Applying Theory: Enviromental Issues

Mosser, K. (2013). Ethics and social responsibility (2nd ed.) [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/ Your goal for this assignment is to apply an ethical theory to a
real-world situation. You will examine an environmental issue and apply
one of the ethical theories to it to understand how human interactions
with the natural environment raise ethical concerns. You will do this by
preparing and posting a PowerPoint slideshow consisting of 12 slides
with a separate section under each slide for notes.

• Choose one of the following topics or issues, and read about it at the indicated place:
  • Environmental justice and environmental racism (Read Environmental Justice for All (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.)
  • Environmental harm, like the pollution of air and water (Read Chapter 8 in the textbook)
  • Waste reduction (Read Chapter 8 in the textbook)
• Select one philosophical theory (i.e., utilitarianism, deontology,
  or virtue ethics). Consider the following questions pertaining to the
  theory you have selected:
  • What does the theory tell us about how things operate in the real world?
  • What is the focus of the theory? That is, what aspects of everyday life (or what questions) does the theory address?
• The focus helps you think about the topical boundaries of the
  theory. This course is about ethics and social responsibility, so you
  should concentrate on the ethical and moral aspects of both the theory
  and topic you are analyzing. It may help to think in terms of different
  realms or institutions. Does the theory help explain people’s behavior
  from a political, economic, religious, or ethical perspective? Try to
  sort through everything that does not represent an ethical question, and
  address only the ethical issues.
  • How does the theory simplify complex issues to make them more
    understandable? Another way to think about this is to consider the
    concepts that make up the theory. Identify the concepts and how they are
    related to each other.
• Develop one thesis question that applies your philosophical theory
  to your environmental issue. You will address this question by
  developing an argument that links the theory to the issue (through your
  notes and pictures), so make sure you word your question carefully to
  accomplish this task. Indicate this thesis question on your second slide
  (the one after the title slide).
• Next, develop an ethical argument that addresses your question. Use
  the text and/or other academic sources to support your position. Build
  your argument by writing nine clear sentences. Each sentence should make
  one important point about the ethical aspects of the environmental
  issue you are analyzing and should be placed on one slide each.
• Underneath each slide, you will also add presentation notes. This is
  written information that you would normally say or share with an
  audience during a presentation, but they do not show up in the
  presentation. Your notes should also make use of at least two academic
  sources and elaborate on the image and sentence in each slide.
  • To add notes to your slide, go the section at the bottom of each
    slide in PowerPoint and click on the option that says “Click to add
    notes.” Type your notes into that section.
  • Make sure your presentation focuses on ethical arguments and avoids
    personal opinion, arguments based on politics, economics, religion, or
    topics other than ethics.
• Next, find a photo or image to illustrate each slide, and post it on
  the slide above the sentence. Search the Internet for photos or images
  that are appropriate. Make sure the photos or images you use are not
  copyright protected; you should only use photos or images that are in
  the public domain. Also, make sure you cite the sources from which you
  retrieved your photos or images directly underneath the photo on each
  slide.

The final PowerPoint slideshow should consist of 12 slides. There
should be one slide for the title page, one slide for your thesis
question, nine slides for your arguments (i.e., main sentences) and
notes, and one slide for your references. You should use at least two
academic sources in addition to the textbook as references. So you will
use a total of at least three academic sources. All citations and
references must be in the APA format as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

This assignment must be submitted as a PowerPoint presentation. Other
formats (e.g., PDF files, Word documents, etc.) are not acceptable. If
you are unfamiliar with how to use PowerPoint, see Basic tasks in PowerPoint 2010 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. You may also use the sample PowerPoint assignment to
guide you in preparing your assignment, but you may not use the slides
from that sample in your own work. The work you submit must be
completely original. Please also make sure that you refer to the grading
rubric for this assignment to ensure that your final work meets all of
the submission criteria for the final PowerPoint slideshow.