Exploring Geoethics : Ethical Implications, Societal Contexts, and Professional Obligations of the Geosciences

This book explores the potential of geoethics, as designed within the operational criteria of addressing the deeds and values of the human agent as part of the Earth system. It addresses three key questions: i) what should be considered 'geoethics' in an operational sense, ii) what is peripheral to it, and iii) is there a case therefore to establish a denomination, such as geo-humanities or geosophy, to capture a broader scope of thinking about geoscience and its interactions with society and the natural world, for the benefit of the geo-professionals and others.

The book begins by framing, contextualising and describing contemporary geoethics, then goes on to cover several examples of geoethical thinking and explores the societal intersections of geosciences in the planetary ‘human niche’. The concluding chapter discusses the challenges facing the emerging field of geoethics and how it may evolve in the future. 

Bringing together a set of experts across multiple interdisciplinary fields this collection will appeal to scholars, researchers, practitioners and students within geosciences and social sciences, political sciences as well as the humanities. It will interest those who are curious about how ethical reflections relate to professional duties, scholarly interests, activities in professional geoscience associations, or responsible citizenship in times of anthropogenic global change. 

Martin Bohle is an oceanographer and works in Belgium as a science manager at the European Commission. He obtained his Docteur ès Sciences at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédéral de Lausanne, Switzerland, and his research interests cover societal geosciences and geophysical fluid dynamics. As Research Scholar at the Ronin Institute, New Jersey, USA, he cooperates with the International Association for Promoting Geoethics.