Short Course EGU 2022 General Assembly

Session: SC4 – Scientific approaches & concepts

Geoethics for Earth, Marine and Atmospheric Sciences

Convenership
Eduardo Marone, Silvia Peppoloni

Rationale
The proper and deep education on ethical issues in geosciences has been evolving in recent times, although not as quickly and deeply as necessary. Many of the professionals dedicated to Earth Sciences have been not in touch with such new concepts and tendencies as the concept of geoethics. Geoethics is the research and reflection on the values that underpin appropriate behaviours and practices, wherever human activities interact with the Earth system. Geoethics provides a framework from which to define ethical professional behaviours in both geosciences and engineering and to determine how these should be put into practice for the benefit of society and the environment. The Short Course goes is directed towards introducing and training Earth scientists in those new concepts and ideas as well as exposing the perspectives of this field. Social-ecological Systems and the anthropic impact on land, ocean, and atmosphere interactions are at the cores issues to be discussed under the umbrella of geoethics, as a tool to cope with Climate Changes and other earth-society related challenges. 

Learning objectives

After completing this course, participants

1.     Will know the basic principles of ethics and how these lead to geoethics

2.     Will be aware of the dilemmas involved in making geoethical decisions

3.     Will have gained some experience in taking a geoethical approach to real world cases

Course Content: (provisional until we know the lecturers attending EGU2022then, adjusted):

1.   From Ethics to geoethics: definition, values, tools

2.   Responsible conduct of research and professionalism

3.   Tools for confronting (geo)ethical dilemmas

4.   Geoethics for society: sustainable development and responsible mining

5.   Geoethics in natural hazards

6.   Education challenges in geoethics

7.   Geoethics in geoscience communication

8.   Recent developments in geoethical thinking

9.   Perspectives of geoethics

10.    Geoethics’ case studies: Paleontology, Water Management, Ocean Governance, etc.

Targeted audience:

Most, if not all, of the EGU GA attendants, are potential participants, although we will target, mostly, early-career practitioners and scientists with enough basic background not to be overly challenged in these theoretical and practical issues. The Course proposal is on-site and on-line.

Co-sponsored by:

International Ocean Institute Training Centre for Latin America and the Caribbean (IOITCLAC)

International Association from Promoting Geoethics (IAPG)