The concept of corporate environmental responsibility

The concept of corporate environmental responsibility Background The concept of corporate environmental responsibility has been widely debated. There has been a contention over what should be the responsibility of corporate entities to ensure the environment is sustainably utilized.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The concept of corporate environmental responsibility specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More While some actors have argued that the sole responsibility of corporate entities remains to make profit for the shareholders, others are of the view that there are scenarios where corporate entities should have their contributions in ensuring that there are sound environmental practices so that all organizational ventures are sustainable. The relevance of having corporate taking responsibility for their environmental actions has been exacerbated by the repercussions that have been seen as far as environmental factors are concerned where it is believed that the years of irres ponsible business practices and the motive for profit has led to acute degradation of the environment leading to notable problems such as drying water sources, pollution of the oceans and worse still, presence of harmful products in what is consumed. Ethical Grid In an attempt to demystify the role that should be played by the corporate sector in environmental conservation, Hoffman’s case identifies several ethical standpoints that have been pointed out in the ethical greed. Going by the philosophy of Norman Bowie who is of the view that ethical responsibility for environmental conservation is a responsibility of the government as opposed to corporate entities, one can argue that the relationship between business and environment should be viewed form the Prima-facie ethics point of view. This means that even though it may be an individual’s obligation to take good care of the surrounding, the most fundamental obligation of business entities is to make profits and thus they can override all other obligations to ensure that the profit pursuit is achieved. One can also address the issue form a Supererogatory point of view by arguing that although it is good to take care of the environment, corporate entities that may feel that they are not willing to pump their money towards conservation efforts will not have violated any law.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More From the utilitarian point of view, the main idea being presented by Hoffman views that corporate entities should be the driving forces towards the environmental conservation. From the utilitarian point of view, it can be said that companies should ensure that they structure their production in such a way that they reduce the strain to the environment while ensuring that they do not overcharge the customers for this. From the libertarian point of view, firms are at liberty to f ollow only the laws that have been set by the government as opposed to engaging in activities meant to go beyond what the government specifies in their conservation efforts. Solutions From the assigned case, it is evident that the principles of utilitarian ethics were grossly violated. Corporate entities should ensure that their pursuit for profit does not endanger the lives of others, either in the future generation or in the present generation. Thus, organizations should ensure that they engage only in ethical principles that are geared towards producing the best benefit to the populace as opposed to harming the populations in some ways. Arguments that have been advanced by Norman Bowie are thus misleading as it should be the responsibility of corporate entities to ensure that whatever they do is not in the contrary to their ability to be in the same business sustainably in the future. Companies should not be blinded by the profit motive as this may make them engage in unethical p ractices. In this case the ethical reasoning that ought to have been applied is that advanced by the utilitarian school of thought. This is because matters that concern the environment should not be left to the government only as every person is ethically responsible to ensure that he/she has a stake in protecting the environment. Therefore, it is imperative that corporate entities should have viewed the issue of environmental ethics as their own responsibility as opposed to viewing their role as though it is only defined by the government.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The concept of corporate environmental responsibility specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Corporate entities should keep away from the argument that views the responsibility of conserving the environment as discretion of the government as they should also assist in policy formulation and also, ensure that their acts are far above the minimal accepted standards for effective conservation. If corporate entities accept to adopt the utilitarian approach to matters that concern environmental management, then the issue of the future of the environmental condition is brilliant. This is because a responsible corporate entity will seek to engage in environmental friendly practices beyond the basic levels as defined by the government. It is also evident that a responsible corporate sector will help come up with more sustainable policies since as major stakeholders in the environment; the corporate sector will be in a position to offer helpful advice to the concerned policy makers. Besides this, corporates will undertake the responsibility of educating its consumers on some aspects of the environment and why they should take part in the process of environmental conservation.

Geology of the Appalachian Mountains

Geology of the Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountain range is one of the oldest continental mountain systems in the world. The tallest mountain in the range is the 6,684-foot Mount Mitchell, located in North Carolina. Compared with the Rocky Mountains of western North America, which have 50 plus peaks over 14,000 feet in elevation, the Appalachians are rather modest in height. At their tallest, however, they rose to Himalayan-scale heights before being weathered and eroded down over the past ~200 million years. A Physiographic Overview The Appalachian Mountains trend southwest to northeast from central Alabama all the way to Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Along this 1,500-mile path, the system is split up into 7 different physiographic provinces  that  contain distinct geologic backgrounds. In the southern section, the Appalachian Plateau and Valley and Ridge provinces make up the western border of the system and are composed of sedimentary rocks like sandstone, limestone, and shale. To the east lie the Blue Ridge Mountains and Piedmont, composed primarily of metamorphic and igneous rocks.  In some areas, like Red Top Mountain in northern Georgia or Blowing Rock in northern North Carolina, the rock has eroded down to where one can see basement rocks that formed over a billion years ago during the Grenville Orogeny.   The northern Appalachians are made up of two parts: the St. Lawrence Valley, a small region defined by the St. Lawrence River and St. Lawrence rift system, and the New England province, which formed hundreds of millions of years ago and owes much of its present topography to recent glacial episodes. Geologically speaking, the Adirondack Mountains are quite different than the Appalachian Mountains; however, they are included by the USGS in the Appalachian Highland region.   Geologic History To a geologist, the rocks of the Appalachian Mountains reveal a billion-year story of violent continental collisions and the subsequent mountain building, erosion, deposition and/or volcanism that came with. The geologic history of the area is complex but can be broken down into four major orogenies, or mountain building events. It is important to remember that between each of these orogenies, millions of years of weathering and erosion wore the mountains down and deposited sediment in the surrounding areas. This sediment was often subjected to intense heat and pressure as the mountains were uplifted again during the next orogeny.   Grenville Orogeny: This mountain-building event occurred around 1 billion years ago, creating the supercontinent Rodinia. The collision formed tall mountains along with the igneous and metamorphic rocks that make up the very core of the Appalachians. The supercontinent began to break apart around 750 million years ago and by 540 million years ago, an ocean (the Iapetus Ocean) existed between the paleocontinents.  Taconic Orogeny: Approximately 460 million years ago, as the Iapetus Ocean was closing, a volcanic island arc chain collided with the North American Craton.  The remnants of these mountains can still be seen in the Taconic Range of New York.Acadian Orogeny: Starting 375 million years ago, this mountain-building episode occurred as the Avalonian terrane collided with the North American Craton. The collision did not happen head on, as it struck the northern section of the protocontinent and then slowly moved southward. Index minerals show us that the Avalonian terrane stru ck the North American craton at different times and with different collisional forces. Alleghanian Orogeny: This event (sometimes referred to as the Appalachian orogeny) formed the supercontinent Pangea ~325 million years ago. The ancestral North American and African continents collided, forming Himalayan-scaled mountain chains known as the Central Pangean Mountains. The modern-day Anti-Atlas Mountains of northwestern Africa were part of this chain. The mountain building ended some 265 million years ago, and the ancestral North American and African continents began drifting apart ~200 million years ago (and continue to do so to this day). The Appalachians have weathered and eroded away over the past hundreds of millions of years, leaving only remnants of the mountain system that once reached record heights. The strata of the Atlantic Coastal Plain are made up of sediment from their weathering, transportation, and deposition.