Ethics in Media

questions.

  1. Mainstream media increasingly document a link between climate change

and species loss. As a May 19 article in The New York Times puts it, “When

combined with the other ways humans are damaging the environment,

climate change is now pushing a growing number of species, such as the

Bengal tiger, closer to extinction.” What role, if any, should de-extinction play

in addressing this overall trend?

  1. In his discussion of the ethics of reviving long-extinct species, Sandler

employs the notion of “luxury conservation.” Outline what this concept

means and whether or not it is helpful in thinking about how to prioritize our

responses to climate change. In your discussion contrast two forms of

conservation that have nothing to do with de-extinction, showing why one is

likely to count as a form of luxury conservation while the other is not.

  1. Critically assess the notion of “environmentalism of the rich.” To what

degree, if at all, is it helpful in thinking about how to respond to climate

change?

  1. Brown suggests that profit-seeking firms such as Beyond Meat can play a

positive role in addressing climate change. How would Dauvergne respond

to this claim? Which view of the role of business is ultimately more plausible,

Brown’s or Dauvergne’s?

  1. Identify the diet that Boucher recommends and compare it to the diet endorsed in Cowspiracy. Which diet is ethically superior and why?