Earthling : A New Ethics for the Anthropocene / Dean Wallraff.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wallraff, Dean, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Climatic changes--Effect of human beings on.

Climatic changes.

Human-animal relationships.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (256 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

London, England : Ethics International Press Ltd, [2023]

Summary:

Climate Change is the most important ethical problem humanity is facing right now. We are in the process of harming the Earth in ways that will diminish the quality of life for many future generations. Our old human-centrism, our national tribalism, and our short-term perspectives must give way to new ways of thinking that give moral standing to other animals, and that take global and long-term perspectives. In the year 3000, humankind will look back to the present century, which dramatically altered the planet's climate and ecosystems. Will they curse us as destroyers of the earthly paradise humankind enjoyed until now? To avoid this, we need to change our approach to ethics, economics, sustainability, politics, and law.Earthling: A New Ethics for the Anthropocene addresses sustainability, economics, politics, and law as important factors in climate ethics. It aims to both help with understanding these issues, and present potential solutions for the problem.

Contents:

Intro

Preface

Why I'm writing this book

Useful information when reading this book

The overall scheme

International viewpoint

The Anthropocene

The metric system

Acronyms

Chapter 1

Climate Ethics

Life on Earth

The big picture

An existential decision

Philosophy must be the framework

No taboos

Animals in the moral universe

Humans or Earth - which is more important?

Human nature

Eugenics

Other ways to improve human nature

Humanism is speciesist

Human divisions

Near and far

Competition versus cooperation

Individual vs. collective decisions

Patriotism

Money, money, money

The value of human life

Are all lives worth living?

What should we do?

Conclusion

Chapter 2

Climate Change

How science works

How climate change works

Sources of information

The greenhouse effect

Greenhouse gases

Higher temperatures correlate with increased GHG concentrations

The ocean and global heating

The carbon cycle

Albedo

Land-use change

Aerosols

Contributions to global heating

Feedback loops

Tipping Points

Earth's climate history

Mitigation vs. adaptation

Modelling Earth's climate

Emissions scenarios

Impacts of climate change

Heat waves

Increased storm events

Melting ice

Sea level rise

Ocean impacts

Floods and droughts

Wildfires

Tree mortality

Cities

Agriculture and other food production

Migration and displacement

Human health impacts

Species loss

Who is affected most by climate change?

Negative emissions: Carbon sequestration, removal, and storage

Forests and agriculture

Geoengineering

A plus four degree world

The Gap Reports

Big picture future

Chapter 3

Sustainable Earth

What is sustainability?

History of humanity in three stages

Future timescales.

Existential risks

The moral weight of future humans

Exponential growth is not sustainable

Population ( consumption = GDP

Population

Ethics: The value of a person

Optimal global population

Unsustainable resource depletion

Consumption is not all bad

Nuclear power

Land use planning

SER framework

UN sustainable development goals

Chapter 4

Economics

Introduction

Sources

An economic analysis framework

GDP

Externalities

Paths to net zero

Costs vs. investments

Economic growth

Discounting

Distribution

Climate damages

Adaptation costs

Cost of mitigation

Total climate costs

GHG reduction policies

Chapter 5

Law

My law practice: CEQA litigation

Marquee climate litigation

Climate lawsuits against governments

Climate lawsuits against oil majors

Public trust

Private enforcement

Other climate litigation

Treaties

International dispute resolution

International climate law - the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement

International human rights law

Rights

Human rights

Right to a clean and healthy environment.

National legal systems

Common law vs. civil law

Types of domestic law

United States

European Union

China

An international constitution

Chapter 6

Politics

Liberalism

Progressivism

The dialectic

Socialism and communism

Zero-sum game or labor theory of value?

Environmental justice

Are corporations more powerful than States?

Do we love where we live?

Internationalization v. nationalism

The decline of the US

American exceptionalism

Who are the bad actors?

Motivation for change

Chapter 7

What We Need to Do

Axioms

Fossil Fuels

Forestry and agriculture

Research and development

Help for developing countries

Global action.

Global climate treaty

Fossil fuels under the GCT

Deforestation under the GCT

GCT finance

Climate policies

What can individuals do?

Acknowledgements.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781871891683

OCLC:

1373987028