Question

In: Biology

1. A recent article predicts that the population of orcas (killer whales) in the ocean will...

1. A recent article predicts that the population of orcas (killer whales) in the ocean will drop by about one half over the next ten years because the whales have high PCB levels in their tissues. These highly intelligent mammals are top predators and their absence would cause widespread distortions of ocean food webs, although the population sizes of edible fish species would not change. Followers of which kind of ethics will find this news distressing? [Note that orcas are no longer held in captivity by marine mammal entertainment facilities (e.g., seaworld).]

  • A. Anthropocentric ethics.
  • B. The branch of biocentric ethics that concentrates its efforts only on animals with self-awareness.
  • C. The branch of biocentric ethics which posits that all living things have equal intrinsic value.
  • D. Eco-centric ethics
  • E. Three of the above

2. Which of the following companies comes closest to operating in a sustainable manner, paying the "true costs" of its operations, and uses the triple bottom line philosophy?

  • A. Pulp and Paper, Inc. owns pine plantations in western Michigan. Every day, pines are cut down to provide pulp that is made into paper. Michigan law prohibits bleaching of paper because this releases dioxin into the environment. The company immediately replaces each tree it has cut down with a new sapling. It takes care to cause minimum damage to the ecosystem in which the pines grow. It puts the highest priority on worker safety and follows EEOC guidelines in hiring and promotions. Its workers are paid well, have good health insurance, retirement benefits, and other important benefits. Pulp and Paper, Inc. reimburses the state for damage to roads caused by its trucks. To compensate for the CO2 emissions produced by the machines it uses, the company donates trees to surrounding cities that have agreed to plant the trees in parks and on parkways and and to replace these trees when they die.
  • B. This company mines Helium, fills balloons with the Helium, and sells millions of Helium balloons around the world. Helium is an element and is made in stars; it cannot be made on Earth. Millions of people enjoy their Helium balloons, but the Helium eventually leaks out of the balloons, rises into the atmosphere, and disappears into space. The company has excellent pay and benefits. It also devotes considerable funds to exploration of new sources of Helium and, over the years, has found more Helium than it has used up. It makes the balloon material from recycled plastic.
  • C. Coke industries extracts bitumen from tar-like deposits in eastern Alberta, processes the bitumen into an oil substance, and sends this oily substance by pipeline to Houston, TX where it is refined into various usable products. Coke pays taxes to the Canadian government and pays for the land it uses, but does not pay for contamination of surface waters, death of wildlife, loss of natural beauty, or its contribution to climate change with CO2 emissions during the mining process and when the petroleum products are burned by consumers. Its workers have average salaries, but no retirement plan.
  • D. WVC, Inc. mines coal in West Virginia by blowing off the tops of mountains and strip mining the newly exposed surfaces. The coal company pays for use of the land and provides good pay and health care for workers who develop silicosis, suffer copperhead bites, or die in avalanches caused by the explosions. Coal trucks weigh about 90,000 pounds and require special roads with thick roadbeds. The taxpayers living in the state pay for the roads. The company does not pay for aesthetic damage to the West Virginia scenery, contamination of ground water, the damage done by dumping debris in stream beds, or CO2 emissions produced during the mining process and when the coal is eventually burned.

3.

Below is a list of examples of benefits that ecosystems provide to people. Match each benefit with the correct category of ecosystem services.

A. Regulating services
B. Provisioning services
C. Supporting services
D. Cultural services
selectABCD 1. Before Europeans came, Michigan had a large area of old growth beech-maple forest near its southern border. Except for a small area where the loggers ate lunch, the entire beech-maple forest ecosystem was logged in the 1800’s. Only the loggers’ picnic area remains as a small remnant (~300 acres) of the great beech-maple forest. That remnant is now called Warren Woods. The ancient beech trees in Warren Woods are about 125 feet tall. The soil is rich, and the ground is covered with colorful wildflowers. For many years, a sign at the entrance stated, “Welcome to the forest primeval.” People come to experience walking through an ancient forest that feels like a cathedral.
selectABCD 2. Since about 3 billion years ago, miniscule aquatic bacteria have been performing photosynthesis, releasing oxygen as a byproduct. They and their descendants, called chloroplasts, which live inside the cells of algae and land plants, produced, and continue to produce, nearly all the oxygen in our atmosphere. They also capture carbon from the atmosphere and incorporate it into carbohydrates, fats, oils, protein, and other types of food. All the carbon in all of our foods came to us by way of these photosynthetic bacteria and their descendants.
selectABCD 3. The dead remains of leaves, insects, worms, and other organisms contain thousands of different kinds of organic (carbon-containing) and inorganic chemicals. Plants are unable to use these chemicals until the dead remains are chemically transformed during the decay process. Decay is carried out by various types of fungi, bacteria, and other microorganisms. Without the chemical transformations that take place during the decay process, living plants would quickly use up all the available nutrients in the soil and die. Without decay, there would be no plants. Without plants, there would be no animals.
selectABCD 4. Large lakes are fed by incoming streams. When the forest is intact, the streams are deep and the water is cold and clear. Fish and other animals do better in cold water because cold water can hold more oxygen. The presence of the lake also causes a moderation in the air temperature near the lake.

4.

Both energy and matter move into and out of nearly all ecosystems on Earth.

True
False

Solutions

Expert Solution

ANSWER 1 :-

  1. Anthropocentric ethics basically focus on the value of humans. The kind of activities carried out or any regulations imposed basically deals with associated human benefits and always perform for the betterment of humans ignoring other non-human and environmental factors. So, the basic interest is human development and advancement. So, these activities do not consider extinction of killed whales (orcas) as a critical event unless this causes an impact on the food webs which affects the humans. So, option 'A' is not appropriate as these would not make the group concerned.
  2. ​​​​​Animals which are self-aware are able to interact socially and able to highlight their own behavior and how they respond to the interacting person or animal. These key features leads to social integration and make them highly intellectual in terms of decision making abilities which forms an important part of social iNeractions. So, this branch of biocentric ethics will focuses Its efforts on the self-aware animals which includes orcas and hence accumulation and increasing concentration of Polychlorinated Biphenyls would be a major concern and hence this will prompt the activists involved to take immediate actions (measures). So, option 'B' is appropriate.
  3. Biocentric ethics which provides intrinsic value to all is concerned with the interaction between humans and the natural environment and therefore focusses on the changing parameters affecting both the communities. For such groups, equal preference would be present for both animals and humans rather than providing support to a specific animal or human on the basis of classification criteria. So, option 'C' would be concerned of such event and hence is correct.
  4. Eco-centric ethics basically shows preference to the natural things more specifically the animals. It also belongs to the ethical part that highlights interaction between human and environment and when it comes to conservation of nature, high investment of time and work is accustomed to the activists and their main preference thus becomes environmental protection and conservation which prioritizes the critical event of orcas extinction as a major undertaking and hence option 'D' can be considered appropriate.
  5. As option 'B', 'C' and 'D' are appropriate, option 'E' should be considered as the most appropriate answer. So, option 'E' is the correct option.

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