Bioethics for Scientists - The Use of the Rainforest as a Test Case in Environmental Ethics
John A. Bryant, Linda Baggott la Velle, John F. Searle
Ethical decision-making derives its force and receives its challenges from real examples. One such example is tropical rain forest, an important and complex ecosystem, high in biodiversity and a key carbon sink, that is being progressively destroyed. While we can theorise about intrinsic and instrumental value of the tropical rainforest, the discussion is brought sharply into focus by considering the positions of different groups of humans who claim to have legitimate interests in this ecosystem. This shows how many competing human interests there are, and how difficult it is to satisfy human needs and demands while according status to the non-human world. There are certain limited signs of possible hope for preservation of this and other ecosystems, mainly around schemes of exchange between poor countries and the very rich. Two examples are debt-for-nature swaps and carbon dioxide emissions trading, but such schemes must be underpinned by the principle of sustainability.
10.1002/0470846593.ch4
10.1002/0470846593.ch4
Volume:
4
Year:
2002
Edition:
1
Publisher:
Wiley
Language:
english
Pages:
372
ISBN 10:
0471495328
ISBN 13:
9780471495321
Series:
Bioethics for Scientists
File:
PDF, 94 KB
IPFS:
,
english, 2002