Environmental Philosophy Essay Example

1. Precautionary Principle
The precautionary principle refers to one of the very many approaches to the management of risk.It recounts that if any given course of action has got an impending risk of bringing deplorable damage to the general public. Even the environment because of the absence of some joint scientific agreement, then that policy or course of action is not too dangerous. However, the proof of its harmlessness usually depends on the individuals taking the action (Easton 2011).
The principal is more often put use by a number of policy makers in justification of their unrestricted final decisions mainly in the instances in which where there exists a fear of harm mainly because scientific evidence is lacking to back their decisions up. This principal thus implies that there exists a daring need to for some individual or organization to devise ways of protecting the public from an impending crisis or situation that may severely affect them. And it is because of this principal that a number of regulatory organizations and bidding declarations like the Kyoto protocol exist (Armstrong and Richard).
In this book, Nancy Myers who also acts as the director in charge of communications for an individual health network called the science and environmental system. She argues that it’s because of this principal’s making sense of the uncertainty that it has over the years gained very broad and widespread recognition on an international scene. However, John D Graham who also acts as the Dean of Rand Graduate School argues that this principle is a threat to innovation and progress due to its precaution that is not build on a principle (Easton 2011).
2. Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is simply a process and framework that is aimed at achieving sustainability or continuum in a given activity that also employs the use of resources and in which instantaneous together with intergenerational replication is so much demanded. This notion very much well coincides with future economic progress. It also affects human advance, in the developed world that is aimed at finding the means of survival. Means that are aimed at maintaining continual development that goes beyond just economic development.This book presents an interactive discourse between Jeremy Rifkin and Ronald Bailey (Armstrong & Richard 2003)
These two figures were exchanging their views and thoughts on whether sustainable development is compatible with the human welfare. Jeremy Rifkin who also works with a European project dubbed the European Dream, a project aiming at constructing a sustainable progress in a globally competitive world. Jeremy Rifkin believes that Sustainable Development is compatible with Human Welfare (Armstrong & Richard 2003)
The European people today take pride in the classy life they lead now because of an emphasis on the premise of sustainable development. However, Ronald Bailey argues that this is not correct on ground that the sustainable development results into a situation referred to as economic stagnation in economics. He further argues that this threatens both the environment and the poor and disadvantaged people of the world (Armstrong & Richard 2003)
3. Ecosystem Pricing of Goods and Services
Ecosystem pricing and evaluation is a tool that is gaining widespread usage in the process of determining the impact caused by the human activities on a given environmental system. In this process, they frequently assign an economic value to a particular ecosystem or the ecosystem services. One of the easiest and most applied ecosystem evaluation mechanisms involves valuation for by the conventional environmentalists that an ecosystem holds an equivalent of an ecological yield that has the value to be determined on a commodity market (Easton 2011).
In discussion whether a price should be put on the goods and the services that are produced by the ecosystems of the world, Jim Morrison contends that the services provided by the ecosystems for instance making the water clean, the control of flooding and overflow, and lastly the complex natural phenomena like pollination of the crops possess sufficiently enough economic value that can enable them to spend millions. The level of spending shows the level of richness of people. However, two applied ecology professors namely Giulio Leo and Marino Gatto argue that the approach of pricing is very misleading since it gives an implication only the economic values matter. Economists need to use a better strategy that can enable them to look at the economy in another perspective that is better for people (Easton, 2011).
4. Dung Burial:
The dung beetles contribute a seemingly miniature but extraordinary role when it comes to the pasture ecosystem. These battles feed on this manure; they later use it in the provision of shelter and food for their young ones. These beetles also help in the nutrient cycling mechanism, formation and composition of soil structure, and also fodder development. Thus, the dung beetles are essential enough in the process of manure and recycling of nutrients. Thus, these beetles provide a valued ecosystem in the temperate ecosystems by raising the rates of dung decomposition and hence foster nutrient recycling. The beetles are helpful in the aeration of the dung through mking holes through the dung in which air flows in and out of the dung to make it more productive to the ecosystem. The beetles benefit from manure at the same time the ecosystem benefits from manure too since it helps plants to grow. The nature in which the beetles behave show the magnitude in which the ecosystem is depends on each organism to balance and foster good living conditions. It is not possible for one to exist in the ecosystem without depending on the other. Every organism is important in the ecosystem no matter how tiny or minute it is in the ecosystem (Easton, 2011).
5.
The U S Chamber of Commerce America offers excellent support to all approaches that are science based in the process of risk management. In this approach, the risk is carefully evaluated and assessed by using a using scientifically tested and technically arduous analysis. In this approach, all the regulatory actions are naturally accorded a justification when there are confounding, risks that are and can be scientifically ascertainable to the human health, the safety of the every individual and the environment as well. This implies therefore that the bigger the risk, the larger is the degree in terms of scrutiny of regulation accorded to it (U.S. Chamber of Commerce 2006)
This standard of benchmarking and regulation has thus served the country rightly. It has also led to remarkable progresses in a number of science fields. The fields include agriculture, the field of medicine, biochemistry, biotechnology, the field of farming and so many other areas. A new theory that is now known as the precautionary principle is slowly being accorded high significance in the fraternity and field of environmental scientists and so many other groups. This principle simply states that in case the risks associated with a given activity are too obscure or unknown to an individual or party, you simply assume the nastiest of the outcomes and just avoid it all together. It is thus an essential policy to apply the risk altogether (Easton, 2011)

Reference

Easton, T. A. (2011). Taking sides: Clashing views on environmental issues (14th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce. (2006, March 30). Precautionary principle. Washington DC. www.worldbank.org/depweb/english/beyondco/beg_all.pdf
Armstrong, S. Richard B. (2003) Environmental Ethics: Divergence and Convergence. New York, McGraw-Hill, Inc.