Some Geoethics Fundamentals and Resources

Presentation Description

Making ethical decisions in a professional context requires us to understand some fundamentals of geoethics that we can derive from community resources available through AEG and other professional organizations (e.g., ASBOG, AGI, AGU, AIPG, and IAPG). This webinar aims to provide an overview of some geoethics basics, and links to associated geoethics resources.

This talk will focus on the ethical foundations of applied geoscience. There is no reason for engineering geology to exist as a profession if we do not provide society with useful and reliable information about the Earth. The ethical practice of engineering geology requires a firm commitment to the responsible conduct of geoscience in the public interest. Vince will present three of the "primacy principles" that are foundational to the practice of engineering geology, related to protecting the public interest (health, safety, well-being), the conduct of science as a truth-seeking process, and environmental stewardship.

Definitions of GeoEthics

Dave Mogk provided the following definition (https://serc.carleton.edu/geoethics/index.html):

"GeoEthics encompasses the values and professional standards required of geoscientists to responsibly work in the profession and in service to society. The training of scientists in ethics has traditionally been focused on the Responsible Conduct of Research. However, GeoEthics encompasses many more dimensions, including personal and professional behaviors as well as responsibilities to society and to stewardship of Earth."

The International Association for Promoting Geoethics offers many viewpoints about the nature of geoethics, starting with their definition at https://www.geoethics.org/definition

"Ethical conduct in the geoscience professions has many dimensions, including responsibilities toward the Profession, to Society, and to the Earth System." (Dave Mogk, https://serc.carleton.edu/geoethics/index.html)

Multiple Facets of GeoEthics

• GeoEthics and Self ( https://serc.carleton.edu/geoethics/geoethics_self.html )
• GeoEthics, Geoscientists and the Geoscience Professions ( https://serc.carleton.edu/geoethics/geoethics_profe.html ) "The accepted practices and values of the discipline [are] reflected in:"
  • Professional Societies and Their Mission Statements and Codes of Ethics ( https://serc.carleton.edu/geoethics/prof_soc.html ) as well as
  • Responsible Conduct of Research ( https://serc.carleton.edu/geoethics/rcr_responsible.html ) "which includes
    • Data and Data Management
    • Mistakes and Negligence
    • Research Misconduct
    • Laboratory Safety
    • Authorship
    • Plagiarism
    • Falsification or Fabrication of Data
    ...and much more."
  • Geoethics and Professionalism: the Responsible Conduct of Scientists ( https://serc.carleton.edu/geoethics/professionalism.html )
• GeoEthics and Society ( https://serc.carleton.edu/geoethics/geoethics_socie.html )
• GeoEthics and the Earth System ( https://serc.carleton.edu/geoethics/geoethics_earth.html )

Structuring thought about geoethics for AEG members in Texas

• Primacy Principles (after Robert Tepel's work)
  Primacy principles are the most important ethical constraints for our work, just as primacy clauses in professional codes of ethics remind us of the most important considerations for a given profession. For example, the Hippocratic Oath is an ancient expression of primacy principles under which a medical healer must work.
  1. In our work as professional geoscientists, the health, safety, and wellbeing of the public are paramount.
  2. The ethical imperatives, standards, and norms that apply to any scientist also apply to professional geoscientists.
  3. Because of geoscientists' specialized knowledge and skills, we have a responsibility to act in ways that promote, protect, and sustain the health of the Earth environment
  
  Our goal as professional geoscientists is to participate in the responsible development of assets that are of sustainable benefit to society, while avoiding or effectively mitigating any hazardous consequences of that development.
  "Licensure laws are based on the same fundamental principle as are professional codes of ethics: the professional must hold the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare to be more important than his or her interest or even the interest of the client or employer" (Tepel, 1995).
• Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG) Code of Conduct, accessible via
  https://aeg.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33:codeofconduct&catid=20:site-content
  https://aeg.memberclicks.net/assets/docs/MemberResources/code_of_conduct.pdf
• American Geosciences Institute (AGI) Ethical Guidelines
  • 2015 version — https://www.americangeosciences.org/community/agi-guidelines-ethical-professional-conduct
  • 1999 version — https://www.americangeosciences.org/sites/default/files/AGIGuidelinesforEthicalProfessionalConduct_1999.pdf
• Statutory Constraints in Texas.
  • Texas Board of Professional Geologists, website accessible via https://tbpg.state.tx.us
  Web addresses for other state licensing boards are accessible from the American Geosciences Institute via https://www.americangeosciences.org/sites/default/files/DB_2019-011_table01.jpg
• National Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG) Standards.
  • ASBOG homepage: https://www.asbog.org
  ASBOG's Professional Geologist Model Licensure Law, accessible via https://asbog.org/documents/ModelLawWithRevisions_10-15-17.pdf
  ASBOG Geology Registration Standards (July 2018), accessible via https://asbog.org/matrix/MatrixJuly2018.pdf
• International Conventions.
  United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948),
  • UDHR homepage: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
  • Text of the declaration (PDF): https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/2021/03/udhr.pdf
  United Nations Sustainable Development
  • SD homepage: https://sdgs.un.org
  • SD goals: https://sdgs.un.org/goals
  Working definitions of "sustainable development"...
  • ...from B Commission Report (1987): "sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
  • ...from the American Society for Civil Engineers: "Sustainable Development is the process of applying natural, human, and economic resources to enhance the safety, welfare, and quality of life for all of the society while maintaining the availability of the remaining natural resources."
  • ...from University of California-Los Angeles Sustainability Committee (2016): Sustainability is the integration of environmental health, social equity and economic vitality in order to create thriving, healthy, diverse and resilient communities for this generation and generations to come. The practice of sustainability recognizes how these issues are interconnected and requires a systems approach and an acknowledgement of complexity.

Some Other Geoethics Resources

• Geological Society of America (GSA) Ethics Home. accessible via
  https://www.geosociety.org/GSA/About/Ethics/GSA/About/ethics/home.aspx
• American Geophysical Union (AGU) Ethics and Equity Center. accessible via
  https://ethicsandequitycenter.org
• International Association for Promoting Geoethics (IAPG) home page. accessible via
  https://www.geoethics.org
• European Federation of Geologists (EFG) Code of Ethics, accessible via https://eurogeologists.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Reg-C1-Ver-6-Nov-2016.pdf
• List of codes of ethics/conduct from prominent geoscience organizations worldwide, accessible via https://www.geoethics.org/codes
• Singapore Statement on Research Integrity, accessible via https://www.wcrif.org/downloads/main-website/singapore-statements/223-singpore-statement-a4size/file
• Cape Town Statement on Geoethics, accessible via https://www.geoethics.org/ctsg
• The Geoethical Promise, accessible via https://www.geoethics.org/geopromise
• It is often useful to read the ethics statements of fields that are adjacent to the geosciences, like civil engineers. The American Society of Civil Engineers Code of Ethics (2017 version) listed the following as the first of their Fundamental Canons : "Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and shall strive to comply with the principles of sustainable development* in the performance of their professional duties."
  While the 2020 version of the ASCE Code of Ethics does not include that sentence, the underlying ideas remain.
  • ASCE Code of Ethics, 2020 — accessible via https://www.asce.org/-/media/asce-images-and-files/career-and-growth/ethics/documents/asce-code-ethics.pdf
  • ASCE Code of Ethics, 2017 — accessible via https://www.asce.org/-/media/asce-images-and-files/career-and-growth/ethics/documents/asce-code-ethics-july-2017.pdf

Invited contribution by Vince Cronin to the IAPG Short Course on Geoethics, presented at the 2021 European Geoscience Union Meeting in Vienna ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhyXb6WxyOw ).

IAPG School on Geoethics and Natural Issues, resources available via https://www.geoethics.org/geoethics-school

References and Selected Bibliography

Andrews, G.C., 2014, Canadian Professional Engineering and Geoscience — Practice and Ethics. [5th Edition]: Toronto, Nelson Education, 472 p.

Bobrowsky, P.T., Cronin, V.S., Di Capua, G., Kieffer, S.W., Peppoloni, S., 2017, The emerging field of geoethics, in Gunderson, L.C., [editor], Scientific integrity and ethics in the geosciences: American Geophysical Union, chapter 11, p. 175-212, Published Online: 20 October 2017, DOI: 10.1002/9781119067825.ch11

Bohle, M., 2019, Exploring Geoethics -- Ethical Implications, Societal Contexts, and Professional Obligations of the Geosciences: Palgrave Pivot, Cham, XIV + 214, ISBN 978-3-030-12009-2

Chan, M.A., and Mogk, D.W., 2023, Establishing an Ethic of Sampling for Future Generations of Geoscientists: GSA Today, v. 33, p. 16-18, https://doi.org/10.1130/GSATG559GW.1

Cronin, V.S., 2021a, Geoethics as a common thread that can bind a geoscience department together, in Di Capua, G., [editor], Geoethics — Status and Future Perspectives: Geological Society of London Special Publication SP508, p. 55-65.

Cronin, V.S., 2021b, Geoethics in natural hazards from the perspective of an engineering geologist ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhyXb6WxyOw ), in Short Course on Geoethics, presented at the 2021 European Geoscience Union Meeting and available online at https://www.geoethics.org/geoethics-school

Cronin, V.S., 2017, Facilitating a geoscience student's ethical development, in Gunderson, L.C., [editor], Scientific integrity and ethics in the geosciences: American Geophysical Union, chapter 14, p. 267-291, Published Online: 20 October 2017, DOI: 10.1002/9781119067825.ch14

Cronin, V.S., 1993, A perspective on professional ethics in engineering geosciences, in Hoose, S., [editor], Proceedings of Symposium on Ethical Considerations in the Environmental Practice of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology: Association of Engineering Geologists National Meeting, San Antonio, p. 21-28.

Cronin V.S., 1992, On the seismic activity of the Malibu Coast Fault Zone, and other ethical problems in engineering geoscience [abs]: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 24, no. 7, p. A284, accessible via https://CroninProjects.org/Pubs/Cronin-MCFZ-Geoethics[abs]1992.pdf.

Cronin, V.S., Slosson, J.E., and Slosson, T.L., 1991, Method of multiple working hypotheses: A chimera or a necessity for ethical practice in engineering geosciences: Proceedings, Association of Engineering Geologists National Meeting, p. 137-143.

Cronin, V.S., Slosson, J.E., Slosson, T.L., and Shuirman, G., 1990, Deadly debris flows on I-5 near Grapevine, CA, in French, R.H., [editor], Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Hydraulics/Hydrology of Arid Lands (H2AL): New York, American Society of Civil Engineers, p. 78-83, https://cedb.asce.org/cgi/WWWdisplay.cgi?66988

Cronin, V.S., and Sverdrup, K.A., 1998, Preliminary assessment of the seismicity of the Malibu Coast Fault Zone, southern California, and related issues of phlosophy and practice, in Welby, C.W., and Gowan, M.E., [editors], A Paradox of Power: Voices of Warning and Reason in the Geosciences: Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America Reviews in Engineering Geology, v. XII, P. 123-155, accessible via https://CroninProjects.org/Pubs/Cronin-Sverdrup-1998.pdf

Di Capua, G., Bobrowsky, P.T., Kieffer, S.W., and Palinkas, C., [Editors], 2021, Geoethics: Status and Future Perspectives: London, Geological Society, Special Publication 508, 311 p.

Di Capua G., Peppoloni S. and Bobrowsky P.T., 2017, The Cape Town Statement on Geoethics. Annals of Geophysics, Vol. 60, Fast Track 7, doi: 10.4401/ag-7553, accesssible via https://www.geoethics.org/ctsg

Gunderson, L.C., [editor], 2018, Scientific integrity and ethics in the geosciences: Washington, D.C., American Geophysical Union, 327 p.,

Hoose, S., [Editor], 1993, Professional Practice Handbook: Association of Engineering Geologists, Special Publication 5, 191 p.

Johnson, P.A., Widnall, S.E., and Benya, F.F., [Editors], 2018, Sexual Harassment of Women — Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: Washington, D.C., National Academy Press, 292 p.

Lollino, G., Arattano, M., Giardino, M., Oliveira, R., and Peppoloni, S., [Editors], 2014, Engineering Geology for Society and Territory — Volume 7 — Education, Professional Ethics, and Public Recognition of Engineering Geology: Cham, Switzerland, Springer International Publishing, 274 p.

Mogk D., 2017, Geoethics and Professionalism: The Responsible Conduct of Scientists, in Peppoloni S., Di Capua G., Bobrowsky P.T., Cronin V.S. (Eds.), Geoethics at the heart of all geoscience: Annals of Geophysics, Vol. 60, Fast Track 7, https://doi.org/10.4401/ag-7584, available via https://www.annalsofgeophysics.eu/index.php/annals/article/view/7584/6838

Peppoloni S. and Di Capua G., 2022, Geoethics — Manifesto for an ethics of responsibility towards the Earth: Springer, Cham, XII+123 pp., ISBN 978-3030980436. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98044-3

Peppoloni S. and Di Capua G., 2021, Current Definition and Vision of Geoethics, in Bohle M. and Marone E. (eds), Geo-societal Narratives - Contextualising Geosciences: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, pp. 17-28, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79028-8_2, available via https://www.geoethics.org/_files/ugd/5195a5_5d5ee02dd02048d497430074ffd632ce.pdf?index=true

Peppoloni S. and Di Capua G., 2021, Geoethics to start up a pedagogical and political path towards future sustainable societies: Sustainability, 13(18), 10024, https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810024, accessible via https://www.geoethics.org/_files/ugd/5195a5_9cffb8e6b1824c68b3097ec627e46db2.pdf?index=true

Peppoloni, S., and Di Caua, G., [Editors], 2015, Geoethics — The Role and Resonsibility of Geoscientists: London, Geological Society, Special Publication 419, 187 p.

Shlemon, R.J., Wright, R.H., and Montgomery, D.R., 1987, Anatomy of a debris flow, Pacifica, California, in Costa, J.E., and Wieczorek, G.F., editors, Debris Flows/Avalanches: Process, Recognition, and Mitigation: Geological Society of America Reviews in Engineering Geology, p. 181-200, download from ResearchGate .

Shuirman, G., and Slosson, J.E., 1992, Forensic Engineering -- Environmental Case Histories for Civil Engineers and Geologists: Academic Press, 296 p., ISBN 0-12-640740-1, especially the following chapter:

• Chapter 3. Malibu landslide -- Massive litigation. Concerns the Big Rock Mesa landslide in Malibu, California.

Slosson, J.E., Williams, J.W., and Cronin, V.S., 1991, Current and future difficulties in the practice of engineering geology: Engineering Geology, v. 30, p. 3-12.

Tepel, R.E., 1995, Professional Licensure for Geologists -- An Exploration of Issues: Special Publication 7, Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists, accessed August 2, 2023 via https://aeg.memberclicks.net/assets/docs/Publications/SP7_Professional%20Licensure%20for%20Geologists.pdf

World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, Our common future: Oslo, Norway: United Nations General Assembly, Development and International Cooperation: Environment, accessible via https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/5987our-common-future.pdf

Wyss, M., and Peppoloni, S., 2014, Geoethics, Ethical Challenges and Case Studies in Earth Sciences: Elsevier, 450 p., ISBN 978-0127999357

About The Speaker

Vince Cronin is a member of the Texas Chapter of AEG. and is the Richard H. Jahns Lecturer for 2022-23. He worked for the first Jahns Lecturer, Dr. Jim Slosson, as an engineering geologist and consultant on projects involving landslides, active faulting, flooding, coastal/stream erosion, and resource evaluation in the western US. Vince was chosen by AIPG as the recipient of the Ben H. Parker Memorial Distinguished Service Medal for 2023.

Vince has contributed to the development of geoethics during the past 3 decades. He serves on the executive board of the International Association for Promoting Geoethics ( IAPG ) as its North American coordinator. He is a member of the task force charged with developing geoethical guidelines for the International Union of Geological Sciences ( IUGS ). He is also on the editorial board of the Journal of Geoethics and Social Geosciences .

Vince is an emeritus professor of geoscience at Baylor University. There and at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he taught a variety of graduate courses about structural geology, tectonics, and engineering geology, and the core undergraduate courses in physical geology and structural geology. He is the editor of the 11th through 13th editions of the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology (Pearson).

If you have any questions or comments about this site or its contents, drop an email to Vince Cronin

Revised August 9, 2023 .