Can ecologists live ethically?
February 4, 2009
Conservation biologists are great at using science to illuminate the often hidden world of animals and providing guidance to help save them. But can the same biologists practice what they preach?
That’s the question raised by Giovanni Bearzi in an essay in the current issue of the journal Conservation Biology. ”When swordfish conservation biologists eat swordfish” is Bearzi’s piercing but necessary exploration of how even the best informed minds can fail to live up to their own ethical standards.
The essay goes beyond simply finding examples of internal inconsistency in conservation biologists – it’s about a greater struggle to reconcile what is expedient and what is morally correct. In this sense, it’s an ancient human conflict, but applied to the realm of modern environmental issues. The essay is accessible to a lay audience and freely available on the journal’s website.
For all that appears in the popular press about green lifestyles, this essay stands out as more inquisitive and though-provoking than nearly any other I’ve seen lately. Click here to read it.
