Why businessmen should be honest: The argument from rational egoism

You are a business owner who has just taken out a loan to manufacture a new high technology product, for which you have lucrative orders. Although you thought you could make the product to specifications, you have not been able to do so. You will not be able to meet the delivery deadline and cash is running short — so short that it is threatening the viability of the rest of your business. Things are in a critical state, but you desperately want the product to succeed. You have several options. You could tell the customers about your problems, ask for a postponement of the deadline, and hire an outside consultant to help with the product. But this will anger your customers, take time and not solve your cash flow problem. You could also get another bank loan by telling the bank's president that you need it to expand an old line of business. You know he will refuse more money for the new product, but he does not have to be told how you will actually use the money. The loan will take a while to process but you need money now. You can get it from your children's college savings accounts; it would upset your wife (who helped fund the accounts) and the kids, but you do not have to tell them and can repay later. You can also borrow money from the employee pension fund. The employees do not have to know. Finally, you can ship the products even though they do not meet specs, and hope that nobody finds out right away. You can use customers' payment to pay back the various loans and worry about fixing the product later. What should you do? Should you take the honest route or the dishonest route? Clearly, you have to make a moral choice, but you can only do so by reference to a moral code. In this essay we will address three questions: (1) What are the main moral codes that have been accepted throughout the centuries and what are their views on honesty? (2) Why are they inadequate and what would be a rational moral code and its argument for honesty? (3) How would one apply it to the issue of businessmen being honest?     

Suitability of passive sampling for the monitoring of pharmaceuticals in Finnish surface waters

The occurrence of five pharmaceuticals, consisting of four anti-inflammatory and one antiepileptic drug, was studied by passive sampling and grab sampling in northern Lake Päijänne and River Vantaa. The passive sampling was performed by using Chemcatcher® sampler with a SDB-RPS Empore disk as a receiving phase. In Lake Päijänne, the sampling was conducted during summer 2013 at four locations near the discharge point of a wastewater treatment plant and in the years 2013 and 2015 at four locations along River Vantaa. The samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. The concentrations of carbamazepine, diclofenac, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, and naproxen in Lake Päijänne determined by passive sampling ranged between 1.4–2.9 ng L^?1, 15–35 ng L^?1, 13–31 ng L^?1, 16–27 ng L^?1, and 3.3–32 ng L^?1, respectively. Similarly, the results in River Vantaa ranged between 1.2–40 ng L^?1, 15–65 ng L^?1, 13–33 ng L^?1, 16–31 ng L^?1, and 3.3–6.4 ng L^?1. The results suggest that the Chemcatcher passive samplers are suitable for detecting pharmaceuticals in lake and river waters.     

Variable emissions of microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs) from root-associated fungi isolated from Scots pine

Soils emit a large variety of volatile organic compounds. In natural ecosystems, measurements of microbial volatile organic compound (MVOC) exchange rates between soil and atmosphere are difficult due to e.g. the spatial heterogeneity of the belowground organisms, and due to the many potential sources for the same compounds. We measured in laboratory conditions the MVOC emission rates and spectra of eight typical fungi occurring in boreal forest soils. The studied species are decomposers (Gymnopilus penetrans, Ophiostoma abietinum), ectomycorrhizal (Cenococcum geophilum, Piloderma olivaceum, Suillus variegatus, Tomentellopsis submollis) and endophytic fungi (Meliniomyces variabilis, Phialocephala fortinii). The MVOC emissions contained altogether 21 known and 6 unidentified compounds whose emission rates were >0.1 μg g(DW)^?1 h^?1. The most abundant compounds were the short-chain carbonyl compounds (acetone and acetaldehyde). The greatest carbonyl emissions were measured from P. olivaceum (1.9 mg acetone g(DW)^?1 h^?1) and P. fortinii (0.114 mg acetaldehyde g(DW)^?1 h^?1). Terpenoid emissions (isoprene, mono- and sesquiterpenes) were detected from some fungal cultures, but in relatively small amounts. We conclude that soil micro-organisms can potentially be responsible for significant emissions of volatiles, especially short-chain oxygenated compounds, to the below-canopy atmosphere.     

Application of arsenic baselines in the assessment of soil contamination in Finland

In Finland, a new Government Decree on the Assessment of Soil Contamination and Remediation Needs (214/2007) came into force on 1 June 2007. According to the Decree, natural baseline concentration levels should be taken into account when assessing potential soil contamination and the need for remediation. This applies particularly in the case of toxic metallic elements, since baseline concentrations may naturally be rather high. The new decree prescribes soil screening values for 52 substances or groups of substances. The natural baseline concentrations have been taken into account in the definition of the screening values for inorganic pollutants. The Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) carried out a nation-wide geochemical mapping of till on a reconnaissance scale in 1983 and on a regional scale during 1984–1992. These surveys have provided information on natural elemental distribution in subsoils of the glacial till. However, some important trace elements in regional mapping such as arsenic are missing from the analysis, and subsoil samples do not reflect the diffuse anthropogenic input. Thus, GTK has continued the survey work by determining geochemical baselines around suburban areas. Samples have been taken from humus, topsoil and subsoil layers, and the soil parent material has covered sandy soils, glacial tills and fine-grained sediments. According to the studies, a regional difference in the levels of arsenic and some other trace elements can be clearly seen, especially in minerogenic soils. The results illustrate the importance of information on regional baseline concentrations while assessing potential soil contamination.     

Contribution of particulate phosphorus to runoff phosphorus bioavailability

Runoff P associated with eroded soil is partly solubilized in receiving waters and contributes to eutrophication, but the significance of particulate phosphorus (PP) in the eutrophying P load is debatable. We assessed losses of bioavailable P fractions in field runoff from fine-textured soils (Cryaquepts). Surface runoff at four sites and drain-flow at two of them was sampled. In addition to dissolved molybdate-reactive phosphorus (DRP) losses, two estimates of bioavailable PP losses were made: (i) desorbable PP, assessed by anion exchange resin-extraction (AER-PP) and (ii) redox-sensitive PP, assessed by extraction with bicarbonate and dithionite (BD-PP). Annual losses of BD-PP and AER-PP were derived from the relationships (R2 = 0.77-0.96) between PP and these P forms. Losses of BD-PP in surface runoff (94-1340 g ha(-1)) were typically threefold to fivefold those of DRP (29-510 kg ha(-1)) or AER-PP (13-270 g ha(-1)). Where monitored, drainflow P losses were substantial, at one of the sites even far greater than those via the surface pathway. Typical runoff DRP concentration at the site with the highest Olsen-P status (69-82 mg kg(-1)) was about 10-fold that at the site with the lowest Olsen P (31-45 mg kg(-1)), whereas the difference in AER-PP per mass unit of sediment was only threefold, and that of BD-PP 2.5-fold. Bioavailable P losses were greatly influenced by PP runoff, especially so on soils with a moderate P status that produced runoff with a relatively low DRP concentration.     

Improving rigor in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon source fingerprinting

Source identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental samples has advanced greatly in the last 20 years and continues to advance. To realize potential benefits and avoid possible pitfalls, however, great care is needed as one applies published diagnostic tools to data sets. This commentary reflects some recent observations, concerns, and recommendations.     

Developing environmental legislation to promote recycling of industrial by-products – An endless story?

In Finland during the last few decades, mineral industrial residues (by-products) have been used in earthworks, but only to a limited extent relative to their total volume. The most important barrier to efficient recycling of by-products has been the need for a site-specific environmental permit, since the permit process tends to be time-consuming and laborious. In 2000 a working group was set up to prepare national legislation, i.e., a Government decree, in order to promote the use of by-products in earth construction. The aim was to exempt certain residues from the environmental permit obligation. At the first stage, the working group determined specific decision criteria for the selection of the by-products to be included. For the selected residues, the acceptable construction applications and material-specific environmental standards were defined. Various difficulties were encountered during the preparation of the decree. These were mainly caused by the lack of data and by some ongoing changes in environmental regulations. Furthermore, the draft decree received several critical and partly contradictory comments and proposals for amendments. This resulted in considerable delay in implementation.     

Organohalogen pollutants in herring from the northern Baltic Sea: concentrations, congener profiles and explanatory factors

Organohalogen contaminants were investigated in Baltic herring caught from three catchment areas in the Baltic Sea, off the coasts of Finland. Pools of both small and large herring were analysed for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans, naphthalenes, camphenes (toxaphene), polybrominated diphenyl ethers and the pesticide DDT and its metabolites. PCB concentrations per fresh weight in small herring were at the same level in all catchment areas, i.e. the Bothnian Bay, the Bothnian Sea and the Gulf of Finland, revealing no hot spots and reflecting most likely long term emissions and atmospheric deposition. Differences in the levels and/or congener profiles of other contaminants between catchment areas may be explained by point sources. Similar concentrations in small and large herring in the Gulf of Finland were possibly due to their common nutrition. In the other areas, differences between small and large herring most likely reflected their different food sources.