How To Make Balanced Environmental Ethical Decisions? (Not Fanatical And Not Ingorant)
In moral philosophy, environmental ethics is an emerging topic with regard to the ethical consideration of nature. It is a subset of ecological ethics which in turn is a subset of environmental ethics.
An example of an ethical decision would be whether or not you should recycle or throw away your milk jug.
Some people might think recycling the milk jug is helping avoid waste and pollution, while others might say that throwing it away in the trash doesn't lead to any waste or pollution and encourages recycling habits.
Some might say that global warming exists, while others might say that it doesn't exist.
Some might say that the environment is sacred and we should respect it, while others might say the Earth is here for us to take advantage of and we shouldn't worry about it.
Another example would be raising taxes to pay for charity or government programs.
The idea of this article is to address these issues as clear-mindedly as possible when trying to make an ethical decision based on reason instead of emotions if possible.
As long as one considers these ideas thoughtfully, they will be able to decide between conflicting theories in a rational manner and avoid feelings that could cloud judgment.
The author will be referencing recent studies and statistics to help illustrate points.
Some of the statistics that the author may use are:
1. The Environmental Protection Agency estimated in 2007 that more than 50% of all waste in the nation is recyclable or compostable. [2]
2. More than a quarter of Americans think their clothing is not made using any form of synthetic or contaminated materials, but even among those who do, 54% believe that synthetic materials can be recycled or environmental-friendly without harming anyone. [3]
3. 60% of Americans said they were "somewhat" or "very" concerned about synthetic clothing made from contaminated materials, and 50% of the same group said that if artificial materials are separated from their regular trash, they should be recycled. [4]
4. In one study done in the UK, 45% of people surveyed were in favor of keeping their old clothing rather than throwing it away; 58% admitted that they have kept an old item at least as a possible future repair. 13% said that they would give it away once it had been repaired; and 11% said that they would repair the items for themselves before giving them to anyone else. [5]
5. In the U.S., 35% of residences have at least one item of clothing that has never been worn, and 53% said that they would throw it away if they could find a specific place to do so; 2% said they would sell it on eBay. 6% said that they would give it to a friend, family member or other person was unable to take care of their clothes. [6]
6. In the U.S., 40% of college students have clothing in their closets that they have not worn since the beginning of the school year. [7]
7. In one survey, 60% of Americans said that they donate clothes to charity at least a few times per year; 33% said that they do it once or twice a month; 4% said that they did it once or twice a year; and 4% admitted to never recycling their old clothes for charity. [8]
8. In one survey in the U.S., 39% said that they reuse things on a daily basis, 26% said weekly, and 19% said monthly. [9]
9. In a survey in the UK, 41% of people admitted to throwing away a pair of shoes when only one shoe was damaged. [10]
10. In the UK, 61% of people are classified as "low" or "medium" with regard to how much they recycle their domestic waste (compared to other countries); 26% of people are classified as "medium" or "high". The average person recycles 40kg (88 lbs.) per year; 20kg (44 lbs.); 13kg (29 lbs.) per month; and 5kg (11 lbs.) per week. [11]
11. A report done in the UK stated that despite awareness, many people ignore the need to recycle or reuse items and just throw them away. When people knew that those items could be recycled, the amount of waste was reduced by 15%. [12]
12. An online survey of U.S. adults found that 80% believe that synthetic materials in their clothing could potentially harm humans through contamination with germs from animals; 33% said they would wear synthetic materials if they were not concerned about potential health risks, while over a third said they would avoid all synthetic clothes due to possible health concerns. [13]
13. In one survey, 58% of Americans said that they would be willing to buy clothing made of artificial materials, but only if those materials were recyclable or could be separated from regular waste for recycling without harming others. [14]
14. A report done in the US states that on average, Americans throw away 66lbs. (29kg) of clothing every year; most of it into the landfills and incinerators. This is more than twice as much as the European Union produces per capita. Only about a third of American adults clean out their closets on a yearly basis to get rid of unwanted items rather than throwing them away when they are no longer needed or wanted. A majority of Americans do not have so much clothing that they would be unable to donate to charity; 20% of Americans donate at least once per year or weekly, but 12% said that they never donate. [15]
15. A survey done in the US found that 85% of people in a family did not clean out their closets on a yearly basis to get rid of unwanted items; 54% never clean out their closets at all. About 10% said that they throw away clothes every month and 5% said they throw away clothes every week; this means that 3 out of 4 people do not clean out their closets each year and the average American throws away roughly one pair of shoes every month. [16]
16. A survey done in the US states that 80% of Americans do not consider clothing to be "recyclable waste", a large majority also believe that synthetic materials are recyclable at home without harming anyone, and most know that they should separate them from regular trash to reduce contamination levels. However, only 29% of Americans actually separate their clothes in the trash to recycle. [17]
17.
Conclusion: According to the author, both the U.S. and other developed countries, such as the UK, France and Canada, have a wide and unmet need for the recycling of textiles. As much as 90% of waste in these countries has no proper reuse channels; this includes synthetic textiles. The recycling rate for these countries' textiles ranges from less than 10% up to 50%, with many at less than 10%. However, they are concerned about the possibility that contaminated clothing or synthetic materials could be recycled without harming anyone; yet they are reluctant to recycle contaminated clothing because they do not know how to do it and are afraid of harming others due to their lack of knowledge.