Ethics 8th Edition by Barbara MacKinnon,Andrew Fiala

Exercise 1

Climate Change. Carla and Greg are debating climate change. Carla believes that climate change is nothing to worry about. "Even if the scientists could ever really establish that burning fossil fuels causes climate change, there's no need to worry. Scientists will find ways to fix the problem. And we can always move to higher ground or just move north, where it's cooler." Greg laughs out loud. "Ha! That's easy for you to say," Greg replies. "Americans will probably be able to survive the changing climate. But people in other parts of the world are really going to suffer. And anyway, it's not just about the humans. We should also be concerned about the value of natural things like glaciers and forests." Carla shakes her head. "I don't really get you environmentalists. First you say that poor people will suffer. Then you say that glaciers and forests will suffer. But aren't people more important than glaciers? And if we had to melt all the glaciers to provide drinking water for poor people, wouldn't that be the right thing to do?"
Whom do you agree with here? Explain your answer with reference to philosophical concepts such as anthropocentrism and eco centrism.