Environment Archives - Viterbi Conversations in Ethics

Fall 2023 Featured Volume 7 Issue 1

Great Stakes in the Great Lakes: Anthropocentrism and Biocentrism in Culling Asian Carp

Asian carp are an invasive species that have dramatically damaged US waterways. Environmentalists are scrambling to find solutions to prevent the devastation that may ensue as the carp encroach upon the Great Lakes. However, current solutions to maintain these ecosystems are inherently unethical. Human response to the carp invasion reveals how ecological decision making influenced by human-centric environmentalist ethics is unsuitable when dealing with man-made problems. Instead, humans must consider what ethical obligations they have to protect the environment and repair damage done to the US waterway system.

Spring 2023 Weekly News Profile

Engineering Alternatives to Fast Fashion

VCE April 3, 2023 Environment Fast Fashion Materials Science Textiles

In a world of fleeting trends and viral fashion sensations, companies and consumers alike have contributed to massive textile waste that has created irreparable environmental damage. Engineers have been working to combat these issues, but as new and innovative solutions are being developed, the question still remains: how can we balance affordability and ethical consumption in the pursuit of the next big fashion trend?

Fall 2022 Volume 6 Issue 2

Ethical Analysis of The Three Gorges Project

VCE November 15, 2022 Civil Engineering Environment Three Gorges Dam Yangtze River

The Three Gorges Project is the development of the largest hydroelectric dam in the world: the Three Gorges Dam. Since its conception, the project has remained the focus of controversy due to its long construction duration, significant social and economic impacts, and broad environmental implications. The ethicality of the dam’s construction will be determined through an examination of its impacts from a utilitarian perspective.

Spring 2022 Volume 6 Issue 1

A Credit Card a Week: The Environmental Ethics of Plastics

VCE May 4, 2022 Chemical Engineering Environment Materials Science Plastic

In an industrialized world, it seems impossible to live without plastics. From food storage to aircrafts, plastics provide benefits that make them an irreplaceable material. However, a consistent increase in plastic production and use has led to a massive plastic pollution crisis. Plastics are produced from non-renewable resources and can never fully decompose. They end up in our oceans, our environment, and even our stomachs (a credit card’s worth per week). Additionally, the massive amount of plastic waste has created a global plastic trade that unfairly places the burden of waste processing on less developed countries that may not be able to support even their own waste. The effects of plastic pollution are reaching a critical stage, and engineers must find solutions to relieve the growing pressure.

Spring 2022 Weekly News Profile

Climate Change Concerns May Be Getting Worse

VCE May 1, 2022 Climate Change CO2 Disease Environment virus transmission

Climate change has long been underway, but new research has shown that the known effects of climate change may be expanding to include an increase in infectious disease. Are we able to curb the severity of these consequences before it’s too late?

Spring 2022 Weekly News Profile

A Bug’s Life: Insects as a Meat Alternative

VCE February 7, 2022 Environment Farming Sustainability

Meat and dairy production are two of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption worldwide. The environmental impacts of meat products have led to a push to find meat alternatives that still provide the same nutritional value. Part of the solution may lie in the integration of more insects into our diet.

Fall 2021 Weekly News Profile

Climate Change Reparations: Who Should Carry the Cost?

VCE November 15, 2021 Climate Change Environment Reparations

The damaging effects of climate change are not distributed equally among the world’s nations — those who pollute the least bear more of the burden, so are these countries owed reparations for their losses? If so, who should pay?

Spring 2021 Volume 5 Issue 1

Ethics of Geoengineering

VCE April 27, 2021 Climate Change Environment Geoengineering

Until recently, the concept of geoengineering has widely been dismissed as a far-fetched and unethical idea to manipulate the environment. Geoengineering proposals intend to reduce the effects of global warming by manipulating the environment through extracting carbon dioxide from the air or reflecting sunlight to reduce global temperatures. However, as the context of climate change has shifted in urgency, geoengineering has emerged as a potential last-ditch effort to save humanity from climate-induced destruction. Despite its many unknowns and risks, geoengineering might provide a temporary solution to delay the detrimental effects of climate change and prevent the irreversible damage projected by current global warming trends.

Fall 2018 Volume 2 Issue 2

The Ethics of Composite Design in Mechanical Engineering

VCE December 12, 2018 Composites Environment Mechanical Engineering Recycling

In the 21st century, mechanical engineers work in an increasingly difficult environment. The requirements for systems are changing every day as employers and consumers desire…

Fall 2018 Weekly News Profile

Oversight Over Environmental Gene Editing

VCE November 9, 2018 Environment Gene Editing Global Governance

11/9/2018 Profiled article K. Dennehy, “Editing nature: A call for careful oversight of environmental gene editing: Interdisciplinary team urges creation of coordinating global body.”, sciencedaily.com,…

Podcast

Featured Spring 2023 VCE Podcast

Electric Vehicles: Climate Saver?

VCE January 31, 2023

Hosts Maya and Josh discuss the ethics of lithium battery mining and electric vehicle use with a panel of engineering essayists.

Fall 2022 VCE Podcast

Predictive Policing

VCE October 31, 2022

In this episode, the Viterbi Conversations in Ethics team explores the ethics behind predictive policing.

Fall 2022 VCE Podcast

Clean Energy

VCE October 31, 2022

In this episode, the Viterbi Conversations in Ethics team explores the ethics behind clean energy.

Fall 2022 VCE Podcast

Cryptocurrency

VCE October 24, 2022

In this episode, the Viterbi Conversations in Ethics team explores the ethics behind cryptocurrency.

Fall 2022 VCE Podcast

Autonomous Vehicles

VCE October 24, 2022

In this episode, the Viterbi Conversations in Ethics team explores the ethics behind autonomous vehicles.

Grand Challenges Special Issue

Spring 2023 Volume 6 Issue 3

Redefining Societal Progress for Engineers

VCE March 29, 2023

Dr. Erin Cech’s critique of the National Academy of Engineering’s Grand Challenges focuses heavily on the pitfalls of technological determinism. This paper supports Cech’s argument through a discussion of current examples of the consequences of technological determinism, such as the Black Lives Matter and Me Too movements, medication accessibility, and facial recognition technology. Though the consequences of a zealous engineering mentality are commonplace in our society, there are also current examples of tech companies neglecting to develop technology due to its possible negative consequences.

Spring 2023 Volume 6 Issue 3

How the Technical Sciences and the Social Sciences Should Go Hand-in-Hand

VCE March 29, 2023

The fourteen Grand Challenges presented by the National Academy of Engineers (NAE) fail to involve ethics as a part of the solution to these issues. Traditionally, engineers have kept their work separate from its societal implications. Engineers and their non-technical counterparts have an obligation to view all technical solutions under the moral lens of ethicists and futurists. Going forward, engineers must be aware of their limits and work with experts outside of their fields to develop solutions that will be cognizant of society as a whole.

Spring 2023 Volume 6 Issue 3

The Lies We Tell to Inspire: Responding to the Engineering Double Standard

VCE March 29, 2023

The National Academy of Engineering’s Grand Challenges are critiqued by Dr. Erin Cech for what she describes as a double standard in engineering. Though Cech rightly discusses a lack of accountability and acknowledgement within the profession, her argument lacks nuance. The Grand Challenges were ultimately a promotional tool meant to inspire the next generation of engineers, yet Cech holds them to a standard of being professional rules and guidelines. This paper will discuss the distinctions that Cech’s argument lacks, including placing an unreasonable amount of responsibility on engineers and overstating their influence.

Spring 2023 Volume 6 Issue 3

The Grand Challenges: Authorial Particularism and a Lost Opportunity for an Equitable Society

VCE March 29, 2023

The fourteen Grand Challenges were developed by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in an effort to expose future generations to the wide range of innovation and technology that they could one day take part in. As detailed by the Challenges’ creators, the list includes challenges that are most significant to our current world. Dr. Erin Cech’s critique of the Grand Challenges is that a lack of diversity in the panel of engineering experts led to a lack of oversight into issues that are actually pertinent to developing nations. Cech’s argument that the Grand Challenges are a missed opportunity for social justice holds validity, but her mischaracterization of the lack of diversity requires further consideration.

Weekly News Profile

Featured Spring 2024 Weekly News Profile

Fighting for our Latino Migrant Workers after Baltimore’s Bridge Collapse

Janessi Diaz April 10, 2024

Tragedy struck on the night of March 26 when the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore came tumbling down. The collapse occurred after a large container ship, the Dali, collided with the bridge. However, the collapse was far from the most heartbreaking news of the event; Six men who had been working on the bridge when it fell lost their lives. The six men, Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, Miguel Luna, Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, Carlos Hernandez, Dorlian Castillo Cabrera, and Jose Mynor Lopez, were all migrant workers from Central America. As we remember and honor their lives, their deaths highlight the lack of care in the construction industry when it comes to protecting Latino migrant workers.

Spring 2024 Weekly News Profile

AI’s Impact on Tomorrow’s Jobs

Mary Karapetyan April 2, 2024

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the workforce, with thousands of companies developing advanced systems to streamline productivity. Despite its promise to enhance efficiency, there is a growing concern over its potential to displace millions of jobs across various industries over the next five years. As AI models become more sophisticated, there is a need for a deeper understanding of their capabilities and implications for the future of work and society.

Spring 2024 Weekly News Profile

Engineering Ways to Care for Astronauts’ Mental Health

Rachel Pak March 27, 2024

Amidst plans for space missions designed to establish a stronger human presence in space, concerns rise for the mental health of the astronauts. These astronauts, such as those selected for NASA’s Artemis missions, will embark on trips into deep space that will last months or even years away from Earth’s familiar environment and their loved ones. Since spacecraft tend to have an isolated and confined nature, NASA engineers are devising strategies to safeguard the mental health of their astronauts.