Ethics news:
archived: 17 October 2007
Ethics News is regularly updated with links and introductions to ethics-related news stories gathered from all over the web. We regularly archive the stories collected.
Surgical spirits
We all need to wise up to the dangers of alcohol. If you're drinking as much as your doctor, you're almost certainly drinking too much. "How do I know if I'm drinking too much?" the patient asks the doctor ... more.
The Guardian - 16 October 2007
All addictions turn from pleasure to dependency
The state can only deal with our myriad compulsive behaviours by first recognising their common basis. Two important reports came out this weekend. One says obesity will cost the UK �45bn a year by 2050 if current trends are not reversed ... more.
The Guardian - 16 October 2007
Al Gore's 'good lies'
When is an error not an error? When it�s in a film designed to raise awareness about climate change and make us change our behaviour. Earlier this year, when Channel 4 showed Martin Durkin�s film The Great Global Warming Swindle, greens had a collective hissy fit ... more.
Spiked Online - 15 October 2007
And the 'Nobel Fear Prize' goes to ...
Al Gore, scaremonger-in-chief of the green lobby, is a fitting winner of a prize that's long mistaken fear-makers for peacemakers. When I heard commentators praising Al Gore as a �charismatic figure�, I waited around for the punchline. But they weren't joking ... more.
Spiked Online - 15 September 2007
Why greens don't want to 'solve' climate change
Environmentalists are cagey about techno-fixes to climate change because berating mankind for its impact on nature is their raison d'�tre. Environmental activists and commentators frequently argue that climate change is the most pressing problem facing humanity ... more.
Spiked Online - 10 October 2007
It's the stupid country
They must be counting their blessings, the workers at CSG Solar AG in Thalheim, Germany. Demand for solar power is booming and the people in the eastern state of Sachsen-Anhalt are riding the wave of global change. So successful is the company in developing and manufacturing ... more.
The Age - 16 October 2007
The climate crisis for humanity
The least fortunate will be hurt the most by global warming. On September 24 about 80 heads of states and government met at the United Nations at the invitation of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to discuss climate change ... more.
The Age - 15 Octover 2007
Is it ethical to watch sport?
With football, rugby and cricket and even motor racing dominating the news as never before, I am confused as to what I ought to think about sport. On the one hand, playing sport is healthy � especially for children ... more.
Spiked Online - 12 October 2007
This is not eugenics: this is one mum's tough decision
The slating of a British mother for asking doctors to give her disabled daughter a hysterectomy exposes today's deep distrust of parents. If a politician were to announce that all disabled girls should have their wombs removed in adolescence in order to make them easier to care for, I would object ... more.
Spiked Online - 9 October 2007
Listen to the executioners before you opt for execution
A few weeks ago, I talked to a man called Ron McAndrew. He spoke about the death penalty, but from quite a different perspective than either Kevin Rudd or John Howard. You see, McAndrew had served as the warden of Florida State Prison ... more.
The Age - 17 October 2007
Is it ethical to own a mobile phone?
My son is now starting his senior school and he wants to get a mobile phone. I wasn�t sure he really needed one, but then it got me thinking whether I really needed one, too. I must admit I sometimes find it very convenient but is it ethical to own a mobile phone? ... more.
Spiked Online - 31 August 2007
Wake up, gen Zzz
Young people must realise their vote matters. Only eternal vigilance will keep our democracy strong. A formidable force could be harnessed to change the course of this election. In the last election, voters under 25 made up more than 12 per cent of Australian voters ... more.
The Age - 14 October 2007
I watched a gunman shoot my mother
In the absence of global arms control, thousands die violently every day. My suitcase packed and airport taxi booked, I checked my wallet once again. I flicked through my passport with its newly stamped visa for the United States... more.
The Age - 16 October 2007
Idleness the root of all evil
"It's about jobs, not overcrowding. It's about jobs, not about culture or ethnicity or missions or history. It's about jobs, not about grog and drug abuse. It's about jobs, it's not even about child abuse. All these are merely symptoms of long-term unemployment." ... more.
The Australian - 13 October 2007
Terrorists, not the media, make Muslims look bad
I have to say I tire of people complaining that the media makes Muslims look bad, makes all Muslims look like terrorists. It may sound trite to say this, but the media didn't crash those planes or bomb those nightclubs. Militant Islamists did it ... more.
The Australian - 17 October 2007