Page 154 - Environment: The Science Behind the Stories

feel short-term economic pressure to clear forest for agriculture
even though they may feel an ethical concern for the integrity of
the forest and its flora and fauna. Such trade-offs between ethi-
cal concerns and short-term economic benefits arise frequently
in today’s world.

Ethics and economics involve values

Environmental science entails a firm understanding of the natu-
ral sciences. To address environmental problems, however, we
also need to understand how people perceive, value, and relate to
their environment philosophically and pragmatically. Ethics and
economics are two very different disciplines, but each deals with
questions of what we value and how those values influence our (a) Zip-lining at a Costa Rican national park
decisions and actions. To find sustainable solutions to environ-
mental problems, we must aim to comprehend not only how nat-
ural systems work, but also how values shape human behavior.

Culture and worldview influence our decisions

Every action we take affects our environment. Whether we
are growing food, building homes, manufacturing products,
or fueling vehicles, we meet our needs by extracting resources
and altering our surroundings. In deciding how to manipulate
our environment to meet our needs, we rely on rational assess-
ments of costs and benefits, but our decisions are also influ-
enced by our culture and our worldview (FIguRE 6.2).
Culture can be defined as the ensemble of knowledge,
beliefs, values, and learned ways of life shared by a group (b) A pepper farmer makes a living off the land
of people. Culture, together with personal experience and
personal circumstance, influences each person’s perception FIguRE 6.2 Differences in culture, wealth, and personal
of the world and his or her place within it—the person’s circumstance may lead people to interact differently with
worldview. A worldview reflects beliefs about the meaning, the landscape. Zip-lining in Costa Rica’s rainforests
operation, and essence of the world. (a) provides recreation to visiting ecotourists and employment
People with different worldviews can study the same situ- to young Costa Ricans. Ecotourists may feel inspired by the
ation yet draw dramatically different conclusions. For example, majesty of the forest, and tourism workers may see economic
advantage in preserving forest. A Costa Rican farm worker
two Costa Rican ranchers owning identical landholdings may (b) needs agriculture that produces enough to live on, and
make different decisions about how to manage them. One might may favor clearing forest if the short-term economic benefits
opt to receive payments and conserve forest on his land, whereas outweigh the costs.
the other might opt to clear every hectare for cattle grazing.

Many factors shape our worldviews so on). You will also see that culture and worldviews play criti-
cal roles in such choices. Acquiring scientific understanding is
Many factors shape people’s worldviews and perception of vital in our search for sustainable solutions, but we also need CHAPTER 6 • Ethi C s, E C ono mi C s, A nd s ustA in A bl E dE v E lopm E nt
their environment. Religion and spiritual beliefs are among the to consider ethics and economics, because these disciplines
most influential. A person’s political ideology also may shape help us understand how and why we value the things we value.
his or her attitudes. For instance, one’s views on the proper role
of government may guide whether one wants government to
intervene in a market economy to protect environmental qual-
ity. Shared cultural experience is another factor. A community
may share a particular outlook if its members have lived through Environmental Ethics
similar experiences. Early European settlers in the Americas,
facing the struggles of frontier life, viewed their environment Ethics is a branch of philosophy that involves the study of
as a hostile force because inclement weather and wild animals good and bad, of right and wrong. The term ethics can also
frequently destroyed crops and killed livestock. Many people refer to the set of moral principles or values held by a person
still view nature as a hostile adversary to overcome. or a society. Ethicists help clarify how people judge right from
As you progress through your course and through your wrong by elucidating the criteria, standards, or rules that peo-
life, you will encounter scientific data on the environmental ple use in making these judgments. Such criteria are grounded
impacts of our choices (where to live, how to make a living, in values—for instance, promoting human welfare, maximiz-
what to eat, what to wear, how to spend our leisure time, and ing individual freedom, or minimizing pain and suffering. 153

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