Thinking Ethics

Global responsibility

Do governments have a global responsibility to protect? Faced with crimes such as genocide it is quite clear now. But what about the case of natural disasters, such as the situation in Myanmar? Almost all the media are buzzing about the subject this week. There is even some call for the formation of a league of democracies who would intervene when the UN could not get its act together. The composition of the league raises nightmares of epic proportions - who would decide who gets in or not? Good article in the Economist entitled "To protect sovereignty, or to protect lives".

So will the debate of sovereignty vs intervention dilute the right of humanitarian involvement? Can this be considered a moral duty? As Edmund Burke (1729-1797) put it: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing".

Aviation going green?

The Aviation industry claims it is reducing its impact on climate change, but environmentalists say they are not quite there, and are lacking markers to track improvement. Check out the report on World Radio Switzerland from the meeting in Geneva here.

Green vs blue

With the arrival of the green economy, we are now seeing a new category of jobs - green-collar jobs. These are basically blue-collar jobs but working in environmental challenged areas such as the installation of solar panels or the improvement of building insulation. The problem with this name tag, is that there might now be a social stigma attached to working in traditional blue-collar jobs, say in the mining or oil industry. And what about janitors? We need to be careful about this perceived "upgrade" of this type of work, as a lot of people take jobs where they can find them, and we are still producing and using goods and services in the old economy. Article on the subject in the New York Times here.

Green capitalism

I just found this website for the earthNOW expo in Las Vegas (June 4-5, 2008), which is aimed at EcoFriendly businesses. Checking out the seminar topics, I realized they are trying to market, sell and generally capitalize on the green wave. But is it ethical to target public sentiment on saving the planet and fighting against global warming to make money - are we talking about "green profits" ? Many argue that sustainable investing makes good business sense over the long term. I suppose short term gains are OK too as long as it raises awarness and goes in the right direction; if you can stomach the marketing talk that is all about money and not about values...

Effective internal investigations

The CRO has a good article entitled "Protecting the whistleblower" that gives tips to companies on how to conduct an effective internal invstigation, and protect the whistleblower at the same time.

Doping in academia

Speaking about performance enhancement... there is a concern about performance enhancement in academia - both from the student side - do better on tests, and from the professor side - work harder for scientific recognition - a very competitive area.

Most people would agree that to give memory enhancement drugs to help sick or elderly people is fine - but the objective was not to use them on healthy people to improve their performance. As we move into an "on demand" society, some people do not see why we cannot have self-improvement on demand. Especially if the means to do so are readily available. Somehow the relationship between struggle to improve and building of character is getting lost. Good article on the subject with lots of links here. Education is about learning, and should not be about performance. As we are going to have to retrain continuously and move into lifelong learning, it will not be about passing one test or checking a box, but really turning the journey into the end.

Green hotels

Looking to continue conservatism while on vacation ? Besides the eco-friendly tours being offered, it is now also possible to find eco-hotels in urban landscapes that do more than bed bath and beyond of towel and sheet replacement (or not if you are conserving water).

The greening of the hotel industry addresses questions of renewable energy sources, conserving energy and water, avoiding the use of harsh chemicals, donating things, and supporting local causes and community conservation efforts. Good article on the subject in the New York Times here.

And if you are trying to identify a green hotel or check its rating go to environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com - the site lists 2800 hotels with comments.

Nancy Pelosi delivers independent ethics office

Kicking and screaming, the House is brought closer to reform as the US House of Representatives creates an independent ethics office. It will be composed of six non partisan outsiders, but will not have subpoena power. At last a step to clean up politics! Full story in the New York Time here.

Walk the talk

Samantha Powers resigned as an advisor to Obama's campaign after calling Hillary Clinton a "monster". If you missed the beginning, here is a description of the affair on www.timesonline.co.uk.

Saying you do not want to trash the opposition is not just a PR exercise, your behaviour needs to reflect your opinions, otherwise you lose all credibitliy. Obama is trying to stand for a different kind of politics, and he has more credibility amongst a certain segment of the US population than more seasoned politicians. He cannot afford to lose the higher moral ground, because that is what he is campaigning on (check out the videos "yes we can" etc...).  And in this sense I find it normal that Samantha resigned, as this is a values issue.  Integrity comes at a price.

Green Cars

The 78th motor show has just started in Geneva. This year there are about 130 new introductions, a great many of them have to do with trying to consume less fossil fuels. For green/eco cars check out the premiers part of the website http://www.salon-auto.ch/en/premieres/index.php