Schedule for Environmental Ethics, Hettinger, Fall 2007
Introduction
1. Aug 21: Class introduction, distribution of syllabus and schedule of assignments
How Serious Are Environmental Problems?
2. Aug 23: Meadows et al., “From Beyond the Limits” Text 80-91
“Is There an Environmental Crisis” Text 59-60
“Global Warming and Greenhouse Gases” Text 285
“Ozone Depletion and Greenhouse Gases” Text 519
“Overpopulation or Overconsumption?” Text 435-36
3. Aug 28: Julian Simon, “Natural Resources are Infinite” Text 60-65
(For Julian Simon’s home page and obituary: https://www.juliansimon.com/)
Ron Arnold, "Philosophical Father of Wise Use Movement" E-reserves 1-2
(For Arnold’s Center for Defense of Free Enterprise, see https://www.cdfe.org/ )
“Wise Use” Text 362-363
Anthropocentric Environmental Ethics
4. Aug 30: William Baxter, “The Case for Optimal Pollution” Text 274-278
5. Sept 4: Peter Wenz, “Just Garbage,” Text 449-456
Environmental Ethics and Animals (Sentiocentrism)
6. Sept 6:Video: “The Witness” (43 minutes)
7. Sept 11: Peter Singer, “All Animals are Equal” Text 187-195
(Singer’s page: https://www.princeton.edu/~psinger/)
8. Sept 13: Oral Presentations (1) on Human Uses of Animals
a. “Factory Farms” Text 215 and Joby Warrick, “'They Die Piece by Piece'; In Overtaxed Plants, Humane Treatment of Cattle Is Often a Battle Lost,” Washington Post (4/10/01, p. A1) E-reserves 3-6
b. S. Waxman, "Livid Over Liver," Washington Post (12/26/94: A32) E-reserves 7
c. David Barboza, “Animal Welfare’s Unexpected Allies” New York Times (6/25/03: C1) available on the web at : https://www.sentientbeings.org/media_purdue.htm E-reserves 8-10
d. Sierra, "Can You Eat Meat and Consider Yourself an Environmentalist?" Sierra Magazine (Nov/Dec 1991: 122) E-reserves 11
e. Animal Experimentation: “Animal Research -- LD50" Text 215 and “Head-Injury Research Using Monkeys” E-reserves 12
f. Hunting: Douglas Chadwick, “The American Hunting Myth” Orion Nature Quarterly 5,4 (Autumn 1986: 54-57) E-reserves 13-14
g. Circuses and Zoos: Stephen Bostock’s review “Animals in Circuses and Zoos: Chiron’s world?” E-reserves 15-16
For graphic pictures see: https://members.fortunecity.com/ricardo005/Ricardo4you/id5.html
https://www.factoryfarming.com/gallery/photos_video.htm
For Temple Grandin’s web site (how to improve animal slaughter): https://www.grandin.com/
9. Sept 18: Tom Regan, “The Case for Animal Rights,” Text 196-202 (for Regan’s animal rights archive, see https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/animalrights/)
10. Sept 20: Michael Pollan, “An Animal’s Place” New York Times 01/04/03, E-reserves 17-32 (On Web at https://www.nehbc.org/pollan2.html)
11. Sept 25: Carl Cohen, “The Case for the Use of Animals in Biomedical Research” Text 301-307
12. Sept 27: Dale Jamieson, “Zoos Revisited” (from Morality’s Progress, Oxford 2002: 176-89), E-reserves 48-54 (https://www.isse.ucar.edu/HP_dale.html)
a. Possible Video: Animals in Captivity: (1997 documentary; 60 min.)
13. Oct 2: Brian Luke, “A Critical Analysis of Hunter’s Ethics” Text 307-317
a. Possible Video: “Hunting in America”
14. Oct 4: Mark Sagoff, Animal Liberation and Environmental Ethics: Bad Marriage, Quick Divorce, Text p. 317-22 (Sagoff’s page: https://www.puaf.umd.edu/facstaff/faculty/sagoff.html)
15. Oct 9: Midterm Exam
Biocentric Individualism
16. Oct 11: Paul Taylor, “The Ethics of Respect for Nature” from Paul Taylor, "The Ethics of Respect for Nature" Environmental Ethics, Fall 1981, E-reserves 55-67
FALL BREAK (Oct 15/16)
17. Oct 18: Paul Taylor, “Priority Principles,” from Paul Taylor, Respect for Nature (Princeton Univ. Press, 1986), pp. 263-287, E-reserves 68-79
**Paper Proposal Due, Friday, Oct 19, 3pm, 14 Glebe Mailbox
Ecocentric Holism
18. Oct 23: Oral Presentations (2) on Ecocentric Holism vs. Individualism
a. Roger Caras, “There are Two Ways of Looking at it” (Orion Nature Quarterly, Autumn 1986) E-reserves 80-81
b. Restoring Lynx to Colorado, E-reserves 82 (if interested, see also https://wildlife.state.co.us/Research/Mammal/Lynx/)
c. “Breeding Endangered Species” Text 323 and “California Condor Restoration” E-reserves 83
d. “Species and Individuals” Text 216 and “Restoring Yellowstone Wolves” E-reserves 84
e. E. Converse, “Shooting wolves, restoring nature, and respect for individual animal life” E-reserves 85
f. “Harming Plentiful Species to Protect Endangered Species” E-reserves 86
g. “Goats versus Ecosystems” (from Frederik Kaufman, Foundations of Env. Philosophy, McGraw Hill 2003, p. 313), E-reserves 87
19. Oct 25: Aldo Leopold, “The Land Ethic” Text 218-227
(On Leopold: https://www.aldoleopold.org/about/leopold_bio.htm)
The Natural and Human Management
20. Oct 30: Oral Presentations (3) on the Meaning and Value of the Natural
a. Space billboards, spray painting roadside rocks, and engraving names onto sea turtles E-reserves 88-90
b. Bill McKibben’s “The End of Nature?”(from Holmes Rolston, Conserving Natural Value Columbia, 1994: 197), “More on McKibben,” and “Climbers clear trash from Everest” E-reserves 91-92
c. “Scientists study natural regulation of Yellowstone Park” E-reserves 93
d. “Saving a drowning buffalo or letting nature take its course?” (From Christopher Stone, Earth and Other Ethics Harper & Rowe, 1987: 155-56), E-reserves 94
e. Managing for naturalness in Yellowstone: “Yellowstone National Park considering removing ‘exotic’ mountain goats” and “Yellowstone wolves being trained to avoid cattle” E-reserves 95
f. Sierra, "To What Extent Should Humans Manage Nature If At All?” E-reserves 96
g. “Managing The Planet” (from Holmes Rolston, Conserving Natural Value, Columbia, 1994: 223-228) E-reserves 97-100
21. Nov 1: Robert Elliot, “Faking Nature,” Text 156-163
Wilderness
22. Nov 6: Oral Presentation (4) on Wilderness
a. “Yellowstone park to ban electronic wildlife-tracking gear” and “Should travelers in the wild be rescued? Even at public expense?” E-reserves 109
b. “Dams in Wild Areas: Hetch Hetchy and Glen Canyon” Text 392-393 and “Should Lake Powell be drained?” E-reserves 110
c. “Political ramifications of the definition of wilderness” E-reserves 111 “Boundary Waters Canoe Area” Text 393
d. Tom Kenworthy, “Blazing Utah Trails to Block a Washington Monument” (Washington Post 11/30/96: A1) E-reserves 112-113
e. “Cars in Yosemite” Text 393 and “Yosemite plans to take out human structures” E-reserves 114
f. What Should Be Allowed in National Parks? “Noise in National Parks” and “Gatekeepers in Yellowstone wear gas masks” E-reserves 155
g. Gabriel Escobar, “Rain Forest Gift Raises Suspicions” (from Washington Post 11/29/96: A1) and “No Secret to Saving the Rain Forests” E-reserves 116-119
23. Nov 8: Video: Oil and Ice
a. Sandra Hinchman, “Endangered Species, Endangered Culture: Native Resistance to Industrializing the Arctic” USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P-27. 2003 E-reserves 101-108 (available on the web at: https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_p027/rmrs_p027_077_084.pdf)
24. Nov 13: William Cronon, “The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature” Text 371-382 (Cronon’s page: https://history.wisc.edu/cronon/)
Property and Environment
25. Nov 15: Oral Presentations (5) on Owning Nature, Property Rights, and Takings
a. “Who Owns the Moon?” Text 362
b. Gary Spencer, “Public’s Right of Way on Rivers Expanded” (Washington Post 11/30/96: A1) and “Who Owns the Waterways?” E-reserves 120-122
c. “Whales for Sale” Text 135-136
d. Colette Baxley, "Law is costing landowners" and “Woodpecker clouds state forest’s future,,” Both Post and Courier (10/24/93): B1 and “Biologists to move endangered birds” Post and Courier (8/24/96): E-reserves 123-125
e. “Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council” Text 363 and “The Lucas Case: Supreme Court Decisions” (from Congaree Chronicle July/August 1992), E-reserves 126
f. “‘Takings’ and Property Rights” Text 136 “Property Rights and ‘Takings’ Legislation” E-reserves 127
**Paper due, Friday, Nov 16, 3pm, 14 Glebe Mailbox
26. Nov 20: E. Converse, “Who Owns Nature? Property Rights, Biodiversity, and the Land Ethic” E-reserves 128-39
Thanksgiving break
Radical Environmental Action
27. Nov 27: Oral Presentations (6) on Radical Environmentalism and Anti-Environmentalism
a. Peter Singer “Ends and Means” (from Practical Ethics, 2nd ed., Cambridge 1993: 289-292) E-reserves 140-143
b. South Carolina environmental civil disobedience: "South Carolina Man Joins Trees in Logging Protest” (Post and Courier 9/2/90) and “Shellfish Inquiry Scheduled” (Post and Courier 6/2/90), E-reserves 144-45
c. “Ecosaboteur known as ‘The Fox’ dies” E-reserves 198 and “Arson at Vail Ski Resort aimed at protecting lynx habitat” E-reserves 146-47
d. Paul Watson, “Raid on Reykjavik” and “Tora, Tora, Tora” (from Peter List, Radical Environmentalism, Wadsworth 1993, p. 172-77,4) E-reserves 148-150
e. Ed Marston, "Ecotage isn't a solution, it's part of the problem," High Country News (19 June 1989, p. 15) E-reserves 151
f. "Would You Ever Break The Law in Support of an Environmental Goal?" Sierra Magazine, E-reserves 152
Environmental Aesthetics
28. Nov 29: Holmes Rolston, “Does Aesthetic Appreciation of Landscapes Need to be Science-Based?” Text 164-171. (Rolston’s page: https://lamar.colostate.edu/~rolston/)
Final Exam