Bioethics@

Bioethics Retreat 2007

May 11, 2007, 8:30am 4:00pm
Scheman Building, Iowa State University
Sustainability in Theory and Practice
Sponsored by the ISU Office of Biotechnology and the ISU Bioethics Program

 
The term 'sustainability' is used to describe (and to criticize) societies and global institutions, nations and public programs, as well as practices like agriculture, energy generation, and personal habits.  What do 'sustainable' and 'unsustainable' practices have in common?  Is there a single definition of 'sustainability' that applies to them all?  And can an abstract ideal of sustainability be applied at the practical level to our daily lives, our careers, and our personal projects?

The 2007 Bioethics Retreat will include presentations and discussion of the theory and practice of 'sustainability.'   Presentations will range from the somewhat broad, theoetical, and philosophical aspects of sustainability, to practical consideration of Iowa Agriculture, to personal consideration of our lifestyles as sustainable or unsustainable. 

The Retreat is open to all ISU faculty members, but registration is required.  To Register, click Here:  

Registration is closed

RETREAT SCHEDULE:  (More detailed descriptions of papers are available below)

GENERAL INFORMATION:

The retreat is free and open to the public. Coffee and a light breakfast will be available starting at 8 am. Lunch will be provided.  If you have questions about registration or the content of the retreat, please contact Sarah Heuer by e-mail at bioeth1@iastate.edu or by phone at (515)294-2566.

The registration deadline is Monday, May 7, 2007


PRESENTATIONS:


Clark Wolf, "Sustainability in Theory and  Practice." 

This paper will introduce the Retreat by discussing several alternative conceptions of sustainability, and their relationship to ethics, justice, and personal practice.  It will distinguish between two different kinds of theory of sustainability, and will argue that some conceptions are better suited than others to fit in a theory of justice.  While it is true that people mean widely different things when they use the term 'sustainability' and its relatives, this does not imply that the term is meaningless, nor does it undermine the practical application of the concept.  We can and must consider our lives and our institutions in terms of their impact on the world we leave to later generations.  Properly understood, it is a requirement of justice that we live sustainably so that we avoid compromising the welfare and autonomy of later generations.

Richard B. Howarth, "Towards an Operational Sustainability Criterion."

This paper examines the concept of sustainability and its implications for environmental policy analysis.  It builds upon the premise that present society holds a moral obligation to pass on a world of undiminished life opportunities to members of future generations.  Maintaining life opportunitites, in turn, can be achieved by maintaining or improving a diverse set of resources and capabilities that support a person's freedom to define and pursue her own conception of the good life.  On an operational level, this framework points to the following guideline for environmental policy:  Protecting the rights of future generations requires either the conservation of environmental resources or compensatory measures (including the provision of substitute technologies) that ensure the fair and proportionate sharing of net benefits over intergenerational time scales.

Fred Kirshenman, "Sustainable Production and Sustainable Ecology" 

This presentation will introduce the concept of sustainability, emphasizing the need to move from "steady state" sustainability, which has dominated most of our thinking, to a concept of sustainability rooted in what Fiksel calls "thermodymanic full life cycle analysis."  I apply this concept differently from Fiksel, focusing on three major challenges we face in agriculture in the coming decade-- namely, peak oil, climate change, and depleting global ground water resources.  I will ask "How can we sustain agricultural productivity under these new circumstances, when we have compromised the resilience of our ecological resources?"

Ricardo Salvador, "War, Cheating, and Agriculture: Of Brains, Guts, and Human Fate."

We inhabit a physical and a social environment. Through cognition we interpret that "world" and through behavior we attempt to modify it. The concept of sustainability is ultimately a claim about our understanding of the world as it is and a claim about the way we would like it to be. Our ability to manifest sustainable behavior, as opposed to theorizing about sustainability, seems to be constrained by cognitive and behavioral programs intimately associated with our evolutionary makeup. Is it possible to arrive at consistent bioethical norms (behavior) when departing from strictly biophysical considerations (the way the world actually works)? This topic will make the case that "sustainability" is less about what we know about specific human actions and their consequences and more about whether as a species we have the capacity to abandon comforting delusions and act upon what we know.

Matt Liebman, "Does Sustainable Agriculture have a Future in the United States?"

I will briefly review how the issue of agricultural sustainability became important in the 1980s and 90s, how it receded from political priority lists in the US in the present decade, and how it might remain a key part of research, education, outreach, and policy activities in the future.

Clark Wolf. "Environmental Sustainability and The Perception of Incremental Change."

Our ability to respond appropriately to environmental change crucially depends on our ability to perceive and understand such changes when they take place.  But circumstances conspire to make it difficult for us to perceive even dramatic changes when they take place gradually and incrementally, and when change is masked by seasonal and generational cycles.  After a brief presentation, conference panelists will be asked to consider the perception of unsustainable practices, and our ability to implement appropriate measures to protect resources and secure the interests (and rights) of future generations.

bioethics menu map--see bottom of page for standard links or contact dhuisman@iastate.edu. Your opportunitiesIowa State University home

For Everyone For the Classroom For Extension Activities Contact Us Search

Office of Biotechnology homepage Search the Office of Biotechnology homepage



Published by: Office of Biotechnology, Bioethics Outreach
Ames, Iowa 50011-3260, (515) 294-9818, biotech@iastate.edu
Questions about the site?  E-mail biotech@www.biotech.iastate.edu
Copyright © 2003, Iowa State University. All rights reserved.

Last Update 05/07/07