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BIO 324/PHI 310

ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS Fall 2012 LSE 106

MW 12:00-1:15

Instructor: Dr. Ben A. Minteer, School of Life Sciences Teaching Assistants: Marci Baranski, Karen Love Office: Minteer: LSA 262; Baranski: LSA 123; Love: LSA 123 Office Hours: Minteer: M 2:00-3:30, W 1:30-3:00; Baranski: T 1:30-3:30; Love TH 12:30-2:30 (other times for all by appointment) Phone/Skype: Minteer office: 965-4632; Baranski (Skype: ecomarci) Email: Ben.minteer@asu.edu; Marci.baranski@asu.edu; Karen.e.love@asu.edu COURSE DESCRIPTION

Environmental ethics challenges us to confront profound and difficult questions about the moral status of nature; the relative value of nonhuman individuals, populations, and ecosystems; and the responsibilities we may have to shrink our local, regional, and global ecological footprint as the planet’s most dominant species. Should we, for example, conserve wild plants and animal populations for their usefulness (e.g., as food, fiber, medicine, entertainment, etc.), or do they have an inherent worth or a dignity that demands respect – and that would make exploitation of them morally unjustifiable? Why is the wilderness (both the

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place and the idea) important to us and what are the implications of becoming attached to the ideal of pristine landscapes in science and policy? Are our dominant modes of settlement (e.g., dwelling in cities and suburbs); food production and consumption; and energy use ethically defensible given what we know about their consequences for animal welfare, species viability, and ecological integrity? What about their impact on the wellbeing of present and future generations of humans? “Sustainability” is an important concept today (both at ASU and as a national and international policy goal), but what does it really mean and why should we make sacrifices to achieve it? What would a just and sustainable society look like? Why is climate change such a controversial and challenging issue and what would an appropriately ethical response to climate change require? What sort of environmental future do we want?

We will address these and many related questions throughout the semester. We’ll do so by reading a series of important and interesting books on these subjects, and by discussing these themes and problems in lectures. You’ll write about them in short essay assignments, in weekly web postings, and in your essay exams. Our primary goal in this course is to learn how the principles and concepts of environmental ethics can help us better understand and engage such profound problems confronting scientists, conservationists, and environmental policy makers today, and ask hard questions as well about our own values and choices, both as consumers and citizens. TEXTS (REQUIRED):

Moore & Nelson Leopold Krakauer Wilson Singer & Mason Moral Ground A Sand County Into the Wild The Future of Life The Ethics of Almanac What We Eat

COURSE REQUIREMENTS 1. Midterm exam 30% 2. Final exam 35% 3. Short essay assignments 20% (2@10% ea) 4. Blackboard postings & Media Blog 15% Total 100% A NOTE ON THE READING

There is a significant amount of reading for this course. Most of the reading will come from the required course texts, though occasionally we will read an essay available on the course website. While the reading expectations are high, you should know that the course texts have been chosen for their accessibility and readability as well as their rigor and importance to key questions and issues in environmental ethics. In other words, I think you’ll find that you enjoy reading these books and that the ideas and arguments they contain will stay with you long

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after this semester is over. In many cases the reading will feed directly into our class lectures; at other times it will supplement or illustrate points raised in lectures (and you will be expected to draw such connections in your web postings, essays, and exams). You should always feel free to visit me (or Thad) during our office hours if you have any questions about the reading, or if you simply want to discuss the material in more detail on a particular day. Office hours are your time so I encourage you to take advantage of them. EXAMS AND WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

Your exams will be in essay format. You will receive a set of essay questions at least a week before the exam is held. When you come into class on the exam day, I will have selected a subset of the questions for you to write on that day. While you will be able to study for the questions in advance of the exam, the exam itself will be closed book and closed notes.

The two short writing assignments (600-700 words each) will be focused on the course reading. You will receive additional directions and guidelines on this assignment as the due date approaches.

*Please note that I do not post my lecture slides online. It is therefore important that you attend class regularly and obtain notes from a classmate if you have to miss a lecture. BLACKBOARD POSTINGS AND MEDIA BLOG

In addition to the two exams and the short writing assignments, you will submit regular (11 total), short web postings to the Discussion Board on the course Blackboard site (postings will be due by 5:00 PM on Wednesdays except when noted on the schedule). These postings will be responses to a question or issue presented to you in a discussion thread on the discussion board; answers should generally be at least a paragraph in length (i.e., 150-200 words). The postings will be graded pass/fail, but they will all be read and evaluated – and occasionally will be brought into class lectures for further discussion. Near the end of the semester (on 12/5) you will also submit a 300-350 word blog post engaging the ethical aspects of an environmental issue or problem that you have selected from the media (more information and guidance about this assignment will be provided later in the semester).

POLICY ON LATE SUBMISSIONS/MISSED WORK

Late web postings and media blogs will not be accepted. Late short essay assignments will be docked 10% per day after the due date; assignments submitted more three days late will not be accepted. Missed in-class exams may only be made up with a documented medical excuse. POLICY ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

In the “Student Academic Integrity Policy” manual, ASU defines “’Plagiarism” [as] using another's words, ideas, materials or work without properly acknowledging and documenting the source. Students are responsible for knowing the rules governing the use of another's work or materials and for acknowledging and documenting the source appropriately.” You can find this definition at: http://www.asu.edu/studentaffairs/studentlife/judicial/academic_integrity.htm#definitions. Academic dishonesty, including inappropriate collaboration, will not be tolerated. There are severe sanctions for cheating, plagiarizing, and any other form of dishonesty.

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*NB: All cell phones and electronic devices must be turned off and out of sight during exams. If a student is spotted with a cell phone out during an exam, the student will receive an immediate grade of zero for the exam, and potentially further disciplinary action.

CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE

This is a fairly large class (~125 students) and so it is important to abide by a few simple rules of classroom courtesy. All cell phones should be muted or turned off before you enter the classroom. If you will be using a laptop or an iPad/tablet to take notes during class, please sit in the back rows of the lecture hall so the screens do not distract other students. Also, please be on time to class; if a late entry is absolutely unavoidable, please enter quietly and take your seat quickly. Repeated lateness/early exits are disruptive for all of us and will be noticed and addressed.

COURSE SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENTS

8.27.12 Course Introduction–Environmental Challenges, Ethical Questions • MG: xv-xxiv, 3-8, 9-14, 21-24

8.29.12 Dominion or Stewardship? Religion & Environmental Ethics

• L. White, Jr., “The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis” (Blackboard (BB))

• MG: 243-253, 260-266 (web posting due by 5:00)

9.3.12 Labor Day (no class) 9.5.12 Religion and Environmental Ethics: Is God Green? (film)

• “Preachable Moments: Evangelical Christians and Climate Change” (BB) • MG: 51-54, 169-173

(web posting due by 5:00) 9.10.12 Contemporary Environmental Ethical Theory

• B. Minteer, “Valuing Nature” (BB) • MG: 32-37, 60-64

9.12.12 Contemporary Environmental Ethical Theory (continued) • MG: 70-78, 88-95, 100-102 • [Start reading Into the Wild this week, ch’s 1-4]

(web posting due by 5:00) 9.17.12 The Wilderness Idea

• ITW, Ch’s 5-10 [keep reading if you can] • R. Nash, “Power of the Wild” (BB)

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9.19.12 The Wilderness Idea Reconsidered • ITW: Ch’s 11-16 [keep reading if you can] • E. Marris, “The End of the Wild” (BB)

(web posting due by 5:00) 9.24.12 Natural Connections and the Lure of the Wild: Grizzly Man (film)

• ITW (finish if you haven’t already) **first short essay due** 9.26.12 Aldo Leopold & A Sand County Almanac

• SCA: A Sand County Almanac (SCA): “January Thaw,” Good Oak,” “Draba,” and “Bur Oak”

• MG: 108-114 (web posting due by 5:00)

10.1.12 Leopold & A Sand County Almanac • SCA: “Sky Dance,” “Great Possessions,” “Prairie Birthday,” “Axe-in-Hand,”

“Marshland Elegy,” “On a Monument to the Pigeon,” and “Flambeau” 10.3.12 Leopold & the Land Ethic

• SCA: “Thinking Like a Mountain,” “Escudilla,” “Song of the Gavilan,” “Conservation Esthetic,” and “The Land Ethic”

• MG: 196-201, 207-210 (web posting due by 5:00)

10.8.12 Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for our Time (film)

• MG: 123-128 10.10.12 **Midterm Exam** (no web posting due) 10.15.12 Fall Break (no class) 10.17.12 The City: Rethinking Environmental Ethics

• D. Owen, “Green Manhattan” (BB) • MG: 373-378

(web posting due by 5:00) 10.22.12: The City/”Faking Nature”

• Elliot, “Faking Nature” (BB) 10.24.12 Biodiversity: What it is and why it Matters

• The Future of Life (FoL): Ch’s 1-2 • MG: 119-122, 220-224

(web posting due by 5:00)

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10.29.12 Case Study: Culture, Commerce, & Conservation Ethics (Milking the Rhino) • FoL, ch’s 3-4

10.31.12 Ethical Issues in Biodiversity Conservation

• FoL, ch 5-6 • McCauley, “Selling out on nature” (BB)

(web posting due by 5:00) 11.5.12 Ethical Issues in Biodiversity Conservation (Continued)

• FoL, ch7 • Minteer and Collins, “Move it or Lose it?” (BB)

11.7.12 Ethics, Advocacy & Biodiversity: The Whale Warrior (film)

• “Neptune’s Navy” (BB) • MG: 337-342, 448-451 (web posting due by 5:00)

11.12.12 Veterans Day (no class)

• [Start reading Ethics of What We Eat, ch’s 1-4] 11.14.12 The Ethics of Food Production: Industrial Agriculture and Animal Welfare

• The Ethics of What We Eat (EWWE): Introduction, ch’s 1-4 (web posting due by 5:00) 11.19.12 Industrial Agriculture and Eating Ethically (Cont’d)

• EWWE: Ch’s 5, 8, 10, 12 11.21.12 Eating Ethically and Alternative Agriculture

• EWWE: Ch’s 14, 16-18 (no web posting due this week)

**Second Short Essay Due** 11.26.12 GCC: The 11th Hour (film)

• MG: 356-362, 369-372, 429-439

11.28.12 Global Climate Change (GCC): The View from Environmental Ethics • MG: 25-29, 174-177, 183-188, 279-282

(no web post due this week – work on Media Blog due 12/5) 12.3.12 Ethics of GCC (Cont’d)

• MG: 321-326, 403-406 • Minteer, “Geoengineering and Ecological Ethics in the Anthropocene” (BB)

12.5.12 Climate Change and Sustainable Development

• MG: 271-274, 294-311, 421-428 • *Media Blog post due by 5:00*

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12.10.12 When Sustainability Gets Personal: No Impact Man (film) • MG: 452-468

**FINAL EXAM: 12.17.12 9:50-11:40 AM **