Major types of air pollution
- greenhouse gases
- ozone depleting gases
- acid rain
- airborne toxics
- common air pollutants
Major types of water pollution
- organic wastes
- inorganic pollutants
Major types of land pollution
- toxic substances
- solid wastes
- nuclear wastes
depletion of non-renewable resources
- extinction of species through destruction of natural habitats
- natural resources depleted at peaked rate, not exponential rate
- fossil fuel depletes slowly (some around 30, some 100+)
- mineral depletion (varying very long lengths)
What are the two sources of environmental threats?
- pollution- undesirable and unintended contamination of the environment by human activity
- resource depletion- the consumption of finite or scarce resources
ecological ethics
the ethical view that nonhuman parts of the environment deserve to be preserved for their own sake, regardless of whether this benefits human beings
“Last Man” argument
- asks us to imagine Earth’s last survivor
- we recognize it is wrong for the last man to kill everything else
environmental rights
- humans have a right to fulfill capacities in a livable environment essential to such fulfillment
- this right is violated by practices that destroy the environment
- such environmental rights can lead to absolute bans on pollution even when costs outweigh benefits
private cost
the cost an individual or company must pay out of its own pocket to engage in a particular economic activity
social cost
the private internal costs plus the external costs of engaging in a particular activity
ecological approach
non humans have intrinsic value
environmental rights approach
humans have a right to a livable environment
market approach
external costs violate utility, rights, and justice; therefore, they should not be internalized
internalization of the costs of pollution
absorption of external costs by the producer, who then takes them into account when determining the price of goods, but leads to environmental injustice because external costs of pollution are borne largely by those who do not enjoy a net benefit from the activity that produces the pollution
risks to comsumers
- dangerous and risky products
- deceptive selling practices
- poorly constructed products
- failure to honor warranties
- deceptive and unpleasant advertising
market approach to consumer protection
- safety is a commodity that should not be mandated by government
- safety should instead be provided through the market
- in a market, the price of safety if consumers demand it
- in a market, the price of safety and the amount sellers provide will be determined by the costs of providing it and the value consumers place on it
- government intervention in consumer markets makes them unfair, inefficient, and coercive
problems with market approach
- assumes markets are perfectly competitive
- buyers don’t have adequate information when products are complex and information is costly and hard to find
- buyers are often not rational about product risk or probabilities and are often inconsistent
- many consumer markets are monopolies or oligopolies
contract view of business firm’s duties to customer
the view that the relationship between a business firm and its customers is essentially a contractual relationship, and the firm’s moral duties to the customer are those created by the contractual relationship
moral duty to consumers under contractual theory
- duty to comply with express and implied claims of reliability, service life, maintainability, safety
- duty of disclosure
- duty not to misrepresent
- duty not to coerce
problems with contractual theory
- assumes makers of products deal directly with consumers but they do not
- manufacturer’s advertisements do form a kind of direct promise to consumers
- sellers can remove all their duties to buyers by getting them to agree to disclaimers of responsibility
- assumes consumer and seller meet as equals, but seller has more knowledge so consumers must rely on the seller
due care theory of firm’s duties to customer
the view that because manufacturers are in a more advantaged position and consumers must rely on them, they have a duty to take special care to ensure that consumers’ interests are not harmed by the products that they offer them
manufacturer’s duties in due care theory
- in designing product, research its risks in conditions of use, design it so risks are minimized, take capacities of users into account
- in production, use strict quality control to eliminate defects, ensure materials and manufacturing do not add defects to risk
- in marketing, provide users with information about using product safely, warn of all dangers, do not market to those unable to avoid risk
problems with due care theory
- does not limit what producer must spend to eliminate risk
- does not indicate who should pay for product injuries that cannot be foreseen
- puts manufacturer in paternalistic position of deciding
