Environmental Organizations and Reasoned Discourse

This book explores the meaning and role of “fair and reasoned discourse” in the context of our institutions for environmental decision processes. The book reviews the roles of our “environmental advocacy organizations”—such as The Sierra Club, The Audubon Society, the Environmental Defense Fund—in providing and ensuring that our discourse and decisions are fair and reasoned according to the criteria of being (i) inclusive of input from all affected, (ii) informed of relevant scientific and socio-economic information, (iii) uncorrupted by direct conflicts of interest, and (iv) logical according robust review by uncorrupted judges. These organizations are described and examined as expressions of “collective imperfect duty,” i.e. the coordinated duties with environmental direction. The current state of our discourse is examined in light of this fairness criteria, particularly in consideration of the cross-border problems that threaten tragedies of the global commons.

Richard M. Robinson is Professor of Business at SUNY Fredonia, USA.