GMF) available
in the market. From the point of view of autonomy, a food market with only GMF or only non-GMF products does not offer enough
alternatives for consumers. Moreover, the whole point of the European Union’s requirement of respecting consumers’ autonomy
is to enable an autonomous choice between GMF and non-GMF—not just to give a possibility to refrain from buying. However,
this does not imply that producers, processors, wholesalers, retailers, or public authorities have a moral duty to see that
there are both GMF and non-GMF products available in the market. The requirement to respect autonomy is prima facie in nature, and in the context of GMF, other prima facie requirements are often stronger and override it. Not only the consumers’ autonomy of choice but also environmental values,
other people’s well-being, and the autonomous choice of farmers, retailers, and other relevant parties should be respected.
Thus, according to the both lines of thought, the requirement to respect consumers’ autonomy of choice does not imply that
there should be both GMF and non-GMF products available in the market. 相似文献
18.
Philip J. Cafaro Richard B. Primack Robert L. Zimdahl 《Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics》2006,19(6):541-561
Americans’ excessive consumption of food harms their health and quality of life and also causes direct and indirect environmental degradation, through habitat loss and increased pollution from agricultural fertilizers and pesticides. We show here that reducing food consumption (and eating less meat) could improve Americans’ health and well-being while facilitating environmental benefits ranging from establishing new national parks and protected areas to allowing more earth-friendly farming and ranching techniques. We conclude by considering various public policy initiatives to lower per capita caloric intake and excessive meat consumption, and to translate this temperate behavior into substantial environmental protection. 相似文献
19.
Sagoff [Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 18 (2005), 215–236] argues, against growing empirical evidence, that major environmental impacts of non-native species are
unproven. However, many such impacts, including extinctions of both island and continental species, have both been demonstrated
and judged by the public to be harmful. Although more public attention has been focused on non-native animals than non-native
plants, the latter more often cause ecosystem-wide impacts. Increased regulation of introduction of non-native species is,
therefore, warranted, and, contra Sagoff’s assertions, invasion biologists have recently developed methods that greatly aid prediction of which introduced
species will harm the environment and thus enable more efficient regulation. The fact that introduced species may increase
local biodiversity in certain instances has not been shown to result in desired changes in ecosystem function. In other locales,
they decrease biodiversity, as they do globally. 相似文献
20.
There is a “revolving door” between federal agencies and the industries regulated by them. Often, at the end of their industry
tenure, key industry personnel seek employment in government regulatory entities and vice versa. The flow of workers between
the two sectors could bring about good. Industry veterans might have specialized knowledge that could be useful to regulatory
bodies and former government employees could help businesses become and remain compliant with regulations. But the “revolving
door” also poses at least three ethical and policy challenges that have to do with public trust and fair representation. First,
the presence of former key industry personnel on review boards could adversely impact the public’s confidence in regulatory
decisions about new technology products, including agrifood biotechnologies. Second, the ‘‘revolving door’’ may result in
policy decisions about technologies that are biased in favor of industry interests. And third, the ‘‘revolving door’’ virtually
guarantees industry a voice in the policy-making process, even though other stakeholders have no assurance that their concerns
will be addressed by regulatory agencies. We believe these three problems indicate a failure of regulatory review for new
technologies. The review process lacks credibility because, at the very least, it is procedurally biased in favor of industry
interests. We argue that prohibiting the flow of personnel between regulatory agencies and industry would not be a satisfactory
solution to the three problems of public trust and just representation. To address them, regulatory entities must reject the
traditional notion of objectivity. Instead they should adopt the conception of objectivity developed by Sandra Harding and
re-configure their regulatory review on the basis of it. That will ensure that a heterogeneous group of stakeholders is at
the decision-making table. The fair representation of interests of different constituencies in the review process could do
much to inspire warranted public confidence in regulatory protocols and decisions. 相似文献