Question

Business Law
1) United Express is spending several Million dollars on an advertising campaign about how environmentally responsible the company is. the ads showcase the company's new all electric fleet of delivery vans. The CEO of United Express is negotiating with several airlines for the purchase of used passenger jets that will be converted by carry backage. the problem is that these 20-30 year old aircraft pollute ten times more than newer modern jets. Does United Express have an ethical issue to deal with? briefly explain.

Answer 1

The fact is that pollution is directly responsible for human suffering and that makes it an ethical issue, one that is squarely on the shoulders of the fossil fuel industry. The fact is that fossil fuel directly causes death. And the fact is that the fossil fuel industry knows about it.

Aircraft engines generally combust fuel efficiently, and jet exhausts have very low smoke emissions. However, the used passenger jets that are 20-30 years old pollute ten times more than newer modern jets.

The main pollutant of concern around airports is nitrogen dioxide (NO2). NO2 is formed by nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from surface traffic, aircraft and airport operations. PM2.5 is also of concern, since particulate emissions from jet exhausts are almost all in this fine fraction.

NOx in the lower atmosphere contributes to the production of ozone; ozone in the lower atmosphere is a pollutant, and contributes to global warming. Nitrogen oxides from high-altitude supersonic aircraft are thought to damage the stratospheric ozone layer, the protective layer that filters out harmful radiation from the sun.

This is an ethical issue because by launching an advertisement campaign promoting green technology, they are in fact trying to cheat on the consumers. They are basically giving a false information. This leads to market assymmetry and moral hazard.