Ethics and Science

What are Ethics?
Ethics are philosophical views which justify and support which behavior is right (good) and which behavior is wrong (bad). There are many different ethical view points which can conflict with each other under certain circumstances. Some believe as long as they intended to do something good, the results of their actions can be justified (Kantianism). Others believe the actions which benefit the most people should be taken (Utilitarianism). Some believe as long as they do what benefits them the most, they are doing the right thing (Egoism). So as you can see, different beliefs can have very different results.

What are some Common Ethical Theories?

•  Egoism: Self interest is the top priority in this belief; what ever benefits me is the most important.
• Utilitarianism: The greater good is always considered; if five lives can be saved by taking one then it is more beneficial for the group.
• Kantianism: The consequences are of less importance than the intentions behind an action.
• Principlism: Actions take four principles in to consideration; free-will, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice.
• Virtue: Look to emulate heroes/saints and what is believed to be good.
• Natural rights theory: 3 basic rights (listed in order of priority) are life, liberty and property. Life is the top focus and it trumps the other two rights if they are in conflict.

Why do Ethics matter in Science?

I believe that ethics are important in the field of science because they set guidelines on the behaviors of scientists. Ethics limit what actions can be taken/justified in the name of science. They stop us from testing treatments on living creatures (mostly). They keep scientists aware of what they should be striving for and most importantly, they limit what shouldn't be done in the pursuit of progress.

Important Aspects of Writing in the Sciences

The purpose of writing in the scientific field (and in general) is communication. Being able to record and convey ideas that will be read and learned by others at a later time is an invaluable tool. Below are the aspects which I believe are important in a piece of scientific writing. They are valuable because they allow information to be shared and received in the most effective way.

Style

The way which information is presented can be the difference between a piece of writing being praised or ignored. Even if the information is accurate, no one will want to continue reading it if the writing style is tedious, unexciting and redundant. Science is all about exploring and explaining the unknowns in the world so writing should reflect this and make it interesting for the reader. 

However sometimes writing will require a less interesting approach to style when the writing has to be formal and then the focus shifts solely to the accuracy of ideas presented in an effective way.

Organization and Clarity

Getting all the information to the reader is important however if the information isn't organized in a clear manner, it will be difficult for the reader to understand the information in the first place. People only have a limited memory capacity, so picking which information to present is an essential skill. A paragraph with some key points can easily be more valuable than a page of disorganized ideas.

Accuracy and Facts

The actual ideas which are being presented should be correct and just in case someone doesn't believe what you're say, they should be able to easily look up the information and find research which supports you. Personally, I find having to find sources to cite a chore however I do see their importance especially when any information is being presented in academic and scientific writing.

Plastic Pollution in Marine Environments

The reduction of plastic pollution in New Zealand’s marine environments

 

New Zealand is often thought of as a country full of vibrant forests, unique wildlife and alluring oceans. An environmentally friendly haven where littering has largely become a faux pas however a stroll along one of the many beaches usually results in coming across at least a few pieces of plastic partially hidden in the sand or being continuously bounced between the waves. The origin of the trash is puzzling, do we blame ninja litterers? Careless fishermen? Cost cutting corporations? Other countries whose waste is carried to us by currents? Personally I don't care whose fault it is, I just care that we fix it.

Currently many things are being done to reduce and remove plastics from New Zealand’s marine environments but is enough being done? I am currently writing a position paper on the topic of whether NZ needs to do more to reduce the pollution of our marine environment by plastics. The two different viewpoints on the issue that I am exploring are whether enough is being done by New Zealand to reduce marine pollution and whether more needs to be done by New Zealand to reduce marine pollution. 

Enough is being done
People usually look to the government to lead the way and set the standards when it comes to national and global issues. According to a government statement in Garbage disposal in the marine environment (2015) “New Zealand enforces tough new international regulations to protect the marine environment from garbage pollution by ships, pleasure craft and offshore installations”. This show us, the public, that enough is being done right now because the government is enforcing regulations to protect the marine environment from pollution, so we don’t need to worry, it would cost too much time, effort and money to do anything else. 

More needs to be done 

There are currently many positive efforts to clean up pollution in the marine environment but there is also not enough is being done. Even with the government enforcing international regulations, Morton (2015) reports that more than 25,000kg of plastic waste was littered in New Zealand each day and a large amount of that ends up in the ocean. These kinds of figures for pollution levels are unbelievable but we still buy drinks in plastics bottles and somehow they still end up in the ocean. It will cost a lot more time, effort and money to fix this issue but it needs to be done.

 

References:

Garbage disposal in the marine environment. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.maritimenz.govt.nz/Environmental/Garbage-disposal.asp

Morton, J. (2015). More than 25,000kg of plastic littered in NZ daily. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11401696