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Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

Environmental Ethics

The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics explores ethical issues in the environment.

What is Environmental Ethics?

The Green Bronco Video Series created by the 2017-18 Environmental Ethics Fellows: Andrea Filler, Nick Redfield, and Vanessa Shin.

Environmental ethics applies moral thinking to the natural world and the relationship between humans and the earth. Moral reasoning is not a substitute for science, but it provides a powerful complement to scientific knowledge about the earth. Science does not teach us to care. Scientific knowledge does not, by itself, provide reasons for environmental protection. Science and economics provide data, information, knowledge. Environmental ethics turns to this information and asks: how then, should we live?

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Short Course in Environmental Ethics

This short course introduces the key features of environment ethics for an audience without a background in ethics. It is written specifically to help students - from high school to adult learners -- to recognize and use moral language to describe how they value the earth.

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Student Fellowship Opportunities

The Fellowship in Environmental Ethics is awarded to outstanding Santa Clara University undergraduates to support a project that examines the ethical implications of an environmental topic.

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Environmental Fellowship Project Highlights
A hand holding a clear sphere with a leaf on it.

Can ESG move past ingrained notions of property and capitalism and aid in the movement toward a more equitable, ethical, and sustainable future?

Pollution in a city.

ESG provides businesses with an opportunity to emphasize accountability and shift from a shareholder to a stakeholder model of business ownership.

A structure with solar panels in the city.

Ten important steps for companies pursuing ESG and a sustainable approach to business.

A yacht sitting at a pier.

Resource consumption is a major environmental and humanitarian issue, and one that ESG evaluation standards should take into account when making recommendations.

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Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing

The high performance of socially responsible stocks during the pandemic clearly demonstrates the long-term potential of ESG investment and could signal a turning point for investors to transition their strategies to take a longer-term and ethically guided approach to their investments. This piece by 2020-21 Environmental Ethics Fellow Mary Kleinsmith explores the implications of this trend.

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Teaching Module on Pope Francis' Encyclical

This module provides selections from the encyclical Laudato Si', with background, specific discussion questions, and key points for classroom dialogue. The module is designed to be used in a single 50 to 60 minute class period, or a shorter period over several days.

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Environmental Articles

Articles from fellows and staff about environmental issues including sustainability, climate change, environmental justice, and more.


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Environmental Resources

More resources from the Ethics Center, including content on natural resource use, nuclear waste disposal, and more.


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Environmental Videos

Explore topics about environment ethics in-depth through videos contributed by previous Environmental Ethics Fellows.


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Carbon Footprint Calculator

With this Bronco-based calculator inspired by British Petroleum, we'd like the SCU community to see the impact of their everyday actions.


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