CH 01
CH 01
CH 01
• The environment, and its benefits to individuals or groups, can be viewed and
justified from multiple perspectives. Placing a Value on the Environment.
• The value of the environment is based on four justifications:
i. Utilitarian
ii. Ecological
iii. Aesthetic
iv. Creative
v. Moral
A Utilitarian justification
– Sees some aspect of the environment as valuable because it benefits individuals
economically or is directly necessary to human survival
– For environmental conservation, it means that we should protect the
environment because doing so provides a direct economic benefit to people.
Example:
o Mangrove Swamps provide a nursery for shrimp that are the basis of the
livelihood for the shrimp fisherman.
o Conserving lions in Africa as part of tourism provides a livelihood for local people.
An Ecological justification
– An ecosystem is necessary for the survival of some species of interest to
us, or that the system itself provides some benefit.
Example:
o Mangrove Swamps provide habitat for marine fish, and although we do not
eat Mangrove Trees, we may eat the fish that depend on them.
o For example, we should protect Georgia’s coastal salt marshes because salt
marshes purify water, salt marshes are vital to the survival of many marine
fishes and salt marshes protect our coasts from storm surges.
An Aesthetic justification
– Appreciation of the beauty of nature. People use wilderness for recreation.
Our appreciation of the beauty of nature. We save nature because it makes
us feel good to see it.
– For conservation acknowledges that many people enjoy the outdoors and
do not want to live in a world without wilderness.
– One could also think of this as recreational, inspirational, or spiritual
(religious retreats) justification for conservation.
Example:
o White water rafting, fishing, camping and hiking
A Creative Justification
– Nature is an aid to human creativity
Example:
o Artists, poets and others find a source of their creativity in their contact
with nature
A Moral justification
– represents the belief that various aspects of the environment have a right
to exist and that it is our moral obligation to allow them to continue or help
them to persist.
– Environmental ethics (moral justification) asserts that other animals, plants,
and the elements (such as water, soil or air) are morally significant, and that
humans have responsibilities to act so that their needs are met too
Example:
o Species have a moral right to exist
Salt Marshes
Assignment 1
Fields Contributing To Environmental Science
Zoology
Botany
Microbiology
Geology
Paleontology
Engineering
Biochemistry
Geochemistry
Geography
Anthropology
Sociology
Ethics
Ecology
Economics
Political Science
Anthropology
Archaeology
Oceanography
Atmospheric Science