Doing Environmental Ethics

Doing Environmental Ethicsoffers a way to face our ecological crisis that draws on environmental science, economic theory, international law, and religious teachings, as well as philosophical arguments. It engages students in constructing ethical presumptions based on duty, character, relationships, and rights, and then tests these moral presumptions by predicting the likely consequences of acting on them. Students apply what they have learned to specific policy issues discussed in the final part of the book: sustainable consumption, environmental policy, clean air and water, agriculture, managing public lands, urban ecology, and climate change. Questions after each chapter and a worksheet aid readers in deciding how to live more responsibly as consumers and as citizens. The second edition has been updated throughout to reflect the latest developments in environmental ethics, including new coverage of sustainable practices of corporations, NGOs' environmental actions, and rainforest certification programs. This edition also incorporates more theory with new sections on social justice and environmental justice as well expanded coverage of ecofeminism. Revised study questions emphasize application and analysis, and new "Decisions" boxes, short exercises that allow students to evaluate current environmental issues, appear throughout the text.

Robert Traer holds a Ph.D. from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, a J.D. from the School of Law of the University of California at Davis, and a D.Min. from the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. He is a faculty member of the Dominican University of California. With Harlan Stelmach, he is coauthor of Doing Ethics in a Diverse World (Westview Press).