Environmental values
by John O'Neill, Alan Holland and Andrew Light, Cambridge, Routledge, 2007, x + 233 pp., £21.99 (paperback), ISBN 978‐0‐415‐14509‐1
The overarching theme of Environmental Values is the complexity of our relationship with the environment. We live from, in and with the environment; we need its resources, we value it as a habitat and we respect its integrity. As a result, environmental policy decisions involve considering the environment from various perspectives and are therefore inherently complex.
It is for this reason that the authors' dismantle the cost‐benefit analysis approach to environmental ethics in the first part of the work. Its reduction of all considerations to one value – welfare – and its assumption that a mechanistic calculus can solve problems in environmental decision making, reveal it to rely on a naively simplistic view of such decisions. In the second part, the attempt to found an environmental ethics on a theory of duty to non‐humans is similarly dispatched, due to its assumption that necessary and sufficient conditions can be established for ascertaining what counts as an appropriate object of our moral duty.
The positive thesis that emerges from these criticisms is that decisions about the environment involve deliberation, rather than the application of a calculus, using a plurality of relevant values. They involve the application of what they call ‘thick’ ethical concepts like ‘cruel’ or ‘beautiful’ which are irreducible to basic values such as welfare. The authors espouse a version of virtue ethics according to which we judge a decision‐making body not in terms of the outcomes of individual decisions made, but in terms of its character revealed by the decisions it makes over time, showing it to be trustworthy or untrustworthy, caring or uncaring.
The authors also argue for the importance of considering the narrative of nature when making decisions about the environment. The value of a natural landscape lies in its history, its past roles in the lives of our ancestors, the story of its development. This means that we cannot simply accept interference with the landscape on the basis that the environment will be repaired or restored, or that rare species will be encouraged to flourish elsewhere.
To a large extent, pluralism and virtues ethics win by default, emerging from critiques of other theories with perhaps not enough argument for them in their own right. And the somewhat abstract critique of utilitarianism could belong in any work on ethical theory and is not specific to the issue of environmental ethics as such. That is not to say that the conclusions are not relevant to those whose work impacts on the environment. Engineers, for example, tend to rely on cost‐benefit analysis in making or judging decisions concerning the wider impact of their work, therefore the criticisms of this approach are essential for the engineer to consider. The arguments concerning the importance of narrative in nature should also be of central interest to engineers – throwing doubt as they do on the assumption that it is ever possible to ‘make good’ or to offset environmental damage done by building an oil pipeline or a bypass.
This work therefore presents an interesting challenge to the engineer, especially as it concludes that they should throw out mathematical means of decision making in favour of a deliberative method which is perhaps outside the engineer's comfort zone. For the philosopher there might be a little too much familiar ground, but the policymaker willing to consider that philosophical, deliberative modes of reasoning are essential to environmental decisions should find the book of great use. For any reader hoping to find a way to make dilemmas about environmental impact more approachable and resolvable, however, it will not make comforting reading.
Natasha McCarthy
The Royal Academy of Engineering, UK
© 2008, Natasha McCarthy
An introduction to sustainable development
by Peter P. Rogers, Kazi F. Jalal, and John A. Boyd, London, Earthscan, 2007, 416 pp., £18.99 (paperback), ISBN 978‐1‐84407‐520‐1 and £65.00 (hardback), ISBN 978‐1‐84407‐521‐8
This book is divided into 14 chapters which cover all elements of the sustainable development debate. It starts by giving an introduction to the historical development of the concept through to detailed chapters illustrating global environmental issues, sustainable development indicators and environmental assessment. The book moves on to illustrate the social and political dimensions of sustainable development before outlining the economic dimension across four further chapters. The book concludes by examining the role that international cooperation plays in sustainable development and ends on a rather sombre note looking at crisis, conflict and compromise in relation to sustainable development.
As the above summary of the contents indicates this is one of the most comprehensive and densely packed texts available on sustainable development. It enables the reader to gain an in‐depth understanding of all the key areas. Unusually it also provides a good overview of the social dimension of sustainability, the area most often ignored by many texts. Economic dimensions of sustainability are outlined in detail which, while useful to ensure the reader understands the multi‐dimensional aspects of sustainable development, does become quite complex for readers with limited knowledge of economics.
As you would expect from a text on sustainable development the book deals with the environmental elements very well. The reader, across many chapters, is able to understand the detail of global environmental issues, the environmental assessment process, current trends in environmental management and legislation and international law.
The first few chapters really help the reader understand the history and context of sustainable development by providing a clear overview of how the concept of sustainability has developed in recent years and details of the different factors which govern sustainable development. One section focuses on the determinants of sustainable development; consumption, production and distribution enabling the reader to see the enormous challenge that faces us if we are to move towards a more sustainable society.
The chapter on sustainable development indicators was particularly interesting and illustrated well the different ways in which we can measure our impact on the planet. It highlights the different strategies that can be adopted and discusses clearly a range of different weighting methodologies. It illustrates the complexities of trying to measure sustainable development using sets of indicators combined from economic, social and environmental fields enabling the reader to really grasp the difficulties that policy makers have in determining which areas to measure.
This book is clearly targeted at educators who need to introduce sustainable development concepts into their courses, and these readers in particular will find this an invaluable text. If there is any criticism it is that this books reads very much like a set of lecture notes (which it is in fact based on) and lacks a flowing narrative. However, it covers so much ground and is written so clearly that it will be useful for almost any reader wanting to get to grips with the subject for the first time.
T. A. Bhamra
Department of Design and Technology, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
© 2008, T. A. Bhamra