Revised December 14, 2024

Applied Ethics Resources for Geoscience Students and Professionals

More Resources About Ethics

Books about ethics in general

• Carter, S.L., 1996, Integrity: New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 277 p., ISBN 978-0-06-092807-0.
• Gert, B., 2004, Common morality—Deciding what to do: Oxford University Press, 179 p., ISBN 978-0-19-531421-2.
• Gert, B., 2010, Hobbes – Prince of peace: Cambridge, U.K., Polity Press, 183 p., ISBN 978-0-7456-4882-8.
• Hare, R.M., 1981, Moral thinking – Its levels, methods, and point: Oxford, The Clarendon Press, 242 p., ISBN 0-19-824660-9.
• Reich, R.B., 2018, The common good: New York, Alfred A. Knoff, 193 p., ISBN 978-0-525-52049-8.
• Ross, W.D., 1930, The right and the good: Oxford, the Clarendon Press, 176 p.
• Shafer-Landau, R., 2012, The fundamentals of ethics [2nd edition]: Oxford University Press, 379 p.
• Shafer-Landau, R., 2015, The ethical life -- fundamental readings in ethics and moral problems [3nd edition]: Oxford University Press, 489 p.
• Singer, P., 1993, Practical ethics [second edition]: Cambridge, U.K., Cambridge University Press, 395 p., ISBN 0-521-43971-X
• Weston, A., 2013, A 21st century ethical toolbox [3rd edition]: Oxford University Press, 545 p.

Books used as textbooks in courses that consider science ethics or geoethcs

• Andrews, G.C., Shaw, P., and McPhee, J., 2018, Canadian Professional Engineering and Geoscience — Practice and Ethics [6th Edition]: Toronto, Nelson College Indigenous, 504 p.
• Gauch, H.G., Jr., 2012, Scientific method in brief: Cambridge University Press, 288 p.
• Groenfeldt, D., 2013, Water ethics—A values approach to solving the water crisis: New York, Routledge, 200 p., ISBN 978-0-415-62645-3.
• Gunderson, L.C., [editor], 2018, Scientific integrity and ethics in the geosciences: Washington, D.C., American Geophysical Union, 327 p.
• Martin, M.W., and Schinzinger, R., 2005, Ethics in Engineering [4th Edition]: New York, McGraw Hill, 339 p., ISBN 0-07-283115-4. Copies of this edition are available as used (and some unused) books. The current edition is by Zhu and others, 2022 (see below)
• Meehan, R.L., 1984, The atom and the fault: Cambridge, MA, The MIT Press, 161 p., ISBN 0-262-13199-4.
• National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine, 2009, On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research [3rd edition]: Washington, D.C., National Academies Press, 63 p., https://doi.org/10.17226/12192.
• National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine, 2017, Fostering Integrity in Research: Washington, D.C., National Academies Press, 309 p., https://doi.org/10.17226/21896.
• Shuirman, G., and Slosson, J.E., 1992, Forensic engineering, environmental case histories for civil engineers and geologists: San Diego, California, Academic Press, 296 p., ISBN 0-12-640740-1.
• Seebauer, E.G., and Barry, R.L., 2001, Fundamentals of ethics for scientists and engineers: Oxford University Press, 269 p.
• 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
• Zhu, Q., Martin, M.W., and Schinzinger, R., 2022, Ethics in Engineering [5th Edition]: New York, McGraw Hill, 311 p. (click for info from publisher). This is an accessible and practical university-level textbook on professional ethics in engineering that Vince Cronin has used in my engineering geology courses since the 1980s.

Books or special publications related to professionalism

• Hoose, S., [Editor], 1993, Professional Practice Handbook: Association of Engineering Geologists, Special Publication 5, 191 p.
• Johnson, W.B., and Ridley, C/R., 2008, The Elements of Ethics for Professionals: New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 213 p., ISBN 978-0-230-60391-2.
• Prichard, M.S., 2006, Professional Integrity, Thinking Ethically: Lawrence, Kansas, University Press of Kansas, 195 p., ISBN 978-070061557-5.
• 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

Scientific dishonesty and misconduct

• Ben-Yehuda, N., and Oliver-Luberman, A., 2017, Fraud and misconduct in research—detection, investigation, and organizational response: Ann Arbor, Michigan, University of Michigan Press, 266 p., ISBN 978-0-472-13055-9.
• Broad, W., and Wade, N., 1982, Betrayers of the Truth &ndash Fraud and deceit in the halls of science: New York, Simon and Schuster, 256 p., , ISBN 0-671-44769-6.
• D'Angelo, J., 2012, Ethics in science -- ethical misconduct in scientific research: Boca Raton, Florida, CRC Press, 112 p.
• Goldstein, D., 2010, On fact and fraud—cautionary tales from the front lines of science: Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 168 p., ISBN 978-0-691-13966-1.
• Harris, C.E., Pritchard, M.S., Rabins, M.J., James, R., and Englehardt, E., 2014, Engineering ethics -- concepts and cases [5th edition]: Boston, Wadsworth, 313 p.
• Kevles, D.J., 1998, The Baltimore case &ndahsh; A trial of politics, science, and character: New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 509 p., ISBN 0-393-31970-9.
• Macrina, F.L., 2014, Scientific integrity -- Text and cases in responsible conduct of research [4th edition]: ASM Press, 530 p.
• Oreskes, N., and Conway, E.M., 2010, Merchants of doubt – How a handful of scientists obscured the truth on issues from tobacco smoke to global warming: New York, Bloomsbury Press, 355 p., ISBN 978-1-60819-394-3.

Introduction to global warming as a critical geoethics issue

Listed in chronological order, oldest first

1. Charney, J.G., Study Group Chairman, 1979, Carbon Dioxide and Climate: A Scientific Assessment: Washington DC, National Academies Press, https://doi.org/10.17226/12181, https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12181/carbon-dioxide-and-climate-a-scientific-assessment.
2. Nierenberg, W.A., Committee Chairman, 1983, Changing Climate -- Report of the Carbon Dioxide Assessment Committee: Washington, D.C., National Academy Press, doi 10.17226/18714, https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/18714/changing-climate-report-of-the-carbon-dioxide-assessment-committee.
3. Weart, S.R., 2008, The Discovery of Global Warming [revised and expanded edition]: Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 230 p., ISBN 978-0-674-03189-0. Also refer to the associated website, A hypertext history of how scientists came to (partly) understand the problem of climate change, https://history.aip.org/climate/index.htm (2003-2024), for a more complete account.
4. Oreskes, N., and Conway, E.M., 2010, Merchants of doubt – How a handful of scientists obscured the truth on issues from tobacco smoke to global warming: New York, Bloomsbury Press, 355 p., ISBN 978-1-60819-394-3.
5. Rich, N., 2018, New York Times Magazine article Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change: New York Times Magazine, accessible via https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/01/magazine/climate-change-losing-earth.html
6. Mann, M., 2023, Our Fragile Moment, How Lessons from Earth's Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis: New York, Public Affairs Books of Hachette Book Group, 306 p., ISBN 978-1-5417-0289-9.
7. Hansen, J.E., and 17 others, 2023, Global warming in the pipeline: Oxford Open Climate Change, v. 3, no. 1, kgad008, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfclm/kgad008.
8. Hansen, J.e., 2024, Climate Change at the International Court of Justice: International Court of Justice Proceedings in The Hague, accessible via https://mailchi.mp/caa/international-court-of-justice-proceedings-in-the-hague?e=8dbc336a13.

Collections of papers or essays about science ethics and geoethics

• Brown, P.G., and Schmidt, J.J., 2010, Water ethics—Foundational readings for students and professionals: Washington, D.C., Island Press, 301 p., ISBN 978-1-59726-565-2.
• Di Capua, G., Bobrowsky, P.T., Kieffer, S.W., and Palinkas, C., 2021, Geoethics: Status and Future Perspectives: The Geological Society of London, Special Publication 508, 311 p., ISBN 978-1-78620-538-4.
• Hoose, S., 1993, Symposium on ethical considerations in the environmental practice of engineering geology and hydrogeology: Association of Engineering Geologists, 36th Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, 107 p.
• Kitzes, J., Turek, D., and Deniz, F., 2018, The practice of reproducible research—Case studies and lessons from the data-intensive sciences: Oakland, California, University of California Press, 337 p., ISBN 978-0-520-29475-2.
• Klemke, E.D., Hollinger, R., and Kline, A.D., 1988, Introductory readings in the philosophy of science: Buffalo, New York, Prometheus Books, 440 p., ISBN 0-87975-423-0.
• Lollino, G., Arattano, M., Giardino, M., Oliveira, R., and Peppoloni, S., editors, 2014, Education, professional ethics and public recognition of engineering geology: Springer, Proceeding of the XII International IAEG Congress, Torino, Engineering Geology for Society and Territory, volume 7, 274 p., ISBN 978-3-319-09302-4.
• Peppoloni, S. and Di Capua, G., 2015, Geoethics -- The role and responsibility of geoscientists: Lyell Collection, Geological Society of London, Special Publication 419, 187 p., ISBN 978-1-86239-726-2
• Rowan, J., and Zinaich, S., 2003, Ethics for the professions: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning, 445 p., ISBN 978-0-15-506999-2.
• Wyss, M., and Peppoloni, S., 2015, Geoethics -- Ethical challenges and case studies in Earth sciences: Amsterdam, Elsevier, 425 p., ISBM 978-0-12-799935-7.

Books on human dignity

• Hicks, D., 2011, Dignity—It's essential role in resolving conflict: New Haven, Connecticut, Yale University Press, 221 p., ISBN 978-0-300-18805-9.
• Kateb, G., 2011, Human dignity: Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 238 p., ISBN 978-0-674-04837-9.
• Meilaender, G., 2009, Neither beast nor God—The dignity of the human person: New York, New Atlantis Books - Encounter Books, 118 p., ISBN 978-159403257-8.
• Rosen, M., 2012, Dignity, its history and meaning: Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 176 p., ISBN 978-0-674-98405-9.
• Sangiovanni, A., 2017, Humanity without dignity—Moral equality, respect, and human rights: Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 308 p., ISBN 978-0-674-04921-5
• Sensen, O., 2011, Kant on human dignity: Berlin, Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co., 230 p., ISBN 978-3-11-048154-9.

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