Thesis (DPhil (Philosophy))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / This thesis sets out to uncover why environmental concerns are not being effectively addressed in economic decision-making. It investigates this by analyzing the key values underpinning neo-classical economics and ecological economics, and concludes that both approaches remain trapped in a form of moral monism and are thus unable to express the full range of environmental values that exist. This results in a form of reductionism in economic thinking where all environmental value is expressed in the form of exchange value. In order to escape from this reductionism, it is asserted that ecological economics needs to adopt a moral pluralist philosophy that can accommodate both exchange values and subjective intrinsic value. Mindful of the quagmires of moral relativism, the thesis seeks out an approach to economic decision-making that is able to justify courses of action amid seemingly competing economic and environmental values. Environmental pragmatism, a form of moral pluralism, that focuses on the contextual nature of truth and value, is found fitting for the task. It uses experience to reduce uncertainty and moves decision-makers towards courses of action that can support a plurality of values within a given context. Environmental pragmatist Bryan Norton’s philosophy of adaptive management, with its guidelines of experimentalism, multi-scalar analysis and localism, is found to be particularly helpful in achieving this. The second half of the thesis concentrates on demonstrating the value of environmental pragmatism in economic decision-making by using it to analyse the South African National Budget of 2005. Norton’s guidelines are first used as critical tools of analysis to show up the gaps and inconsistencies in the budget process and then, secondly, as creative tools to reconstruct the budget process. To demonstrate what this would mean in concrete terms, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Agriculture budget votes are analysed using the sustainability indicators of The City of Cape Town’s Sustainability Report of 2005 and the 2020 goals of The City of Cape Town’s Integrated Development Plan of 2004/5.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this dissertation, I grapple with the problem of global drug resistance and moral responsibility which, as far as I am aware, has so far not been presented as a topic of ethical inquiry. It represents a conundrum involving three major factors: microbial adaptation and change, human social factors and environmental changes. Drug resistance is a phenomenon in which certain microorganisms, when exposed to antimicrobial agents, may acquire the beneficial trait of drug resistance which ensures a better potential for their survival. The acquired trait of drug resistance I argue renders such microorganisms 'supra-natural '. Supra-natural is a term I coin for entities that have been imposed upon nature by human design; they do not follow the natural evolutionary processes of adaptation and change. Drug resistance is classified as an emerging infectious disease. Human social factors and environmental change (particularly population growth, density and consumerist practices) enhance the rise of emerging infectious diseases. Through such increasing destructive practices, stress is placed on the environment. Environmental stress facilitates the rise of new and old infectious diseases and the spread of drug resistant supra-natural microorganisms. Thus, our ability to treat successfully illnesses and injuries in humans, animals and plants is increasingly impaired. Morally, we are responsible for the problem of global drug resistance. Drug resistant microorganisms exist in nature and concerning this, we can do nothing. At best, we can only try to control the problem using prudential measures. The problem of global drug resistance represents both a biomedical ethical and an environmental ethical issue. Is there a way out of the human-nature debate? Through Bryan Norton's enlightened anthropocentrism, I identify the ways in which his thesis may be applied to the problem of human and environmental concerns and show its applicability in broadening the parameters of biomedical ethics education to include environmental concerns. Key words: biomedical ethics, environmental ethics, drug resistance, Supra-natural' microorganisms, ethics education, enlightened-anthropocentrism. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie proefskrif bespreek ek die probleem van die verskynsel dat mikroorganismes op 'n globale skaal weerstand begin bied teen mediese middels (globale middel-weerstandigheid) en die morele verantwoordelikheid wat dit oproep - 'n probleem wat, na my beste wete, nog nooit aangebied is as 'n tema van etiesfilosofiese ondersoek nie. Dit verteenwoordig 'n kompleks van drie belangrike oorwegings: mikrobiese aanpassings en veranderinge, menslike sosiale faktore, en omgewingsveranderinge. Middel-weerstandigheid is 'n verskynsel waarin sekere mikro-organismes, wanneer hulle blootgestel word aan antimikrobiese agente, die (vir hulself) voordelige kenmerk kan bekom van weerstandigheid teen die middel; iets wat 'n beter potensiaal vir hul eie oorlewing verseker. Hierdie bekomde kenmerk (middel-weerstandigheid) maak, volgens my argument, sulke mikro-organismes 'supra-natuurlik'. Supra-natuurlik is 'n term wat ek munt vir entiteite wat aan die natuur blootgestel is as gevolg van menslike ontwerp; hulle volg nie die natuurlike evolusionêre prosesse van adaptasie en verandering nie. Middel-weerstandigheid word geklassifiseer as 'n opkomende aansteeklike siekte. Menslike sosiale faktore en omgewingsveranderinge (veral bevolkingsgroei, -digtheid and verbruikerspraktyke ) vergroot die opkoms van aansteeklike siektes. Deur sodanige toenemende destruktiewe praktyke word stres geplaas op die omgewing. Omgewingstres fasiliteer die opkoms van nuwe en ou aansteeklike siektes asook die verspreiding van weerstandige supra-natuurlike mikro-organismes. Ons vermoë om siektes en beserings van mense suksesvol te behandel, word gevolglik toenemend ondermyn. Moreel gesproke is ons verantwoordelik vir die probleem van globale middelweerstandigheid. Middel-weerstandige mikro-organismes bestaan in die natuur, en aan daardie feit as sodanig kan ons niks doen nie. Ons kan, ten beste, probeer om die probleem te beheer deur middel van verstandige maatreëls. Die probleem van globale middel-weerstandigheid verteenwoordig sowel 'n biomedies-etiese as 'n omgewingsetiese kwessie. Is daar 'n uitweg uit die mens-natuur debat? Ek identifiseer, met 'n beroep op Bryan Norton se swak antroposentrisme, maniere waarop sy tese toegepas sou kon word op die probleem van menslike en omgewingsoorgwegings Ek wys ook op die toepaslikheid daarvan vir die verbreding van die parameters van biomediese etiek-opvoeding ten einde omgewingsoorwegings deel van lg. te maak. Kembegrippe: biomediese etiek, omgewingsetiek, middel-weerstandigheid, 'Supra- . natuurlike' mikro-organismes, etiek-opvoeding, swak antroposentrisme.

<p>Eftersom det inte finns något universellt rätt eller fel sätt att hantera jordens resurser så håller etiska frågor på att bli en allt viktigare del av diskussionen kring våra gemensamma tillgångar. Det övergripande syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka och beskriva gymnasieungdomars etiska tankar kring människans förhållande till naturen. För analysen används två perspektiv som står i konflikt med varandra, nämligen de miljöetiska centrismerna och ekofeminismen, som kritiserar centrismtanken.</p><p>Sex gymnasieungdomar har intervjuats i grupper om tre angående sin syn på människans förhållande till naturen. Resultatet pekar på att elevernas miljöetik är mestadels antropocentrisk, med vissa inslag av djurrättsbiocentrism, och att de ser omsorg som ett moraliskt motiv.</p><p>I diskussionen problematiseras resultatet i förhållande till de två synsätten och kopplingar görs till den svenska samhällsdebatten, media och tecknad film. Slutsatsen är att omsorgsdimensionen bör stärkas i naturkunskapsundervisningen eftersom den idag är en outnyttjad resurs i fråga om att skapa engagemang för miljöfrågorna, men att man samtidigt inte får glömma bort att fakta utgör en viktig del av välgrundade beslut.</p> / <p>Solving environmental issues is not only a matter of good knowledge but also of ethics, since there is no absolute right or wrong in man’s way of handling nature. To be able to design a science education that meets governmental requirements and enables the students to participate in future environmental discussions it is important to be aware of their own ethic reflections. The over all aim of this study is to describe and survey the environmental ethics of students in the age of 16-19 years.</p><p>Six students at the age of 16-19 was interviewed concerning their opinion on man’s relationship to nature. The result shows that the environmental ethics of these students is mostly anthropocentric with a certain amount of animal rights biocentrism and that they consider care to be a moral reason.</p><p>The result is discussed in relation to the two different perspectives and the author makes connections to social debate, media and cartoons. The conclusion is that the perspective of care should receive more attention in science education. Care is today an unused resource of involvement to environmental issues. Finally the author pinpoints the fact that also good knowledge is absolutely necessary when making sensible decisions.</p>

The need for housing developments in South Africa has grown significantly over that last 12 years. On the one end of the scale there is the desperate need for housing by the homeless and on the other end there is substantial growth of the middleclass indicating better buying power and the explosion of the property market that made investment in housing very attractive. Examples of these two parallel levels of housing are the Sipumulele low cost housing development that is situated in the eThekwini Municipality and was developed by government. On the other side of the scale is the upmarket Koelwaters residential development situated on the South Coast of KwaZulu Natal in the Hibiscus Municipality and was developed by a private developer. In conjunction with this demand for housing there is also international pressure to comply with sustainable develop guidelines and approaches. Both these developments are situated on ecological sensitive land. As legal requirements both these developments were required to do scoping reports to assess their environmental impacts. In South African, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for various new developments has been formally required in terms of Legislation for the last 8 years, although the legislation has been in place for the last 16 years. Is this legislation assisting in securing more sustainable development? It is agued that sustainable development should be founded on ecological justice principles. This research explores the concept of ecological justice and how it is linked with sustainable development. It identifies ecological justice principles that should be used in the compilation and assessment of EIAs. The field research explored how decision makers in practise are using the current legislation and if they are at all considering ecological justice in their decision making. This is done though a serious of interviews with the critical decision makers with regard to EIA's and key role players in the development process of specifically the two above mentioned housing projects. During the interviews qualitative questions were asked relating to the developments, the EIA process and ecological justice. There was a focus on interpreting the awareness of decision makers regarding development and layout and on improving developments to determine to what level they follow ecological justice principles. In the broader sense this research is contributing to the understanding of ecological justice and the clarifications of ecological justice principles. It also contributes to understanding the South African housing development context and the movement of South African Developments towards sustainability. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006

Bakgrund: Sedan mitten av 1900-talet har antalet internationella turister ökat kontinuerligt över hela världen. Samtidigt har flertalet nischade turismformer vuxit sig starka, en av dem är ekoturismen med dess miljöetiska förhållningssätt. Dock har tidigare forskning visat att turismindustrin är en bidragande faktor till den oacceptabla globala förändring vi står inför idag. Syfte och frågeställning: Syftet med denna studie är att identifiera ekoturismens effekter på miljön i relation till konceptet för jordens nio planetära gränser. Studien riktar sig till aktörer inom turismbranschen för att tillhandahålla kunskap om hur ekoturismen påverkar miljön. Med detta syfte i åtanke formulerades följande frågeställning: - Hur förhåller sig ekoturismens effekter på miljön till jordens nio planetära gränser? Metod: Genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys, som presenteras i form av en kartläggning, ger studien en översiktlig bild av vad för typ av effekter ekoturismen har samt hur de förhåller sig till jordens nio planetära gränser. Uppsatsen har en deduktiv ansats, då den tar avstamp i teori rörande ekoturismens miljöetiska förhållningssätt. Detta testas sedan gentemot ett aktuellt och nyintroducerat koncept inom miljövetenskapen, för att identifiera eventuella effekter på miljön. Resultat och slutsats: Resultatet av vår studie visade att ekoturismens effekter på miljön både bidrog till en ökning och minskning av en eller flera planetära gränsers processer. Den slutsats vi kom fram till var således att ekoturismen har effekter som påverkar miljön. Dessutom upptäckte vi att den större delen av dem kan anses vara hållbara i förhållande till konceptet för jordens nio planetära gränser.

This thesis is a study of religion and the environment in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and how participants define and interpret their religious duty toward nature. The literature is focused on the field of Christianity and Ecology from its historical development, culminating with a discussion of contemporary religious environmental activism. Utilizing a participatory action research framework, a sustainable education program was developed, focusing on the environmental ethics of Christianity. With my participants we address the topics of sustainability and climate change, religion and the environment, consumption, and advocacy. While the final product of the study was a program on Christianity and Ecology, interfaith ideas can be found throughout the work.

The intention of this exhibition is to educate the viewer about the hidden impacts that result from simple choices of consumption. This is a critique of the materials economy and the responsibilities of the designers, consumers and industries that contributed to its success. The critique is expressed through four dominant and unsustainable consumer products: water bottles, plastic shopping bags, cigarette filters and farm chemicals, as each has its own specific story of consumption. The form is derived from manufacturing history, statistical data, and profiles of consumer behaviors. Graphic design is utilized in both formal and non-formal methods with the goal of communicating specific messages to the viewer as they progress through the exhibition space. / by Peter David Shimpeno. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Thesis (MTech (Environmental Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / Worldwide, there is a growing about the protection of the environment while ensuring social and economic development for the benefit of the existing and forthcoming generation which pressures every person to take reasonable measures when conducting his/her business. Amongst the reasonable measures, there are environmental legislative provisions enacted by the international community, as well as locally, to regulate required actions for the protection of the environment. South Africa’s environmental legislation outlines ecologically sustainable development by making provisions in the Bill of Rights in the Constitution for everyone to take reasonable legislative measures to alleviate damaging impacts on the environment. International conventions have assisted South Africa and other countries worldwide in environmental protection, thus improving ecologically sustainable development. Eskom’s (the South African power utility) distribution department, referred to as the Company from here onwards, has established environmental objectives and commitments to prevent pollution, promote environmental reporting, comply with all the applicable environmental legislations and other relevant requirements to ensure performance is measured and continual improvement is achieved. The research used both quantitative and qualitative research methods to analyse environmental obligations and associated environmental liabilities of the Company to improve ecologically sustainable development. In order to answer the research questions and achieve the objectives, a set of questionnaires was distributed to sampled respondents; data were retrieved using SAP EH&S Incident Management software while independent variable (environmental obligation) and dependent variables (environmental liability and ecologically sustainable development) were identified. Site visits were also conducted. Furthermore, a correlation coefficient analysis test was calculated using Microsoft excel and a graph was used to illustrate the R-Square value. Positive (+1) relationship between variables was observed which indicates dependability of dependent variable to the independent variable. The research findings indicate that the environment can be safeguarded through understanding and implementing environmental obligations and environmental liabilities to protect the environment for the benefit of the current and future generations by improving ecologically sustainable development. South Africa (1998a) explained that the environment is held in public trust for the people, thus the beneficial use of environmental resources serves the public interest and the environment must be safeguarded as a common heritage. Therefore, anyone found to have contravened legislation will be held liable in the form of sanctions as stated in South Africa, (1998c). An environmental obligation is a duty of care imposed on the user, landowner or a person in control of the protection of the environment and, where protection is impossible, to remediate the impact for the benefit of contemporary and upcoming generations. This is reasonably in line with the principles of sustainable development and a continual improvement of environmental quality and services. There have been dependent variables in the research where both environmental liability and ecologically sustainable development are dependent on environmental obligations (an independent variable) being realised. For this reason, every person or institution should ensure that environmental obligations are understood, adhered to and ensure that ecologically sustainable development is achieved. The Company has undertaken business activities to ensure that electricity is distributed to a wider population, bearing in mind that the interaction may have negative impact on the environment. When any incident that degrades the environment occurs, the incident is reported and managed throughout its life-cycle. There are, however, cases where environmental obligations are not understood or implemented. There is a need to ensure that all people that undertake activities that have a negative impact on the environment, such as pollution of the environment, are properly trained to be able to identify such activities, set environmental objectives and management programmes. Additionally, monitor the implementation of those programmes to ensure that these objectives are met and to achieve ecologically sustainable development. Ecologically sustainable development is achieved when environmental obligations are adhered to and required environmental liabilities are implemented and monitored. SANS ISO 14001: 2015 is an Environmental Management System which can be implemented to help any company understand its business operations, identify environmental issues, find solutions and ensure that all environmental issues are addressed, and good environmental performance is realized.

Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo investigar a construção do discurso moderno envolvendo as mudanças climáticas globais. Tal discurso, que podemos observar em diversos tipos de publicações, eventos e atitudes, apregoa em geral a noção de que as mudanças climáticas globais já são uma realidade auto-evidente, com efeitos devastadores mundo afora, com um aquecimento progressivo e provocadas pelo homem, por meio do lançamento indiscriminado de poluentes na atmosfera. Sendo assim, fazem-se apelos apaixonados pela preservação da saúde do planeta, pela redução da emissão de poluentes, pois do contrário sofreremos graves conseqüências em nossas vidas, por exemplo, na agricultura, no abastecimento de água, no conforto térmico e na disseminação de doenças. Entretanto, no interior da comunidade científica, ao contrário do que possa parecer à primeira vista, não existe um consenso quanto às causas, conseqüências e mesmo quanto à realidade do aquecimento global. Constrói-se, dessa forma, um discurso que toma hipóteses por certezas, doutrinador pelo medo e, principalmente, que não rompe com as bases da concepção de mundo que gerou a degradação ambiental. Idealiza a possibilidade de uma harmonia entre a sociedade e natureza mas, ao mesmo tempo, conserva o mesmo tipo de racionalidade com relação a medidas mitigadoras e mantém seu utilitarismo - devemos proteger o meio ambiente porque o homem necessita dos recursos naturais para sobreviver. Enfim, faz o \"jogo do inimigo\", pois o apelo às graves conseqüências do aquecimento global é de forte impacto e tem maiores chances de agregar partidários e surtir algum efeito prático de mitigação. Acreditamos que, embora tal atitude possa até funcionar, não é o melhor caminho para a construção de uma autêntica consciência ecológica por manter fundamentalmente inalterada a mentalidade criticada. Sugerimos, assim, a construção de um argumento ético, a saber, o do valor intrínseco da vida e necessidade de respeito por ela, ao invés de insistir numa argumentação utilitarista e amedrontadora. A proteção à natureza não necessita de falsas premissas climáticas para sustentá-la, pois sua necessidade é auto-evidente. / This research aims to investigate the construction of the modern discourse involving global climate change. Such discourse, which we can observe in different kinds of publications, events and attitudes, generally proclaims the notion that global warming is already a self-evident reality, with its devastating effects worldwide, with a progressive warming and man-induced, via the indiscriminate launching of pollutants in the atmosphere. This way, passionate appeals for the planet\'s health preservation and the reduction of pollutants emission are made, otherwise we will suffer serious consequences in our lives, for example in agriculture, water supply, thermal comfort and dissemination of diseases. However, in the scientific community, instead of what we may think at first sight, there is no consensus about causes, consequences and even the reality of global warming. It is constructed, this way, a kind of discourse which takes hypothesis for certainties, indoctrinates by fear and, above all, does not break with the basis of the worldview that engendered environmental degradation. It idealizes the possibility of harmony between society and nature but, at the same time, conserves the same kind of rationality regarding mitigation measurements and keeps its utilitarianism - we must protect the environment because man needs natural resources to survive. In a word, it \"plays the enemy\'s game\", since the appeal to the serious consequences of global warming is powerful and has greater possibilities of aggregating partisans and producing some practical mitigation effect. We believe that, although this kind of attitude may work, this is not the best way to construct an authentic ecological consciousness because it keeps basically unchanged the criticized mentality. We suggest, thus, the construction of an ethical argument, to wit, the one about intrinsic value of life and the need of respecting it, instead of insisting on a utilitarian and frightening argument. The protection of nature does not need false climatic premises to support it, as its necessity is self-evident.

This work is part of a wider personal and eco-cultural wondering about how to restore and conserve the pleasure of living aligned with the ecology of life. There is a growing concern that one of the biggest challenges we have is to generate sustainable communities. Based on this, the research particularly deals with the following two questions: What is ecological design? And, how does Ecological Design both emerge from, and contribute to, the constitution and conservation of human sustainable communities in our Western-European culture? The research proposes that the only way to understand the practice of ecological design is by dealing with the broader dynamics of human ecology—or, ultimately with what it means to be a human being. Based on a systemic, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach, the research first explores the phenomenological and bio-cognitive dynamics that generate an ongoing, embodied–ecological epistemology of the human-Nature relationship, thereby overcoming the modern dualism of mind-body and man-nature. It suggests that design ineluctably takes place in this embodied-ecological domain—particularly, in an ongoing eco-cultural network of interactions. Then it explores the emotional basis of human intentionality and behaviour and, based on the work of the biologist Humberto Maturana, proposes that human beings exist in a dynamic interweaving of languaging and emotioning in an eco-cultural medium. This is synthesized through the notion of conversation. The research claims that to design is to converse. Based on this, the research then explores biological and philosophical accounts of the emotion of loving. By exploring basic elements of a synthesis of the ecology of loving, the research suggests that this emotion is the only one that allows the emergence and cultivation of intimate socio-ecological relationships. Accordingly, it also argues that loving is the foundation of environmental ethics and ultimately, the practice of ecological design. The research also explores the conscious sense and practice of homing (or home-making). It argues that homing and loving are interdependent; they form a circular causality—homing-in-love. The research suggests that homing-in-love is what we do when we design ecologically. Finally, the research explores a general framework that may contribute to the process of recovering the vital dynamics of homing-in-love in a global age. In a four-month ethnographic investigation of three Western-European ecovillages, the research explores particular designed platforms of conversation as examples of the practice of ecological design from which more sustainable manner of homing are emerging and being cultivated.