Environmental Ethics: The Central Issues

Environmental Ethics provides an accessible, lively, and up-to-date introduction to the central issues and controversies in environmental ethics. Requiring no previous knowledge of philosophy or ethical theory, the book will be of interest to students, environmental scientists, environmental policy makers, and anyone curious to know what philosophers are saying today about the urgent environmental challenges we face.

The book is divided into two parts. Part One deals with theoretical issues in environmental philosophy, examining a variety of ethical and environmental theories that provide diverse and thought-provoking perspectives on critical ecological issues. Part Two turns to applied environmental ethics, addressing current debates on topics such as climate change, biodiversity loss, wilderness preservation, responsibilities to future generations, population growth, overconsumption, food ethics, and ecological activism.

Features include:

Clear explanations of key concepts and theories that lie at the heart of current debates in environmental ethics A mix of theory of practice that permits readers to apply diverse theoretical perspectives to key environmental debates A wealth of pedagogical aids, including chapter summaries, discussion questions, suggested readings, and a glossary of important terms