Environmental Ethical Issues Essay

Contemporary environmental ethics emerged as an academic discipline in the 1970’s, as nature was the focus of much of the nineteenth and twentieth century philosophy. † In the past thirty years society started the questioning and thinking of the relationship of human beings with the natural environment. This reflected an already widespread perception in the 1960’s that the twentieth century faced a population time bomb and a serious environmental crisis. The commercial farming practices impacted environmental and public health concerns. The chemicals used in farming on the crops are harmful and could cause health problems for society. This is an ethical issue when they know that harm can humans but making a profit comes first. On the other hand we now know that they are harmful and the government is trying to regulate the chemicals used. I believe it works in some instances but not with everyone. Discovered in 1968, by Stanford ecologist, Paul Eehrlich, warned that the growth of human population and viability of planetary life support systems are in trouble. Pollution is due to the overuse of our capacities. The government attempts to reach a common ground and change how areas are populated. They regulate what we build and how far apart we can. They also make wildlife preserves to protect animals from extension. They also make sure that protected trees are left and they also keep certain animal species protected. They are seeing the over population and starting to see that we need to do to keep our population free of overpopulation. In the past our society either turned a deaf eye or did not exactly know the consequences of what was happening in society. If we keep the idea and ethics in the environment we will make a huge change in society. Animal rights activist are concerned about the rights of animals. I do believe that animals should have rights to but I also feel that in rats and other rodents we need testing to help save some lives. If we did not use them then we would not find cures for cancer, aids and many other life threatening diseases. If we do not use animals then what do we use? In the past this was not a concern because it did not raise such an environmental ethical issue. Today we know more and many more people are concerned of what happens to them and why we are using animals. I feel that we should use animals instead of humans. Humans are also used in studies and things happen to them just like animals. I feel that this is not ethical. I know that sometimes they use a placebo and then a drug that could save a persons life. What if you were the one that got the placebo? Would that make you and your family feel good knowing that something could have saved your life? I was personally involved in an environmental ethical issue where I lived. It was a highly published case that really caused a lot of controversy in the news and with society. I lived off of Marlee, which was about a mile away from the area of contamination. The government did know that the chemicals were being dumped and covered up. After many years of covering it up, it came out in the news. It kind of reminded me of the movie with Julia Roberts Erin Brocovitch. Everyone was located and had meetings to discuss the health problems that the people that grew up along there had been experiencing. Myself being one of them, having cysts on my ovaries at 9 years of age. I knew so many people who died from cancer at an early age. I was friends with many people who had miscarriages. It was very bad time in our lives and devastating that the people had to suffer because someone wanted to save money. I can promise you one thing that the company paid a lot more after the fact then they would have if they disposed of the waste properly. I know that the peoples life expectancy in the neighborhood I lived in I only about 50-60 which is rater young. If our society would all do there part and not expect that is will just change itself we will live in an environmental ethical society. The new saying is† think green† and I have even been making sure not to print something unless absolutely needed. It is going to take an effort on al people not just some to change our society and make it a more environmental ethical place to live. Ruggiero, V. R. , (2008). Thinking critically about ethical issues. McGraw Hill. Boston.