Hot Topics: Environmental Ethics

Blog Posts (19)

August 23, 2017

We Can and Must Rebuild the Bridges of Interdisciplinary Bioethics

by Darryl R. J. Macer

This editorial is made available on bioethics.net. The editorial along with the target article and open peer commentary is available via tandfonline.com. …

June 2, 2017

Ethics & Society Newsfeed: June 2, 2017

Politics and World News White House Waivers May Have Violated Ethics Rules White House waiver allows all White House aids to communicate with news organizations, even if they involve a “former employer or former client.” Stephen K. Bannon, senior White House strategist, will be able to communicate with editors at Breitbart News. A Vocal Defender of … More Ethics & Society Newsfeed: June 2, 2017
March 10, 2017

Ethics & Society Newsfeed: March 10, 2017

Politics White House Slammed by Federal Ethics Chief for Not Disciplining Kellyanne Conway U.S. government’s official ethics watchdog blasted White House for not taking disciplinary action against senior counselor Kellyanne Conway for promoting Ivanka Trump’s products on TV Trump’s Ethics Order Seen as Boost for Shadow Lobbying President Trump’s speech to the joint session of Congress … More Ethics & Society Newsfeed: March 10, 2017
February 17, 2017

Ethics & Society Newsfeed: February 17, 2017

Politics Trump Ethics Monitor: Has The President Kept His Promises? To track Trump’s ethics-related promises, NPR checked debate transcripts, campaign speeches and press conferences Trump’s South Florida estate raises ethics questions Ethics questions and possible conflicts surrounding President Donald Trump’s frequent trips to his sprawling Mar-a-Lago property, especially in regards to the invitation of Japanese Prime … More Ethics & Society Newsfeed: February 17, 2017
February 3, 2017

Ethics & Society Newsfeed: February 3, 2017

  Politics Betsy DeVos’s ethics review raises further questions for Democrats and watchdogs Betsy DeVos, Trump’s nominee to lead the Education Department, promised to divest from more than 100 entities to avoid potential conflicts of interest with her new job. Questions left unanswered. Donald Trump warned over ‘unprecedented’ plan to appoint cabinet without ethics office … More Ethics & Society Newsfeed: February 3, 2017
January 24, 2017

Can Science Survive in a Communications Blackout: Restricting Speech Violates Scientific Ethics

by Craig Klugman, Ph.D.

That good ethics begins with good facts is an oft-heard mantra and was my first lesson when I began conducting clinical ethics consults 20 years ago.…

December 14, 2016

The Ethics of Climate Change Activism: Fear vs. Reality

STUDENT VOICES By: Chelsea Zantay This essay is in response to the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs video clip “Global Ethics Forum: Ethics Matter: A Conversation with Bill McKibben.”   Often when a problem is too big or too scary we throw up our hands and announce that “there is nothing we can do” … More The Ethics of Climate Change Activism: Fear vs. Reality
November 11, 2016

Ethics & Society Newsfeed: November 11, 2016

President-Elect Trump and Ethics Trump and Pence on science, in their own words Donald Trump and Mike Pence’s career and campaign track record of false claims about science, rejection of research conclusions and dangerous rhetoric on misconceptions such as vaccines and autism … Continue reading →
November 9, 2016

President Trump & A Republican Congress: What Might It Mean?

by Craig Klugman, Ph.D.

In a 2000 episode of The Simpsons, a flash forward shows Lisa being elected the first heterosexual female U.S.…

September 13, 2016

FDA Moves On Postponing Post-Antibiotic World

by Craig Klugman, Ph.D.

This month, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final ruling that certain 19 chemicals used in making “antibacterial soaps and body washes” should be removed from those products.…

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Published Articles (2)

American Journal of Bioethics: Volume 17 Issue 9 - Sep 2017

A Bridge Back to the Future: Public Health Ethics, Bioethics, and Environmental Ethics Lisa M. Lee

American Journal of Bioethics: Volume 17 Issue 9 - Sep 2017

We Can and Must Rebuild the Bridges of Interdisciplinary Bioethics Darryl R. J. Macer

News (130)

October 9, 2017 9:00 am

Uganda removes key hurdle to GM crops (Science)

Biotech researchers here are celebrating the long-awaited passage of a bill this week that clears the way for large-scale field tests and commercial release of genetically modified (GM) crops. Uganda, with several engineered varieties waiting in the wings, is expected to join a handful of other African nations moving quickly to bring homegrown GM foods to the market.

October 4, 2017 9:00 am

Should Physicians Consider the Environmental Effects of Prescribing Antibiotics? (AMA Journal of Ethics)

Pharmaceuticals are beginning to receive attention as a source of pollution in aquatic environments. Yet the impact of physician prescription patterns on water resources is not often discussed in clinical decision making. Here, we comment on a case in which empiric antibiotic treatment might benefit a patient while simultaneously being detrimental to the aquatic environment. We first highlight the potential harm caused by this prescription from its production to its disposal.

September 20, 2017 9:00 am

CRISPR reveals genetic master switches behind butterfly wing patterns (Nature)

The brilliant, intricate patterns on butterfly wings — from haunting eye spots to iridescent splashes of blue — look as if they were painted on by teams of artists. Researchers thought that a complex collection of genes might be responsible, interacting to build up the final pattern. But two studies now suggest that two genes play an outsize role in determining the wing’s lines and colours. Turning off these ‘master’ genes disrupts the canvas, dulling the colours or turning the insects monochromatic.

September 18, 2017 9:00 am

Are countries being honest about their carbon emissions? Satellites could tell (Science)

It’s all fine and good to sign a climate treaty, but how do you know whether a country is keeping its word? Track it from space. Researchers have shown that observations by Earth-orbiting instruments can be used to estimate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from individual power plants. NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2, which was launched in July 2014, was designed to monitor the movement of CO2 in and out of ecosystems worldwide.

August 21, 2017 9:00 am

Zika has all but disappeared in the Americas. Why? (Science)

One. That is the total number of locally transmitted Zika cases confirmed in the continental United States this year, as of mid-August. That single case, recorded on 26 July in Hidalgo County in Texas, which borders Mexico, contrasts with hundreds of cases of local transmission last year.

August 1, 2017 9:00 am

Crop breeders sprout plan to boost public sector research (Science)

Universities need to get better at sharing patented seeds and other products of publicly-funded agricultural science if the United States wants to keep producing bountiful harvests, argues a new report from a group of leading academic researchers.

July 27, 2017 9:00 am

Australia cuts conservation protections in marine parks (Nature)

When Australia established a vast network of marine reserves in 2012, it was hailed as a major win for conservation. But management plans for the sea havens were suspended a year later. Now, scientists are angry at the Australian government’s release last week of a draft proposal to significantly erode the size of protected areas in the reserves, opening up large stretches to commercial and recreational fishing.

July 25, 2017 9:00 am

US defense agencies grapple with gene drives (Nature)

The JASONs, a group of elite scientists that advises the US government on national security, has weighed in on issues ranging from cyber security to renewing America’s nuclear arsenal. But at a meeting in June, the secretive group took stock of a new threat: gene drives, a genetic-engineering technology that can swiftly spread modifications through entire populations and could help vanquish malaria-spreading mosquitoes.

July 21, 2017 9:00 am

Scientists plan to trick Zika-carrying mosquitoes into breeding themselves out of existence (Washington Post)

This summer, a Silicon Valley tech company will have millions of machine-raised, bacteria-infected mosquitoes packed into windowless white vans, driven inland and released into the wild — or, at least, the streets of Fresno, Calif. And, yes, Fresno County officials are encouraging this. It’s all part of the “Debug Fresno” project, which aims to cut down on the number of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, an unwelcome invasive species that arrived in California’s Central Valley in 2013.

July 20, 2017 9:00 am

In the next 30 years, we’ll make four times more plastic waste than we ever have (Science)

Seventy years ago, plastic was barely used outside of the military. Today, we can’t live without it. And over the next 30 years, we may produce four times more plastic waste than we ever did, a new study shows.

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