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Blair Seaman

Professors Shahar and Lopez

PHIL 322- 101

4 May 2017

Synthesis Essay

The ethical discussion that stems from Case 7.2: Poverty and Pollution is one that

considers both human and nonhuman concerns. Cubato, nicknamed Brazils valley of death,

has recently been under fire for its alarming pollution rate, and has ultimately developed into an

environmental nightmare. More than 100,000 people inhabit the valley along with several

industrial plants that account for the communitys income. Unfortunately, the pollution produced

by the production plants has reached dangerous new heights, emitting carcinogenic toxins

along with other pollutants into the atmosphere at an alarming rate. As a result, thousands of

Cubato residents suffer from diseases related to the heavy levels of pollution, the most

common being respiratory disease. This draws up a question of morality about the rate at which

Cubato has continued to allow pollution. Essentially, the dilemma is whether or not the high

levels of pollution seen in the town are morally wrong despite the struggle the local inhabitants

have faced to lift themselves out of poverty. However, the degradation the residents of Cubato

have imposed on their local environment during their fight for economic prosperity are morally

reprehensible, and the consequences are sure to be seen far beyond their own environment.

The rate at which Cubato has been polluting the environment is simply neither

acceptable nor beneficial. Although the town has faced a significant struggle to lift itself from

poverty, the degradation of their local environment that has ensued is reprehensible. First, I will
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begin by detailing why the pollution seen in Cubato is not morally acceptable. The most

aggressive repercussion of the pollution is likely to be the overall decline in public health. The

air in Cubato is so heavily polluted that 13,000 residents currently suffer from respiratory

disease (Shaw, 275). With roughly 40,000 total residents, this number accounts for over 25% of

Cubatos urban residents. Even further, Shaw points out that, infant mortality is 10% higher

here than in the region as a whole, (275). All of these health effects can be traced back to the

toxicity of the air Cubatos residents breathe in every day. Many of the residents of Cubato

are not living there by choice, they just simply cannot afford to live anywhere else. Therefore,

they are subjected to live within the toxic conditions of the town without any say in the industrial

progress being made. Much of the population would have otherwise been in wealthier nations,

and this cost has been imposed on the people of Cubato due to other individuals decisions. As

such, they are facing as immoral externality from the pollution emitted by the factories placed in

Cubato by richer nations (Module 5, Lecture 1). There should not be a difference in the value

of a life, and therefore it is not morally acceptable to further deteriorate the health of their

population for the sake of economic advancement.

Aside from the devastating health consequences the population has faced, the pollution

has also proved not to be beneficial to their progress as a community either. While wealthier

nations are generally more worrisome about things like endangered species and climate

change, concerns are much more basic for impoverished towns. For Cubato, their main

concerns are for dirty water, dirty air, and violations of other basic needs (Shaw, 276). Without

these things, it is unlikely that they will be able to gain momentum in their efforts to rid

themselves of poverty. Since the industrial factories are polluting both their air and water, the

facilities pose as zero benefit to their community. On a broader spectrum, the pollution will also
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increase the effects of global warming. While global warming is also something mainly

considered by wealthier nations, it is something places like Cubato should also consider.

According to Shaw, global warming threatens the worlds poorest nations in that it could reverse

their progress towards prosperity (276). Increased levels of pollution are likely to result in more

frequent natural disasters that will continue to delay their advancement as a society. In both

cases, the current levels of pollution are not outweighed by the perceived benefits of the

industry as it has made their environment unlivable ad susceptible to natural disasters.

One of the greatest arguments for the morality of the pollution and degradation of the

environment in Cubato suggests that the environmental consequences are an unfortunate, but

necessary, part of economic growth. The theory suggests that by imposing sacrifices on people

today, in the form of health effects and environmental degradation, the future generations will be

able to prosper. Specifically, there is an economic model that supports an equilibrium where

there is a socially desirable level of pollution to have in any given society (Duarte, Closing

Comments). In fact our own society has benefited tremendously from economic development

that was accompanied by atypical levels of pollution and environmental degradation during the

industrial revolution era (Module 5, Lecture 7). Had such levels of pollution been written off as

immoral and condemned from ever occurring, our progress as a society may have been delayed

so that no one would suffer at the time. This would have been detrimental to human progress in

that invaluable discoveries like penicillin, as well as inventions like the steam engine, may have

never come about or would have appeared much later. This example of a socially acceptable,

and in fact desirable, level of pollution in a society represents the prosperity and economic

growth that can follow the sacrifices placed on a community

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In a town that is struggling economically, much like Cubato, a factory could generate

economic growth, sustain and create new jobs, and act as a source of income. Unfortunately for

a town like Cubato, a factory may also be the only element keeping their community from

starving. As stated in the case study, the fumes smell of new jobs, and the locals are more

concerned with their current state economically than their environmental surroundings (Shaw,

275). By employing their local population at a factory within their own town, rather than

individuals travelling to nearby towns for work, Cubato could lift itself from its long-standing

struggle to free itself from poverty. While such a factory would create low levels of pollution, the

factory would still be worth building to the inhabitants because of the benefits they would see

economically. This is an example of the trade-offs that result from environmental policy. When

determined levels of pollution are tied to substantial gains for a society, the pollution becomes

more morally acceptable as a result of the prosperity of the society. Allowing Cubato to lift itself

from poverty, the economic benefits would be significantly greater than the health effects that

the current residents are facing. Although the health effects are life threatening now, this is

considered to be one of the sacrifices residents have to make today to allow their community to

progress in the future. Thus, the pollution and environmental degradation are simply a price of

progress and can be morally justified as by-products of the continual efforts Cubato has made

to relieve itself of poverty (Shaw, 275).

Often, the justification offered to explain the degradation of their local environment is that

it is simply the unavoidable price of economic growth, and that certain levels of pollution are

desirable. However, not only does that not justify the possibly irreversible damage to the

environment they have caused, it also simply is not true. Much of the pollution that currently

exists in Cubato is from industries that were placed there by richer countries. Essentially, the
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residents of Cubato have been subjected to live in a polluted environment so that the pollution

created by these industries does not affect the economic growth of richer nations as greatly.

This places an immoral greater value on a life from an individual with a higher income than an

individual with a lesser income (Shaw, 275). While the intention of moving the industries to less

populated nations is to promote economic growth while moving pollution from their own

environments, the pollution altogether cannot be named an unavoidable price of economic

growth. There are, in fact, several options to avoid the pollution that is currently being emitted.

Direct controls, enforced by the government, could be used to either limit the amount of pollution

industries may emit or to subsidize the costs of switching to more environmentally friendly

measures (Module 5, Lecture 5). In doing so, such high levels of pollution would no longer be

allowed, or would not be emitted from the new sustainable methods of production. Assuming the

pollution is no longer unavoidable, it is also important to understand the effects that any level of

pollution has on an environment.

By sacrificing the well-being of our environment today, we are also sacrificing the

integrity of the environment for future generations. Regardless of any socially desirable level of

pollution, the world Cubato is leaving behind for their successors is that of an ecologically

impoverished, polluted environment. The pollution levels seen in their local environment have

gone so far as to drive fish populations out of its surrounding waters. In other circumstances,

these fish could be a self-sustaining, reliable source of both food and income for their

community. Unfortunately, even fish that have returned to the area as a result of efforts to

reduce pollution are still inedible due to the toxicity of the fish tissue (Shaw, 276). Moreover,

global warming, which is fueled by pollutants like greenhouse gases, increases the likelihood of

droughts, floods, and other natural disasters occurring in poorer areas near the equator, much
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like Cubato (Shaw, 276). In both cases, the high level of pollution is actually delaying their

progress towards becoming a prosperous society. However, global warming is just that- a global

issue, and some environmentalists have suggested that richer nations help poorer nations in

making the switch to more environmentally sustainable energy sources in order to further curb

emissions. Although, in todays world, that would likely require an incentive to motivate the

richer countries. Regardless, it is important to note the inverse relationship that can be seen

between Cubatos emission output and economic growth. This struggle by a nation to attain

prosperity at the expense of the environment cannot be morally justified.

Over the last several years, the pollution level in Cubato, Brazil has increased to

dangerous new heights. Visitors are immediately hit with chest pains due to the toxins in the air,

and their local waters have been stripped of the fish populations that once flourished. Some

have deemed the pollution the price of economic progress, but it has far exceeded an

acceptable price. At the rate pollution is being emitted, and the environmental degradation that

has followed, it is no longer morally acceptable for Cubato to treat their environment in this

manner. A popular objection to this reasoning is that the pollution is an unfortunate side effects

of the industrialization necessary to make substantial economic progress. However, there are

severe consequences that could occur if pollution continues at its current rate. Further, there are

steps that can be taken to avoid such high levels of emissions that are not currently being

employed. Ultimately, economic improvement cannot continue to be prioritized over the state of

our environment.
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References

Duarte, M. (2017, March 30). Closing Comments.

Shahar, D. Module 5: The Environment. Lecture.

Shaw, W. H. (2016). Business ethics: a textbook with cases (9th ed.) [Student Edition].

Retrieved April, 2017.