The largest current event right now is the huge BP oil spill. The oil spill has leaked tens of thousands of gallons of oil into the gulf. The oil has polluted beaches, disrupted birds, fisheries and other wildlife. Some groups have boycotted BP Oil because of the damage it has done to wildlife in the gulf. In my opinion, although BP is cleaning up the oil in the gulf, their disaster is an example of their environmental ethics. This disaster could have been prevented if the proper procedures were used in maintaining the oil line.
The ongoing current events are deforestation, drilling for oil on federal lands set aside as wildlife preserves, endangered species, and habitat loss, as well as the O-zone and global warming due to carbon emissions. These are all events that are based on a person’s moral and ethical views about the environment and how it should be used. There will always be the questions of do we take out the forest, because the people need the land to farm. The cities are getting bigger, so should we allow farmers to graze their cattle on public lands, which turn into the problem with overgrazing and desertification.
The Future
The future of environmental ethics, in my opinion, is always going to be who has the most power and money. There will always be conservative groups fighting for what they believe is right against those fighting for what they believe is right. Environmental ethics has come a long way, since the 1970 there are many laws to protect not only the environment but also the species and the eco system as a whole. Society is more aware now of the issues with the environment and society seems to have better morals as well as ethics about using resources in the environment. I believe environmental ethics is on the right track and believe it will stay there as long as there are two sides to every issue.