Velasquez Chapter 5
Chapter Overview
In chapter 5, students will explore a variety of ways in which businesses and corporations impact
the environment. Students will discuss and evaluate various ways in which business practices
cause environmental degradation, through such means as waste production and emissions
In-and-Out of Class Activities
Reflective Response
1. Choose one of the following issues: water pollution, airborne toxins, acid rain, or nuclear
2. Locate and review an article describing the impacts of climate change on various Pacific
island nations. Do industrialized nations have an ethical responsibility to protect the
environments of other geographic regions? Apply concepts of corporate responsibility and
utilitarianism in your discussion.
3. Summarize the “last man” argument in ecological ethics. How does this idea of environmental
responsibility relate to, or differ from, the core concepts of utilitarianism? Provide detailed
examples to support your perspective.
Group & Team Collaboration
1. Imagine that a train hauling coal has derailed along its route through a scenic natural area,
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spilling raw materials dangerously close to the river that provides drinking water for a large
nearby city. Divide the class into groups to represent each stakeholder. Create a collaborative
statement that expresses the concerns and issues each stakeholder faces in this situation.
2. After a major spill causes environmental destruction along an estuary system, a large oil
company seeks to improve community relations and restore investor confidence. Your team has
3. With your team, write a 2–3-page short story about the experiences of a fictional family living
in a small, rural town whose well water has been polluted by a nearby mining operation. Your
story should be realistic fiction, with named characters and plausible scenarios.
Intellectual Discussion
1. Lecture Point: Environmental responsibility in a global economy
Questions to Ask Students: Is it unethical for corporations to purchase land in
nonindustrialized nations specifically for the purpose of dumping waste materials?
2. Lecture Point: Applied sustainability
Questions to Ask Students: How would you summarize the main concepts of
environmental sustainability? Do you feel that your local area is moving toward
utilizing sustainable practices? How might you apply the ideas of utilitarian ethics
when evaluating the worth of sustainable methods?
3. Lecture Point: Environmental responsibility and stakeholders
Questions to Ask Students: Do consumers have a moral obligation to consider the
environmental footprint of goods and services when selecting items to purchase or
use? Incorporate ethical theories and ideas from the course readings to support