Students, you will be dropped from the course if you do not submit at least 250 words by midnight of Sunday of Week 1.
Welcome to EVSP508 Environmental Ethics.
To get started this week, please introduce yourself to the class.
You might decide to share where you work or plan to work after completing your program, where you were raised, an area of interest, hobbies, or special interests.
Please share only what you are comfortable sharing, but it is nice to get to know one another as we work through the class together.
Also, consider sharing what you hope to gain from obtaining your degree or graduate certificate.
Environmental ethics is more relevant than you may think, which leads us to the second part of our discussion.
Please select one of the following two topic options for discussion.
Each forum in this course spans two-course weeks.
In the first week, please post your original thread and begin the scholarly discussion.
In the second week, please dive even deeper, responding to classmates and replying within your original thread to maintain scholarly, academic, and professional discussion.
The original thread must be posted no later than the Sunday of the first forum week, but the responses and replies should be posted throughout the two-week forum discussion time frame with all posts complete by the end of the second forum week.
Although, I often find some discussions may continue past the assigned forum time in part due to our asynchronous schedules.
Topic 1: Ethics in Professional Organizations
With a focus on professional organizations in the field of environmental science, policy, management, health, and sustainability, seek out the "Code of Ethics" for a professional organization.* Review the Code of Ethics, and provide us with a summary.
Include information such as the name of the organization, when the code was established, the web address so we can read the code in full, and key takeaways from your review.
What is the organization promoting in the code? Is this something you can conform to in your professional career?
*Most professional organizations have a Code of Ethics or similarly named code as part of their organizational structure.
Some examples would be the National Association of Environmental Professionals, Ecological Society of America, Society for Ecological Restoration, American Institute of Certified Planners, American Institute of Architects (AIA) [e.g., look for 'sustainability' in their code], National Registry of Environmental Professionals, National Environmental Health Association, Institute of Professional Environmental Practice (IPEP), American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) [Code of Environmental Ethics], International Environmental Communication Association, ...
this is just an example, but seek out a professional organization in your field of interest and share with the class.
Topic 2: Part of or Apart from Nature?
There is an age-old question in the field of environmental ethics.
Are humans part of or apart from nature? Address this question based on our opening Week 1 readings and your experiences with the environment.
For example, you may be part of the sustainability movement or live in a 'tiny home.' You may belong to or support a hunting group, or you may be a vegan and belong to an animal rights group.
You may have done advocacy work on behalf of the environment (e.g., your watershed, an endangered animal, water conservation).
You may have read The World Without Us (Weisman, 2007) - check out the video overviews here: World Without Us.
You may be a proponent of nuclear energy, or you may support continued oil and gas pipeline development.
You may advocate for green energy like wind, solar, or geothermal.
How would your involvement in any of these relate to the integration or separation of humans from nature? We all have a unique perspective on the environment, humans, and society, based on our own personal upbringing and life choices.
Let's use our collective experiences to shape the class discussion on how humans fit in to or separate from nature.
It may be too early in class to determine, but is there an approach of worldview in environmental ethics you can stand behind?
Please be sure to focus your posts on environmental ethics - use appropriate vocabulary and contribute to the scholarly discussion.
As with so many questions in the field of environmental ethics, there is no right or wrong answer, but please avoid pure opinion and instead explain your response in the context of class concepts.
Initial Post Due: Sunday, Week 1 11:55 pm ET -- MUST POST IN WEEK 1 to be marked present for attendance
Responses and Replies Due: Sunday, Week 2 11:55 pm ET
**note these are due dates - if you make replies and responses in Weeks 1 and 2, that is fine and encouraged, these are just deadlines for week endings, not restrictions on also engaging in discussion in Week 1.
Communicating on the Discussion
Discussions are the heart of the interaction in this course.
The more engaged and lively the exchanges, the more interesting and fun the course will be.
Only "substantive" scholarly comments will receive credit.
Although there is a final posting time after which the instructor will grade comments, it is not sufficient to wait until the last day to contribute your comments/questions on the discussion.
The purpose of the discussions is to actively participate in an ongoing discussion about the assigned content.
"Substantive" means comments that contribute something new and hopefully important to the discussion.
Thus, a message that simply says "I agree" is not substantive.
A substantive comment contributes a new idea or perspective, a good follow-up question to a point made, offers a response to a question, provides an example or illustration of a key point, points out an inconsistency in an argument, etc.
As a class, if we run into conflicting viewpoints, we must respect each individual's own opinion.
Hateful and hurtful comments towards other individuals, students, groups, peoples, and/or societies will not be tolerated.