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Environmental ethics II: The humanist strikes back

The environmental-ethics post below obviously raises more questions than it answers, but I was trying to keep it short, since I'm not sure how interested normal people are in such esoteric matters.

However, in comments both yankee and birdboy raise similar questions, so I thought I'd take a stab at addressing them here.

A common assumption is that anthropocentric environmental ethics leads inexorably to rape and pillage of ecosystems. After all, if non-human nature has only what value we assign it, why can't we just use up all the resources, pave all the wilderness, pollute all the water, and so on? More for us!

I think this assumption is badly wrong, in two overlapping ways:

Back that grass up

I've been waiting a while for someone (else) to do the work analyzing the real energy payoff of switchgrass and other proposed cellulosic sources of ethanol.

Today on Oil Drum, guest poster Kyle steps up and runs the numbers, yielding the delightfully named "Living in a grass house."

Conclusion? The hype about switchgrass is mostly ... hype. Sigh.

Lovin’ Lovins

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on Energy Independence today. Amory Lovins was one of the four witnesses, and his testimony (pdf alert) is worth a read -- even the footnotes.

How do you define “environmentalism”?

Dave's environmental ethics post addressed an issue that has become more and more apparent here in Gristmill: the term "environmentalism" means something different to each one of us.

This is exemplified in today's Soapbox by Oliver Bernstein on environmental issues along the U.S.-Mexico border:

What Mexican activists can teach the U.S. about poverty and the planet

As an organizer working for the Sierra Club along the U.S.-Mexico border, Oliver Bernstein sees firsthand the messy interplay between poverty and the environment. In Mexico, activists and residents struggling with booming industrialization are fighting for cleaner air and water, but also for a decent standard of living in their low-income communities. Meanwhile, their American neighbors seem to be focused mainly on protecting natural areas. Bernstein weighs in on the U.S. movement's oversights.

The AIA and BuildingGreen team up

If only life was like Monopoly. A straightforward path to follow ... unexpected money windfalls ... all those little green houses ...

Well, I can't bring you a definitive life path, or bestow a pot of money on you for landing on Go, but I can report on a potential step toward a greener housing market. A new agreement between the American Institute of Architects and indie publishing company BuildingGreen, Inc. allows the AIA's 77,000 members to quickly and easily access sustainable design information through BuildingGreen Suite.

This online resource features comprehensive, practical information on a wide range of topics related to sustainable building -- from energy efficiency and recycled-content materials to land-use planning and indoor air quality.

It's subscription only, and is accessible to the layperson for only $199 a year. Sigh. However, if you're an architect in the American Institute you get a 30 percent discount.

You’re Looking Swell, Dalai

Dalai Lama’s admonition may be cooling illegal tiger-skin trade in Tibet What’s it like to have a leader with genuine moral authority? To find out, we take you to Tibet, where the Dalai Lama’s exhortations are leading many Tibetans to forswear the multimillion-dollar trade in wild animal skins. Heavy Tibetan demand has fueled a spike […]

We Ain’t Sayin’ They’re Gold Diggers … Oh Wait, Yes We Are

Mining industry tries to clean up its reputation This may surprise you, but the mining industry has an image problem. It’s awash in record profits, but as it exhausts easy-to-reach mineral deposits and moves into more remote areas, it is under increased pressure to work in an environmentally and socially conscious way. (Also at stake […]

A Spat on the Back

California governator at odds with biz lobby over plan to cut CO2 Arnold Schwarzenegger’s til-now cozy relationship with the California Chamber of Commerce has hit turbulence over the Republican governator’s ambitious proposal to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The chamber has denounced a preliminary report from the California EPA’s climate action team, which predicts that fulfilling Arnie’s […]

Fools Russia In

Russia to build oil pipeline within half-mile of world’s deepest lake A 2,550-mile-long oil pipeline is set to be built within 900 yards of the world’s deepest lake. And really, what could go wrong? Lake Baikal — home to a variety of unique species of flora and fauna and over 20 percent of the planet’s […]