New Book: Geoethics for the Future: Facing Global Challenges
I am pleased to announce a new book from some wonderful colleagues of mine entitled Geoethics for the Future, in which I and many others have written a chapter. This book provides academics, researchers and students with insights into the ethical and societal dimensions of numerous challenges arising from human impacts on the Earth system. It was an honor to work with the editors, Silvia Peppoloni and Giuseppe Di Capua, geologists, researchers, and technologists at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (Italy).
The landing page for the book is here at Elsevier Publishers.
Geoethics for the Future: New book.
The book discusses philosophical, ethical, social, political, economic, legal, and theological aspects of geoscience, technological applications, and anthropogenic impacts on physical environment through the lens of geoethics, in our time of profound planetary changes. The book bridges the geosciences, social sciences, and humanities, aiming to address the socio-ecological crisis from multiple perspectives with maximum effectiveness. One of my favorite things about the book is that it provides an indispensable basis for discussion to guide scientists and students in considering their own responsibilities in the decisions they make working in the geosciences. I trust that the book will be a relevant and discussion-sparking teaching tool and also a resource for researchers in the areas of technology, geotechnology, data, and societal implications of applying technology to solve problems.
Chapters are grouped under the following themes: Grounding geoethics through philosophical analyses, defining an ethical framework for Earth system governance, empowering the geoscience society interface with geoethical perspectives, and geoethics to shape new educational models for future planetary citizens. The chapters dive deep into fascinating and diverse topics from natural hazards to fine art, but the holistic and systemic approach unites them all.
The reason why this book is needed can be summed by the editors statement, here: Geoethics, as an ethics of responsibility (i.e., knowing how to weigh things, choices, objectives) towards the Earth system, encompasses simultaneously an environmental, social, and cultural approach, which also manifests as a
pedagogical and political proposal. We recognize that this proposal for societal change may seem overly ambitious, utopian, and universalist, not unlike proposals from the past that have also led to conflicts and dehumanization. However, we consider geoethics to be a fundamentally concrete project to educate individuals aware of their unity in diversity, and their deep belonging to the complex natural system, where emotions and reason can coexist in action. [] Geoethics does not impose rigid prescriptions but contextualizes in space and time, respecting the diversity of each social-ecological system. The solution may vary for different issues, but it arises from and conforms to the same framework of shared values, since the roots of our human and ethical dimension are common.
This book fits into the path traced by the editorial project of Di Capua and Oosterbeek (2023), which promotes geoethics as a fertile meeting ground between geosciences, humanities, and social sciences. Indeed, its chapters transcend disciplinary boundaries, explore different languages, and propose various solutions to comprehend and navigate the complexities of the modern world. The result is a vivid and dynamic panorama, brimming with innovative concepts, visions, and perspectives, poised to ignite a renewed debate on comprehending and navigating the challenges of our times.
My chapter, Effective Strategies, Data, and Tools for Teaching Geoethics, takes a very applied tack: Why should we teach about geo-ethics? How can we do so? What tools should we use, and when should we use those tools to teach? I focus on how GIS, remote sensing, and GNSS can be used effectively to show how communicating about Earth issues can be done with sensitivity and thoughtfulness, with data, case studies, tools, and work with GIS software. I also had an aim to show how the decisions we make when we map Earth phenomena and issues are laden with ethical decisions. These decisions include the way we frame problems, the way we project data, choose symbols and colors and classification methods, the way we communicate our results through web mapping applications, and who we choose to share those results with.
My key tenet in the chapter is that ethical issues are important to consider and to how to teach them. These issues can be taught in engaging, memorable ways throughout a semester-long course or program, rather than relegated to "Week 15" of a course. These issues include copyright, location privacy, data provenance, and many more. Some of these strategies are based on the work we have been investigating and documenting in the Spatial Reserves data blog.
I wish to thank the editors for including my chapter as I believe the chapter offers faculty some very specific strategies and methods for introducing and diving deep into ethical issues with students, and for practitioners in the sciences to reflect how their everyday decisions affect people's thoughts and opinions, and their organization's plans.
I would love to hear your reactions to the book and how you are using it in your own instruction and research.