Cross-Cutting Initiatives Seminar Series Seminar: The Value Basis of Environmental Problems and the Ethical Dimensions of Environmental Policy

Ethical questions of environmental policy were recently raised as part of the Earth Institute’s Cross-Cutting Initiatives (CCI) Seminar Series. On Thursday, April 21, Steve Cohen, Director of the Master of Public Administration Program in Environmental Science and Policy, led a panel entitled, “The Value Basis of Environmental Problems and the Ethical Dimension of Environmental Policy.” Using the issues of global climate change and waste management in New York City as case studies, the panel addressed the ethical challenges incurred in creating solutions to environmental problems. The United States alone emits more than 25% of the world’s greenhouse gases, making it the most significant contributor to the problem of global warming. New York City produces as much as 36,200 tons of municipal solid waste per day and exports all of its garbage to landfills and waste-to-energy incinerators outside of the city. Adela Gondek, Adjunct Professor of Public Affairs at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, Benjamin Hale, Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Philosophy at New York University, and Sara Tjossem, Lecturer at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, discussed the various facets of each environmental problem and their ethical consequences. For example, the panelists considered whether the way we burn fossil fuels raises fundamental issues of conflicting values, and whether the amount of waste we create is fundamental to our lifestyle. The Cross-Cutting Initiatives Seminar Series seeks to draw scholars together from across academia in order to bring their knowledge, experience and expertise to bear on the task of finding solutions to complex global challenges.

For more information about the Cross-Cutting Initiatives Seminar Series and to view a video of the Value Basis of Environmental Problems and Ethical Dimension of Environmental Policy panel please visit:

http://www.earth.columbia.edu/crosscutting/cciseminars
/2005spring/042105.htm