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Coping with ecological catastrophe

Cairns, John
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Cairns, John
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Keywords
sustainability
environmental ethics
climate change
GE Subjects
Methods of ethics
Environmental ethics
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Climate Ethics
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E56.pdf
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http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12424/171858
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Abstract
ABSTRACT: The combination of human population growth and resource depletion makes catastrophes highly probable. No long-term solutions to the problems of humankind will be discovered unless sustainable use of the planet is achieved. The essential first step toward this goal is avoiding or coping with global catastrophes that result from crossing major ecological thresholds. Decreasing the number of global catastrophes will reduce the risks associated with destabilizing ecological systems, which could, in turn, destabilize societal systems. Many catastrophes will be local, regional, or national, but even these upheavals will have global consequences. Catastrophes will be the result of unsustainable practices and the misuse of technology. However, avoiding ecological catastrophes will depend on the development of eco-ethics, which is subject to progressive maturation, comments, and criticism. Some illustrative catastrophes have been selected to display some preliminary issues of eco-ethics. KEY WORDS: Ecological thresholds · Ecological catastrophes · Climate change · Eco-ethics · Overpopulation · Sustainability · Ecological deficits · Oceanic fisheries
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Article
Date
2004
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With permission of the license/copyright holder
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