Applying Ethical Frameworks to Environmental Issues: A Case Study

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This assignment explores ethical decision-making and environmental responsibility.

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Assignment
Assignment
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Assignment
Q3. What is meant by the veil of ignorance? How can it assist in ethical decision making?
The veil of ignorance is a method in which the decision maker determines the morality of the
issues and the conflicts. This activity is undertaken when the decision maker is well informed
about the consequences of possible decisions. This concept of decision making enables to testify
the ideas for the aspects of fairness. There are various situations where ethical decision making is
required in order to accomplish the decision-making process. The veil of ignorance provides with
a subject of undertaking decisions without considering their class, privileges, disadvantages, and
personalities (Heidari, Ferrari, Gummadi & Krause, 2018). It supports ethical and moral decision
making. It disqualifies the predominance of biases from the decision making process. It is a
decision-making process where the people in power distribute the resources and rights and
positions amongst society. The concept of the veil of ignorance aids in ethical decision making in
an empirical manner.
The practice of ethical decision making requires undertaking effective decisions that support
equality and equal representation in decision making. The concepts of ethical decision making
also derive for providing with equal opportunities to represent the cases and provide with valid
information for decision-making process. The theory of Veil of Ignorance is based on two
principles i.e. the liberty principle and the difference principle. The principle of liberty provides
with maximum liberty to an individual without disturbing or intruding upon the freedom of
others (Heidari, Ferrari, Gummadi & Krause, 2018). The difference principle guarantees equal
opportunity to prosper for growth and development. These principles ensure effective and ethical
decision making support for the accomplishment of moral objectives.

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Assignment
Q4. Your best friend forgot about the term paper due the next day and asked if he could
copy and hand in a paper you wrote last semester. What are your alternatives and what are
the consequences for each one? Use the Potter Box to explain your analysis and decision
you make.
I have two alternatives either to hand over my last term paper to my friend or to deny him for the
paper and help him complete the paper. The consequences for the first option are that it may lead
to plagiarism. The consequences for the second option is that he may get late in submitting the
paper and fail the paper.
The support for the second option by helping me completing the paper on his own and make sure
he submits it on time. This option will save my values and loyalties towards the educational
institution and saving my friend from the issues of plagiarism.
The application of Potter Box is as below:
Definition
The conflict in this situation is to whether
provide my best friend with my previous
semester paper or to help him in completing his
paper.
Values
The value of helping my friend, loyalty
towards him and supporting him in immoral
deeds are at stake.
Loyalties
The loyalties in conflict are plagiarism and not
supporting my friend in the need of time. The
loyalty towards my friend is also in conflict.
Principles
The ethical principle of Beneficence is at stake.

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Assignment
Q5. What are a footprint, and the related concept of ‘earth overshoot day’?
How is it measured, and how does it help us compare our own environmental budget with
the other people in other countries? Describe three things that you could do to lower your
footprint.
The concept of the ecological footprint is defined as the measures of human demand on nature. It
is the number of nature humans consumes to support for the daily activities and lifestyle. The
measurement is undertaken through an ecological accounting system. It aids in measuring the
amount of nature consumed such as the fruits, vegetables, fish, woods, fibres and absorption of
carbon dioxide from the fossil fuel, space for building and roads etc. (Lin, Hanscom, Murthy,
Galli, Evans, Neill & Wackernagel, 2018, pp58).
The concepts are also defined as a biologically productive area required fulfilling the human
needs and requirements.
The concept of earth overshoot day is the calculation of resource consumption for the human
needs in a year as compared to the earth’s capacity of producing the resources consumed. It is
calculated by dividing the world biocapacity by the world ecological footprint and then
multiplied by 365 the number of days in a year (Lin, Hanscom, Murthy, Galli, Evans, Neill &
Wackernagel, 2018, pp58).
There is a massive need to reduce footprinting to ensure sustainability and stability on the earth.
The steps that can provide a reduction in footprinting is:
 Gardening and Plantation
 Reducing the amount of meat consumption
 Reduction in the use of fossil fuels

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Assignment
References
Heidari, H., Ferrari, C., Gummadi, K. P., & Krause, A. (2018). Fairness Behind a Veil of
Ignorance: A Welfare Analysis for Automated Decision Making. arXiv preprint
arXiv:1806.04959.
Lin, D., Hanscom, L., Murthy, A., Galli, A., Evans, M., Neill, E., & Wackernagel, M. (2018).
Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National
Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018. Resources, vol.7, no.3, pp58.