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Environmental ethicstor engineersbyM.A. Hersh

What ar e ethics?

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iii ;1 ~iowei-fd osition COslinjie sociely and d k c ttlie riatural eiiviinriiiierit.Tlic privileges resiiliirigh r i i pi-ofessiond poweralso bring etliical respoii-sibilities to snciety 3 s 3wholc, iii xltlition topt-iwitc dntius as profes-siuii,ils. Clioiccc aboirtwidc wngc of ctliical: id o thcr issiizs, i:elatirigto whose iritcruw t d -views of th e ippe orfuture sucietv t e c h l o -

tcCbIlolOhy ItlVolVcl 2

t1ology shou Id s c r w atid Burial ground for disposal of solid, low-level radioactivenuclear waste (Photo: USDept.of Energy/ScienceReference Library)lclgical devt lopinciw .;hoirld coiitr-ibiicc to sliqiiiig.Mirmkeii a i d innpproprixtc lccl-iriological chnizcc arcalso widely iiiiplicnred ir i tlie ei ivi lnr i i i iei imlprobleiiicll~lll7:lll~tyiiccs.

Tlicrc arc a n u m b u r of iiifforccnt ctliical thcorics cifappropriate pinfkssionnl a r i d personal coiidircr arid~ h c wni i be dividcd into virlur cclrics, i i ~ i l i ~ ~ i . i ; i r i i s i i ~ ,diity cthics arid rights ctliics"'.'*V IMtorinrzisni on lycotisicicrs conscqiiciiccs arid niaintaitis that actionssliould result in the gruatcst good for tlic iirost ~ iuup lv .111 coi i l rx t , B t y rdiia foncuscs 011 actions rathcr tl iaricoiicequriices and i s liasril o i i th e idei o f dut ies 0 1 -rcrpcmibilitics an d respect for p cr~ o i i s . i(q/zts d iksconsidors actions t o Iw wrong if tlicy violatc fiinda-mcntal i~ ior~iliglit< a n d ' t r i rt rrc ctjrics supports actionswhich Ixiild good uliaracrcr, limvcvcr LIICSL' cheoricsshould I x s c c i ~ s cotiiplcnicntarp to each other, rntherd ~ a n s ~ i i u i u a l l yexclusive nlrn-natives. 111 p:wi(:ular,rtilic u~ilitai. ia~iism*rid iict utiIitariariirmt arc c l c d yr:omplcriicntnry sinc c hrith n icam arid cnds, i.e. Lictioiistlicmsclvus aizri rlicir likcly consuqucnccs, ncud to bucoiisitlercd iu ordcr to ,act ctliic;illp. Utiltt;rri~iriis~n:iiiI I I ' divided Lirrlier inr:o positive ar id i iep t iveiitilicari;iirisrii". I'ocitive utili t ;~r-iariisii isssesccs riewtci.linologics iii crms of'thcir- t w i e f i t < apins t thc ricksand costs, a i approxl i whicli generally hvoiirs newtcchriologics and coixidcrs cht . risks oT, fool. instalice,dcstrirctioti of ccocystcnis to hc I V I~~OCU t i d distaiir.Nqytive ril . i l iarint~isiii is i i i s i dy coricerrierl witlioftsicttingor mitigntirig prcsciit or h t i i r c Iinriiis wd isiiiorc olwiously coiiiptti1,lcwid) eiiviroiiriiei~tnl thicsconsidein~ioris i i i id nlsrr with tlir precxitiiuinryprinciple 4 1 ~ ~ .

Ethical thco rics gciicrally rccognisc that iriclividuals

..MI S550000 a s well nspossili le loss ofli-ieriilsnr i i loilier persoiinl costs'".".hi tlic US A wliistlr-blower-5 havc srme statu-tory protcction tllroirglldi e Wliistleblowei-s Act,198'3, biit t l m c ia stilt nootiicial legal protcctionfoi~ thic;>I tiiigiiiccn int h e UIC"

Tlicrc lins huct-i atelldctlcy to k l C U S on thuiririividiial ricspciiisiibilityof cnginccrs atid nttiui:~,in isoh tior1 fro111 t1i:it oftlie f ir i r is ; i i id sucietv of

Environmentalethics

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I-Iowevei , traditional cdiical theorics of th e nnturalctiviroiiiine~~t:ave only rccogniscd huiiiariity ns IiavIngintriiisic wnrdi a i id 1i:ivc corisidrrcd thc ciiviruilineiitto have value solely due to it s usefulncss to huiuai i i ty .0 t t i t . r npproacches to e~iviroiiiiicntnl tliics rtcogriisc allseiiiicix a n i d s ol- all living organisn\s AS l w i n giri~ririsicworth or eveii righrs. Ecoccntred nppinaciwsI i ~ v c a holistic prrspectivc bnscd 011 ecologicals y s t e ~ i ~ " . his has th e advnntagc. of focusirig oncorjriect.ioiis an d iiitcI.:IctioIis arid is tlicrefore iiiorclikely to lend to awnrcims of long-term nt ir l indirectConscqIici iCes t h i iiorc iiidividiidistic approaches.

This typc of spproacli IS also relemrlt to cnginccriiigmci wuiilil irivolvc iiitcgratiun ci f crivirotioictit:i1cotaidci:atioiia iinm al l aspects of engiriecritig arid :illarcas u f ckciqioii making, d i c r tlian treating tlieiiiscpalatcly, so t ha t stcps to iiiiprovc mviroiiii ieiitalquality iii oiic arc9 arc i iot underrimed by mforeseeriside e k t s 1- contradicted by actia i i takori iri a u o t l warca , Other i inportant COnSideT;:hIS ofci iv i ro l~~l icn ralctliics which s h o u l d inforin etiginccriiig tbirikirg arctlic prcvcritioti, precautionary arid pdiutcr--p;iyspei nciplcs';.

Btirrii:oiiriiciltal ethics caii pi:ovide a franic\vork torccolvc potcntinl coiiflict5bc twcc iz envirni i i~iontalm iothcr acpcctq and iriipacts of onginocririg work . I t c a ni11sn motivm tlic devclopnicnt of lorig-term local,regional, national a n d iritei-natiniial technology xndinfiastructurc poticks , including cncrby ai d transportpolicies, 2nd provide a fi-micuwk to support th eilevclopnicnt of such policics. Thiis rnviroiimcntnlethics for engineers rhuuld address both morn1 issiiesw h ich affect iiidividual ciigiiieei~ tid witlei: issiiesrclating to teclmnlngy policy fori\luliltiotl.

d e s of eriviroiinicntal cthics should iacilitntuioti inakiiig i n die h l lo w in g arcas:

thc molt i t ion u f coriflicts of intcrest hehvccneijvironmcntd atid other aspccts uf engiiieeriiigcotiflicts bctwccn duties to a n ciiipluyer arid COsocicty :IS 2 wlin le , for iiistancc c)n diaclosurc ofp o tcn t id cnviroiiiriental damagerlccisioiis by iiidivirlual crigirieeis as to whctlier towork iu pnrciciilar arcas, siicli as niiclcar powei- a n dtiiilitnry tcctinolo6ylife-style choiccs rclatirig to work, i~ic l i id i i igtrailsport cimiccs atid how they impact on clioicc nfjob and wha-e to livci1ccisioiisby wcicty :IS to w h x lppcc of teclwologyto piwiiotc a i i d wllether io discontiiiw tecliriologydcvclopiiiuits i ri m a s such as iiiicleni- power andmilitary tt-chtidogythc rolc of tcchnolo~y n society, including tliefor iiiilatio i o f r i cr a for d cc idirig ho\v tc ch n lohyahoulil be dweloped an d uscd

9 m q " c levels nf rick a n d criteria for tlicncccptaticc of tcciiuology wlicn the risks are eithernot fully kuowii or iiicoiiiplctuly iniderstoodtlic fi~rmi~latioii ~eclntiolo~yrici iiifrasmcttircpolicy.

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i.athcr tlian trcsting tlicm as ficc goods, as ii i th c pastequity aiid distriburiotial issues at tlic r i a t i o i i a l a diiircl-iinhiial lcvcls and bctivccti guncrationsthe pr-niiiotinnofco-opci2tivc mtlicr thnti coinp cti-tive strategies, which cari lead tn syiicrgctir hetiefitsan d [he sliariiig of experie tws , costs ar i d beliefits.

It tiiay not bc imiiicdiatcly app:iruit that erivirurinientalconsidcixtioIis arc a very iniportarit ;iqxct u f ;d l th eabovc issues. I-Iowcvcr, for i i i stxice, dcciuions oil dit.r d c of t d i i i o l o g y i n socicty, niid iri particular whethertcchtiological devrlopliIerit s l ~ n ~ i l r le plnririrtl aridt xgcted :it the resoliiriori o f ocial probleiiis, will 11iwcsignifcnrit effects on th e eiiviroiiiiieiit. n addition tntlic ot lie r ctliicn l issi.icsassociacrdwith work on riiilitaryteclinology, it is resource iiiterisivc arid, if used, iiiaylead to ruidesprucrd eiiviiwiiiriciitaldcvxitatioii. Aware-ness of equity a n d distributional iwics is part of tliecoiiiiiiitriicnt to sustninablc cicvclopmunt arid thc l inkalready ~ I S C L I S S ~ ~chrrccri huiiiari rlevclopincnt atid th ceiivimli 1en .

llius the approach tn crivinin~iicntal cthicspi~rseiited ieir firiiily plnccs crtiicnl issues relating tot l i e env imtmien td itiipxrr of ceclniology with in t hucniitext of th c wider dobatu on the ~I~vu1op i i icn tn dapplication of technology. l l icre is iticrcasingawarciiess that society lix clcvulopcd tcchnologicallyiiiucli faster tliari it ha s dc ve lop d etl iicn lly aiid t ha trlicre is a lack of tools to inakc ~ i i m y f tlie cthicaldccisioiis wliich cliatigiiig tcchtiology prcscnts t csocieiy. Eiiginrrrs have geiieially devclnpcd tech-iiology aud o f ik d t to t h e piiblic ii i XI uricr-iticalwiyT icy 1 w c h:d little i i volvci le i i I c:niisi de i~n t i)i oIwhich teclmological pinbleuis should be solvcd niidliow tlicil crc,itivity s h i l r l be npplietl to developiiignew ~> rod~msd pioccsse< and resolving lium ani~yspmldcii is . A well der dopcd systcm of cnviroiimciitalcthics fo r cngiiiccrs could siippr)rt a new approach totcchriologicai dcvclopmciit in which cngiriccrr take :Iirwcli IIIOLCactive role in dccidirig wliicli techiiologiesshould bc dcvclopccl to bcncfit socicty globally and toiiiinimisc rlaniagc to thc ~ . iw i ro n m ci i t ,I :ippmicLi iiiwhich considcixtioii of ~ l i c otential ciiviruiimciitalconscqncnccs of n e w tcclinologics in the long :ISwella s tlic short tcrtii is prioritised.Engineering as sociat experimentation11 1 xlditiur I to th e e q w i i u ri ibtioii iiivolvcd a I variousstages orthe design p s < , cngineeriiig projccLc or tliciiirrnduction of iiew t cch ~ io h g ics an tlieinsclvus bccomidered 3s experitiierits, since tlieir nutcnriies Aregeiiei~illy i i i c e ~ ~ a i n ;ossihle nutcomcs ma y iioe ewiibe kiiown aiid cveii seciiiiiigly h cn ip projccrc cu i hwc(uiicxpcctod niid s c ~ w c )isksI2. I l o ~ ~ ~ ~ v w ,dik u iiiaiiyr ~ t l i c r ypos cif cxpcriiiiciitation, cng inccr ing projectsgcncr;iliy rlo not Iimc control groiips, :is thcircxpcrinicntal siibjccts :irc liuiiiaii bci i ip who iiiakcthci r own choiccs un the iisc o l prorliicts. In the cnbeof rlic dcvcloptiicnt of new tcclinologics, the ti w of a

controlgroup, cvcn wlicn: thcorcticnlly possible, couldra ise r t l i icd q imtimx of, for iristaiicc, cxpusirigintlivitli;ils to systcms or tccliiiologics which arc: lcsssafe than thc inaxiirmin possible, a n d bc cxcludcd oi i

In the context o f (eriviroritiieri~al)tliics th e socialrxprritiirricatioti appro ach to m g i i i e r r iu g pi-ojects h a st he advxitnge of making explicit the iiiiportntice ofiriforiiied comeiit. Tli is rcqiiii-es subjects to liavesiificierit ni (I q q m p - i n t t . ii ~ O I - I I xiti o n to ii tk eproperly iuforiried decisioiis a i d to pwticipatevoluntarily without any k ind o fcoercio i i or tlrceptinri.Sincc such dccisions dtcn invnlvc complex t c d i -tinlogics, iii t l ic longer tcrin th is will requirci i i q m I c n t ii i thc g e i w a l lcvcl nT technic;ilcducation, to irinkc thc argutticnts atid issues i i inrcaccessible, as well ns in thc coiiniiuiilc;itioii skills ofcrigineei-s ar i d scientists, so tl1;it they arc bc t t c r able totxplairi issues to th c gcircral public. Infornicci consclitalsu requires geriuiric iiiidcrst:iIiciiiig oftlic lcvc4 ofriskinvolvcd anti dccisicin.; ab ou t :icucptancctrflr!vcls of riskfor particular benefits. In soiiic cases arritudus tr ) risksby thc gciicral pul>lic difFer finin those or experts orrchpilntury bodies,or licrc iiiay bc Iittlc popiilar iotcrcsti n tlic assuciatctl benefits. This raises tlic qucstion ofhow acccptabllc lcvcls of risk tb r difccrcnt activitiesshould be detcrrniueti :iud implies tlint the prcsciitapproaches by experts id iegiilatory bociics i i ~ iy ci1i;idetpiate i n etliicnl terms. The high degree ofuncertainty i n cvaliiatiiig thc risk asrocintcd with manyticw tcchnologics also ixiscs cttiical qucstions.

l ) ; l r d c h exarii1)lt.s iricliide riucleai- enerm aridgenetically modified foods (see Cxr: Study 2), hotlio f which ca n bc considcrcd sncial cxperitrieniswithuiikrio~vrioutcoiiies :ind possibly uiifureseeable Long-tcriii corisuqucnccr. Ethical coiisidcratioiis require d iepinvisioti oE unbiascd infor tnat ion. However tticdismissal of public c o i i c c r ~ i ~y politicians and cxpcrts:IS beitig u~iiri funnetl:itid contrwy to tlic sciciitifceviderrce is meth icn l , ns are an y a t t en ip s to distort tlicevidence o r to tr y to m islead the piiblic with scientificevidence it is unable to unclerstarid. Iinpwitioti of at cc lm d o g y ir i tlic f X c of public opitiion bccausc tliccxpcrts bclievc it to bc bcncf ic ia l am o~ ui t ro cocrcionm r l is rlierehre unetlIical, regiirclless ofwhcthcr or notthe cxperts are otjectivcly correct.

Another iiiiporcniii i w i e is th a t of disseniiiigminor ities. [

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