Bottled Water – The Environmental Cost
It is helpful to understand the different ethical frameworks of deontologism, virtue ethics, and consequentialism when deciding what theories have the most value to environmental ethics. There is clearly merit in this ethical framework but the regards to environmental ethics just like virtue ethics there are obvious holes.
Environmental Ethics
Sales of bottled water in the UK have increased dramatically over the last 15 years. ;Many brands of bottled water are transported from producers to consumers all around the world, which, added to the manufacture of plastic bottles themselves, gives bottled water a massive carbon footprint – some have estimated it is up to 1,000 times that of tap water.
Sorts of occupational wellness and environmental well being hazards
A decision taken by our world leaders can cause turbulence in the world and affect the lives of ordinary citizens like us. A generous donation from wealthy countries can help improve the conditions of natural calamity victims or starving children somewhere in Africa or third world countries.
Not only for our world leaders but for us ordinary people. We have seen and experienced vast changes in the global economic system.
The primary responsibility for these developments lies with our world leaders, in particular, the governments of the world’s wealthy nations.
Environmental Awareness and Responsibility
Occupational and environmental health is the multidisciplinary approach to the identification, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention and control of disease, injuries, and other adverse health conditions resulting from hazardous environment exposures in the workplace, the home, or the community. In general, occupational and environment health and safety hazards can be categorized in the following manner:
First, safety hazards. Different health hazards that result in environmental or occupational illness also includes:
The responsible factors include stressful work environments, excessive work and unrealistic demands from workers and other conflicts at workplace.
To prevent these hazards, information alone will not avert occupational and environmental diseases and injuries.
What China Can Find out From Switzerland In Terms Of The Social, Political, Economic And Environmental Challenges
Students in environmental degree programs at the Washington institution are working with tidal energy – a form of ocean energy that the Ocean Energy Council suggests involves harnessing undersea currents with help from machines. Students in environmental degree programs at the Oregon institution can work on producing energy from waves that store the solar energy they receive from winds and then transmit that energy for thousands of miles, according to the Ocean Energy Council.
Students in environmental degree programs might also work with offshore wind energy.
Environmental Degree Holders Study Natural Energy Sources
What China can learn from Switzerland’s political situation
While Switzerland may not be perfect in this area, China could emulate the Swiss government’s commitment to fighting corruption. ;China did not rank very well in this survey thus indicating that the Chinese government still has to tackle numerous cases of corruption within its ranks. This regime is still currently running the government. Many individuals in China are suffering as the country has been marred by protests against the government. The government’s representatives have responded to these protests by claiming that China cannot be a replica of western states. However, this is the point where the Chinese government is gravely mistaken; there is a reason why the people within their country are not happy at all with the way the government is running its affairs and why the people of Switzerland seem to be more content with their government. The Chinese government needs to change the way they operate by instituting true democracy.
- Swiss people’s party
- Christian Democratic people’s party
- Social Democratic party
- Free Democratic party
The Chinese government could learn from their Swiss counterparts in that the rights of the common man need to take precedence.
In relation to the Tibetan crisis, the Chinese government could borrow a leaf from Switzerland.
China is faced with the problem of tackling the Tibetan question.
What China can learn from Switzerland’s economic situation
The reason why these inequalities arose was that unlike the Swiss government, the Chinese governed has a direct approach to controlling the country’s economy. For instance before the economic boom, the Chinese government had created certain programs that made citizens dependant on the former. China can adopt the Swiss government’s approach to economic governance. (Economy watch, 2008) The Swiss government rarely makes abrupt policy changes that would destabilize the entire macro-economic system.
China could learn from their Swiss counterparts who operate under a free market economy.
What China can learn from Switzerland’s social situation
In terms of China’s social system, there are a number of pointers that China could borrow from Switzerland. For instance, they ought to relax government control in religion.; Time and time again, the Chinese government has been accused by international media and local critics of its excessive religious control. So in response to this, China instituted a mechanism that registers religions. To demonstrate the Chinese government’s instance on this issue, one only has to visit religious seminaries where young leaders are expected to be educated politically and socially as dictated by the government. The Chinese government seems to be operating in fear of religious leaders claiming that these leaders can destabilize the government or even overthrow it.
(Chinese governed White paper , 1997)
This example illustrates just how much the Swiss government is committed to religious freedom. No single individual (including government officials) are allowed to oppress another person’s right to freedom of religion. China should follow Swiss’ example by making all government officials and representatives accountable through the constitution.
- Local consultation centers
- etc
The Swiss government recognizes the fact that society will always have divisions.
The Chinese government can also learn from such an experience by creating systems that enhance racial or religious accountability.
What China can learn from Switzerland’s environmental situation
The government has not done anything to curb this problem.
China could learn from the Swiss environmental laws because the latter government has carbon limits for various emitting sources. The Swiss government has been very keen on this and their approach could serve as lesson to the Chinese government in the future. Socially, China can learn from Switzerland by curbing religious discrimination. This can be done by creating laws that hold the government accountable. Economically, China can learn from Switzerland by separating politics from the economy as is the case today in China. Lastly, the Chinese government ought to be more vigilant about its environmental polices like their counterparts in Switzerland.
John B.; (2006); Understanding China: A Guide to China’s Economy, History and Political Structure, Prentice Hall
Economy watch (2008): The economy of Switzerland, retrieved from