Highlighted in pink = will discuss during review Wednesday 3/5
BASICS
- Date: March 7
- The midterm covers everything we've done so far
- Closed everything
- You'll be writing on paper
- You'll have the whole class period
- There will be about 6 questions and you'll choose 4 to answer
- REVIEW -- we'll review a bit March 3 and 5, time-permitting
SAMPLE QUESTION
This question may or may not be included on the exam.
(1) (a) Explain how Peter Wenz supports his principle of commensurate benefits and burdens (PCBB). (b) What is one objection to PCBB that Wenz considers in his article, and how does he respond to it? (c) Does PCBB apply to any environmental issues besides LULU distribution? Explain.
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ADVICE
- Use all the materials available:
- blog posts (but don't memorize or repeat word-for-word) -- list with highlights is below
- your own notes
- the readings -- there are often annotated versions of readings in the blog posts --they are highlighted
- RRs and comments you received on them
- comments on quiz and quiz key -- advice about the quiz in the quiz key
- examples from reports -- use reporting document
- Answer questions as fully as you can in the time available.
- Make sure you understand what an "argument" is.
- Answer completely. See sample grading.
MODULE 1 - MORAL STATUS
Jan 21 Introduction
Jan 24 People: William Baxter, moral status, anthropocentrism, what is an argument?, Baxter's arguments, Baxter annotated
Jan 27 Animals: environmental questions involving animals, Clare Palmer, Marius, views on animals (Singer, Regan, Varner)
Jan 29 Animals (continued): Mara river wildebeest vs. pets after a natural disaster, Palmer's views, general obligations vs. special obligations, application to Marius question, why special obligations are on the rise
Jan 31 Plants: Paul Taylor, the basis of respect, wild vs. cultivated plants, prima facie obligations, the problem of conflicting claims, priority principles
Feb 3 Ecosystems, Aldo Leopold, the land ethic, the ethical principle he proposes, application to invasive species, reports on invasive species
Feb 5 Species: Lily Marlene Russow, her test cases, rejected traditional theories, Russow's view on why species matter and which matter, reports on endangered species
Feb 7 Kinship: our relationship to nature on various theories, Kyle Whyte, kinship with nature, reciprocity, what we can have kinship with, Kimmerer and the honorable harvest, environmental justice/injustice
MODULE 2 - POPULATION
Feb 10 The tragedy of the commons: Hardin on the tragedy of the commons, pasture example and many other examples, coercive solutions, why ethical approaches don't work, Boulding's cap-and-trade proposal
Feb 12 Population trends: tragedy of the commons recap, reports on population trends
Feb 14 More people: recap 1960s overpopulation worries vs. 2000s overpopulation worries, Toby Ord on what the worriers are failing to think about, intrinsic vs. instrumental value of more people, material goods vs. information goods, the average view vs. the total view
Feb 17 Population debate: in debate doc
MODULE 3 - ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Feb 19 Environmental racism: environmental injustices as a subset of environmental wrongs, racial disparities, Robert Bullard on waste sites in Houston, four other examples of racial disparities
Feb 21 Environmental racism: Luke Cole and Sheila Foster, main claims, the skeptic's 3 arguments, Cole & Foster's replies
Feb 24 Benefits and burdens: Disparities in Dallas, Cole & Foster recap, Peter Wenz, PCBB, how he supports, what about exceptions?, application to LULU placement and other environmental issues, market forces objection, Wenz's reply, exporting garbage
Feb 26 PCBB debate: in debate doc, plus follow-up discussion about market forces, more discussion of PCBB application to exporting garbage and depleting resources
Feb 28 Indigenous perspectives: recap of first two views of environmental injustice, Kyle Whyte, kinship with nature, environmental injustice as kinship disruption, examples Whyte gives, buffalo example, solutions involving hunting rights
Mar 3 Water issues: reports on three water issues, undamming of Klamath river & Whyte's view, aquifer depletion and PCBB
Mar 5 Back to nature: Kevin DeLuca, his view that the environmental justice movement (EJM) is taking over environmentalism, why he thinks that's bad, reports on environmental organizations
Mar 7 Midterm