Doing Environmental Ethics

Doing Environmental Ethics is a brief, accessible applied-ethics book offering an inclusive and practical way for an individual to personally address the worlds ecological crisis. Author Robert Traer builds on a common sense understanding of doing what is right and being a good person and suggests how, with a deeper sense of self and one’s place in nature, we can begin to change our carbon footprint. To consider and understand public policies and personal environmental practices, Traer draws on secular and religious perspectives, as well as Eastern and Western traditions. Doing Environmental Ethics devotes central attention to considerations of duty (to other people, species, and ecosystems), character (personal traits and virtues), relationships (to people and the natural environment) and rights (of people to participate in land-use decisions that affect them). Discussion questions at the end of each chapter help readers clarify their reasoning and create action plans for change. Doing Environmental Ethics demonstrates how valuable defining one’s own philosophy about the environment is to living with greater ecological awareness and sense of personal responsibility.

Table of Contents:
I. Learning from Experience * Chapter 1 Moral Philosophy: An Adventure in Reasoning * Chapter 2 Ethics and Science: Moral Consideration * Chapter 3 Ethics and Economics: The Common Good II. Constructing and Testing Ethical Presumptions * Chapter 4 Duty: Nature and Future Generations * Chapter 5 Character: Ecological Virtues * Chapter 6 Relationships: Empathy and Integrity * Chapter 7 Rights: Humans and Animals? * Chapter 8 Consequences: Predicting the Future * Worksheet III. Learning from Nature * Chapter 9 Ecological Living: Sustainable Consumption * Chapter 10 Environmental Policy: Governments, Corporations, NGOs * Chapter 11 Air and Water: A Healthy Environment * Chapter 12 Agriculture: Land and Life * Chapter 13 Managing Public Land: Adaptive Management * Chapter 14 Urban Ecology: Building Green * Chapter 15 Climate Change: Global Warming

About the Author :
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 member of the faculty at Dominican University in San Rafael, California. With Harlan Stelmach, he is coauthor of Doing Ethics in a Diverse World (Westview Press, 2008).

Review :
"In this well-done, three-part work, Traer offers a solid introduction to environmental ethics. ... Traer presents opposing views fairly, and is good at explaining/applying concepts. Recommended." --"Choice" "In the hands of Traer "environmental ethics" become the critical search for wisdom for individuals and for society in dealing with the greatest crisis in human history. It includes, and draws from, the whole range of formal ethical systems, but it also treats specific environmental problems such as global warming. It shows how these cannot be separated from economic and political theory and practice. And it does all this in relation to our actual historical situation and cultural diversity. This is "ethics" at its transdisciplinary best." -- John B. Cobb, Jr., Professor Emeritus, Claremont School of Theology ""Doing Environmental Ethics "stands out among the many available textbooks on the topic because of its clarity and inclusiveness. Most such books show clearly the bias or chosen position of the editor/author, and exclude much important material for that reason. In contrast Traer shows his thorough philosophical background and his strong understanding of morality in the variety of sources he uses, far beyond the usual material found in environmental ethics textbooks. I would recommend it as the first choice for any course on environmental issues." -- Laura Westra, University of Windsor "In this scholarly, extensively documented volume, Traer brings the discipline of ethics to our current environmental crisis. ... Traer manages a unique blend of the philosophical with the pragmatic, ending with a discussion of 15 strategies using existing technology that would prevent a global warming disaster within 50 years." -- "Booklist"