In the fall of 2011, a Canadian organization called EthicalOil.org started a pub
ID: 454402 • Letter: I
Question
In the fall of 2011, a Canadian organization called EthicalOil.org started a public relations campaign aimed at countering criticism of commercial development of Canada's oil sands, a set of oil-extraction sites that require the use of hot water amd steam to extract very heavy crude oil from sands buried deep beneath the earth's surface. Critics have aimed harsh criticism at the oil sands development, claiming that this method of extracting oil does immerse environmental damage along with posing risks to human health. EthicalOil.org seeks to counter such criticism by pointing out the alternative: anyone choosing not to buy oil harvested from Canada's oil sands, they argue, is effectively choosing oil produced by certain nondemocratic Middle Eastern countries with very bad records of human righta abuses. Who could be in favor of supporting countries engaged in human rights abuses? Thus, the claim is that Canadian oil, far from being worthy of criticism, is indeed "ethical oil." Of course, the fact that EthicalOil.org says that oil from Canada's oil sands is "ethical oil" does not make it true.
Remember, the gas you put in your car is refined from oil. Imagine you have the choice, as a consunmer, between (a) buying gas for your car that comes from a country where oil extraction does vast environmental damage and (b) buying gas from a country where the profits from that oil help support a dictatorship with a history of human rights abuses. Question:
Which gas will you buy and why?
Are you willing to pay a bit extra to get oil that is more ethical, whatever that means to you?
Next, imagine that you are responsible for securing a contract to provide gas for your company's fleet of vehicles. If the choice is available to you..
Question:
Will you choose the most environmentally friendly gas? Or the gas least associated with human right abuses? Or will you just go with the cheapest gas available?
Finally, consider whether the choice between buying gas that harms the environment and gas that contributes to human rights abuses exhausts the alternatives in these scenarios.
Question:
Are there other courses of action available to the individual car-owning consumer? To the manager responsible for procuring gas for the company fleet?
Explanation / Answer
usually the consumers will not think about all these, whenever they requires gas or oil, a common consumer will go to the nearest filling station and buy it. very limited number of consumers only think about it, if i am the consumer i only choose the oil or gas which is nearest to me.
no, i does not interested to pay a penny extra to the same oil to the ethical producers.
i go with the gas which is available at cheeper cost, usually many of the people do this only.
no, people think in selfish way and they only go with the alternatives which provide benefits to him personally. they are not in a position to think about benefits of society in long term.