Boundaries

A second edition of a fresh and original case-study textbook on environmental ethics. The authors begin with an lucid overview of the field, highlighting key developments and theories in the environmental movement: utilitarianism, deontology, ecocentrism, deep ecology, pragmatism, and religion and ecology. They then present a series of fourteen narratives or cases in three sections: maintaining and managing the ecosystem; restoring and recreating the ecosystem, and ecosystem interventions aimed at innovation. Specific cases deal with such issues as using pesticides in developing countries; preserving ecosystems in Madagascar; the battle of deforestation in Java; disposing of nuclear waste in Nevada; the human cost of restoring coral reefs in Indonesia; the impact of hydropower via U.S. rivers; desertification in China; restoring degraded ecosystems in Nebraska; the legitimacy of genetically modified foods; hunting and the human presence in nature; and xenotransplantation (the transplantation of an organ, tissue or cells between different species). Each narrative is followed by a commentary section, in which the authors help students make connections between ethical theory and the circumstances of the case. This second edition features updates and revisions throughout, along with four new cases: one on water privatization, one on governmental efforts to mitigate global climate change, and two on obstacles that teachers of environmental ethics encounter in the classroom ("Why should I care?"). Also includes an appendix for teachers on using cases effectively in the classroom.
About the Author:

Christine E. Gudorf is professor and chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Florida International University. She was a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Indonesia in 2002. She is the coauthor of Christian Ethics: A Case Method Approach and author of Body, Sex, and Pleasure: Reconstructing Christian Sexual Ethics.

James E. Huchingson is professor emeritus in the Department of Religious Studies at Florida International University. He is the editor of Religion and the Natural Sciences: The Range of Engagement and author of Pandemonium Tremendum: Chaos and Mystery in the Life of God.