Ethics and the Extractive Industries Video: Recent Episodes
Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
Extractive industries have brought money and jobs to all corners of the globe. But they have also wreaked havoc on the environment and exacerbated political and cultural tensions. Can natural resources be managed responsibly?
Thanks to fracking and the unlikely characters who made this revolution happen, the United States is now the biggest energy producer in the world. The fracking bonanza is here to stay, argues Gregory Zuckerman, and the environmental hazards can be overcome. Our best course is to work with the industry to improve safety standards.
McKibben, one of the world's leading environmentalist, believes our best hope lies not in appealing to our wallets, but in appealing to our ethics, our most basic sense of right and wrong. When it comes to taking on the fossil fuel industry, McKibben says pure self interest will not cut it, but moral outrage might.
McKibben, one of the world's leading environmentalist, believes our best hope lies not in appealing to our wallets, but in appealing to our ethics, our most basic sense of right and wrong. When it comes to taking on the fossil fuel industry, McKibben says pure self interest will not cut it, but moral outrage might.
ExxonMobil is rather like France, says Steve Coll. It's mostly aligned with the U.S; it's sometimes opposed, but a lot of the time it's just busy keeping track of its own separate system and really doesn't want to be entangled in U.S. power unless it serves ExxonMobil interests.
ExxonMobil is rather like France, says Steve Coll. It's mostly aligned with the U.S; it's sometimes opposed, but a lot of the time it's just busy keeping track of its own separate system and really doesn't want to be entangled in U.S. power unless it serves ExxonMobil interests.
As we run out of resources, the human race is at a pivotal point. We have two options: We can continue along the same path, leading to much of the planet becoming uninhabitable. Or we can create an alternative future where we use resources in a much more sustainable and frugal way.
According to Michael Ross, it's no coincidence that major oil-producing countries have less democracy, fewer opportunities for women, more frequent civil wars, and more volatile economic growth than the rest of the world.
What, asks Oxford economist Paul Collier, are realistic and sustainable solutions to correcting the mismanagement of the natural world? Can an international standard be established to resolve the complex issues of unchecked profiteering on the one hand and environmental romanticism on the other?
What, asks Oxford economist Paul Collier, are realistic and sustainable solutions to correcting the mismanagement of the natural world? Can an international standard be established to resolve the complex issues of unchecked profiteering on the one hand and environmental romanticism on the other?
From Ecuador to Nigeria, in most oil-producing countries oil has not brought any benefits to the poor and has often damaged people's health and ruined the environment, says Peter Maass. As for Iraq, although the war was not "all about oil," oil certainly played an important role.
From Ecuador to Nigeria, in most oil-producing countries oil has not brought any benefits to the poor and has often damaged people's health and ruined the environment, says Peter Maass. As for Iraq, although the war was not "all about oil," oil certainly played an important role.