Module 2 – Section 3

Are we living the good life in terms of Science and Technology?

Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics and the Good Life

To answer the question “Are we living the good life?”, necessary reflection must be made on two things:

1. What standard could be used to define the good life?

2. How can the standard serve as a guide toward living the good life in the midst of scientific progress and
technological advancement?

C. S. Lewis (The Magician’s Twin: C. S. Lewis and the Case Against Scientism)

- “Science must be guided by some ethical basis that is not dictated by science itself”
- Ethical basis is Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics

Aristotle

- Lived from 384 to 322 BC

- The most importanit ancient greek philosopher and scientist
- Student of Plato, who was a student of Socrates (together the were
considered the “Big Three of Greek Philosophy”

Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics

- The fundamental basis of Aristotelian ethics, cosists of ten books

- Originally, they were lecture notes written on scrolls when he taught the Lyceum.
- The notes were believed to be for Aristotle’s son, Nichomacus

The Nichomachean Ethics

- Abbreviated as NE or sometimes EN based on the Latin version of the name

- Is a treatise on the nature of moral life and human happiness based on the unique essence of human
nature.
- Useful in defining what the good life is

Two types of good:

 Instrumental good
- Good as a means to achieving something else or some other end
 Intrinsic good
- Good in itself

Eudaimoia: The Ultimate Good

Potential candidates of ultimate good:

 Pleasure
- important human need.
- It is transitory – it passes.
- Does not encompass all aspects of life
 Wealth
- Just an intermediate good – it is only instrumental
 Fame and Honor
The Ultimate Good

 Happiness
- In the Aristotelian sense, happiness is “living well and doing well”

eu – meaning good

daimōn – happiness or welfare

Aristotle proposed two hallmarks of eudaimonia:

1. Virtue
2. Excellence

Eudaimonia: Uniquely Human?

Aristotle’s notion of tripartite soul, a nested hierarchy of the functions and activities of the soul.

Tripartite Soul
Degrees of the Soul Living Things Functions of the Soul
Rational Humans  Theoretical Practical Rational
(Intellect = Thought)
Sensitive Humans, Animals  Locomotion Partly - Rational
 Perception
(ability to move and perceive)
Nutritive Humans, Animals, Plants  Growth Non - rational
 Nutrition
 Reproduction

Arête and Human Happiness

Arête

- A Greek term, defined as “excellence of any kind”

- Also mean “moral virtue”

Two types of virtue:

o Intellectual virtue or virtue of thought

- Achieved through education, time and experience.
- Key intellectual virtues: wisdom (guides ethical behavior), understanding (gained from scientific
endeavors and contemplation)
- Acquired through self-taught knowledge and skills as much as those knowledge and skills taught
and learned in formal instructions.
o Moral virtue or virtue of character
- Achieved through habitual practice
- Is a skill only acquired through repeated practice)
- Key moral virtues: generosity (being repeatedly unselfish), temperance (repeatedly resisting and
foregoing every inviting opportunity), courage (repeatedly exhibiting the proper action and
emotional response in the face of danger)

A virtue is ruined by any excess or deficiency in how one lives and acts.

Golden mean – a balance between two extremes

Module 2 – Section 4

When Technology and Humanity Cross

Human Rights and Science and Technology

- Are basic rights and freedoms which belong to every person in the world from the day they are
born to the day they die, regardless of any circumstance.
- Human rights are sometimes used interchangeably with natural rights.

Natural Rights

- Used when referring to freedoms which exists whether or not a state or government
acknowledges it.
- Example: the right to life (each person has the right to be born and live their life)

Human Rights

- Are freedoms that a state or government acknowledges its citizens possess by simply being
human.
- Example: right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and
expression, the right to work and education

Human Rights – Based Approach to Science, Technology and Development

Human rights in the face of scientific and technological advancement are critical factors in one’s journey
toward eudaimonia or the good life.

S. Romi Mukherjee

- A senior lecturer in political theory and history of religions at the Paris Institute of Political Studies

“It seeks to place a concern for human rights at the heart of how the international community engages with
urgent global challenges. The UN Development Programme characterizes this approach as one that leads
to be better and more sustainable outcomes by analyzing and addressing the inequalities, discriminatory
practices and unjust power relations which are often at the heart of development problems. It puts the
international human rights entitlements and claims of the people (the right-holders') and the corresponding
obligations of the state (the 'duty-bearer') in the center of the national development debate, and it clarifies
the purpose of capacity development.”

- a socially organized human activity which is value- laden and shaped by organizational structures and
procedures.
- requires an answer to whether governments and other stakeholders can craft and implement science
and technology policies that "ensure safety, health and livelihoods include people's needs and priorities
in development and in environmental strategies; and ensure they participate decision- making that affects
their lives and resources."

Document Key Principles

Universal Declaration of Human This document affirms everyone's right to participate in and benefit from
Rights (Article 27) scientific advances, and be protected from scientific misuses. The right
to the benefits of science comes under the domain of "culture, so is
usually examined from a cultural rights perspective.
 UNESCO Recommendation on the This document affirms that all advances in scientific and technological
Status of Scientific Researchers – knowledge should be solely geared towards securing well-being for
1974 (Article 4) global citizens, and calls upon member states to develop the necessary
protocol and policies to monitor and secure this objective. Countries are
asked to show that science and technology is integrated into policies that
aim to ensure a more humane and just society.
UNESCO Declaration on the Use This document states, "Today, more than ever, science and its
of Scientific Knowledge – 1999 applications are indispensable for development. All levels of government
(Article 33) and the private sector should provide enhanced support for building up
an adequate and evenly distributed scientific and technological capacity
through appropriate education and research programmes as an
indispensable foundation for economic, social, cultural and
environmentally sound development. " This is particularly urgent for
developing countries. This Declaration encompasses issues such as
pollution-free production, efficient resource use, biodiversity protection
and brain drains.

Module 3 – Section 1

Historical Development and Ethical Issues of the Information Age

The Advent of Information Age

Information age

- also known as Computer Age, Digital Age, or Age of New Media

- is a historical period beginning in mid-20th century, whose defining characteristic is a rapid shift from
traditional industries to an economy driven by the need for information access and control
- a period of rapid growth, which can be accessed through both traditional media and the manipulation of
information through the computer and computer networks.

John Waters

- President and Creative Director of Waters Design Associates, Inc

- Describes the information age as a time when information got ahead of humankind and grew at a speed
that we were unprepared to handle

Beginning of Information Age

- Was a set up through the invention of the transistor in 1947 by John Bardeen and Walter Brattain;
- And the optical amplifier in 1957 by Gordon Gould

Building Blocks of Information Age

Include the development of writing systems across ancient civilizations such as;

 Sumerian cuneiform from 3000 BC

 Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics from 2900 BC
 Ancient Chinese small seal script during the Qin Dynasty in 200 BC

Ancient Antecedents for the Modern Book

 Egyptian Papyrus Roll around 500 BC

  The parchment codex of the Roman empire around 100 A.D.
 Ancient Chinese wood-block printing and paper in 105 A.D.
 Printing Press
- Invented by German goldsmith Johannes Gutenburg in 1440
- A device that applies pressure to an inked surface lying on a medium
- Led to the creation of the metal moveable type
- Two inventions were combined to make printing faster and drastically reduced the printing costs of
documents.
- From this invention, a new branch of media was introduced and known as “the press”

 During the World War II, the allies (Great Britain, The United States, And The Soviet Union) –
countries that opposed the Axis powers (Germany, Japan, and Italy) – were challenged by a serious
shortage of human computers for military calculations.

o Harvard Mark 1
- A 50-feet long electromechanical computer, which was capable of doing calculations
in seconds that took people hours.
- Made by the United States
o Enigma Code
- Used by the Germans to transcribe their messages in encryption using a machine
called Enigma.
 Enigma
- Looked like an oversized typewriter
o Bombe
- made by Alan Turing, an English mathematician
- an electromechanical machine that allowed the British to read all daily German naval
Enigma traffic by searching through the permutations.
- Shortened the war by as much as two years

Claude E. Shannon

- A researcher at Bell Laboratories where he met Turing in 1943.

- At the age of 32, he wrote landmark paper proposing all information can be encoded as ones and zeroes.

Apple I

Steve Wozniak

- Built a simple computer around the 8080-microprocessor hooked up to a keyboard and television in 1976.

Steve Jobs

- Friend of Wozniak
- Called the computer Apple I and sold replicates of this machine to Silicon Valley shop
 Microsoft
- Invented by Bill Gates
- He realized that PCs needed software and sold his Microsoft programs
 The Internet
- Was developed during 1970s by the United States Department of Defense, mainly by scientists to
communicate to other scientists.
- Created a technological divide that increased the gap between the haves and have-nots.
  Fiber – optic cables
- Allowed for billions of bits of information to be received every minute.
 World Wide Web
- Was developed in the early 1990s for commercial purposes.
 Electronic Mail or E-mail
- A convenient way to send a message to associates or friends
 Social media platforms
- Rised from 1973 onwards after the internet paved the way for social networking

Evolutions of the Information Age in the 2010s

- Decade of disruption

 Mobile communication upgraded from 3G to 4G networks.

4G network – offered internet speeds up to ten times than that of its predecessor
 Social media also brought people’s lives “online” in the 2010

 Friendster
- The world’s most popular social network in the 2000s
- Used to contact other users, maintain those contacts, and share and leave content and media, such
as testimonials.
 Artificial Intelligence (AI)
 Geotagging
- The process of appending geographic coordinates on the location of a mobile device, has become
very common on the internet.

As they happen – 2020s Information Age Shifts

 The 4G base technology evolve into 5G, which would mean even faster Internet speeds.
 Telemedicine
- was the way to go for doctors and healthcare professionals to deliver diagnostic and clinical services to
patients around-the-clock and despite barriers brought by physical and social distancing and geographic
distance.
 AI Technologies
- further push the digitalization of healthcare and welcome new Al-driven developments, such as real-time
MRI interpretation and AI chatbots for triage and basic medical services.

Information Age and the Fourth Industrial Revolution

 Fourth Industrial Revolution

- also called 4IR or Industry 4.0.
- The German engineer, economist, and founder of the Work Economic Forum (WEF) Klaus Schwab
popularized the term
- used widely in scientific literature to refer to a period where changes are not just mere improvements to
efficiency, but a shift in industrial capital brought about by the fusion of the latest developments in AI,
robotics the Internet of Things, 3D printing Sene editing and quantum computing (Schwab, 2016).
- Industry 4.0 is thus described as period marked by the blurring of the divides between the physical, digital,
and biological worlds
- As Industry 4.0 increases operational efficiency between previously hardly overlapping environments four
key themes will be the hallmark of present industries:
 1. Interconnection – machines, devices, sensors and people will be able to seamlessly connect
and communicate with each other through the Internet of Things (loT), or the Internet of People
(loP).
2. Information Transparency - As information becomes more accessible and transparent,
Industry 4.0 technology will provide stakeholders with comprehensive information to make
decisions
3. Technical assistance - Industry 4.0 will also establish the technological prerequisites of
systems able to assist humans in decision-making and problem-solving and help them with
difficult or unsafe tasks.
4. Decentralized decisions - Cyber physical systems of Industry 4.0 will be capable of
independent decision- making and autonomous performance of tasks

Four Ethical Issues of the Information Age

MIS Quarterly

- An article published by Richard O. Mason in 1986

- The issues go by the acronym PAPA;
1. Privacy
2. Accuracy
3. Property
4. Accessibility

Disinformation, Fake News and the Post-Truth Era

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in its handbook titled
"Journalism, Fake News' and Disinformation: A Handbook for Journalism Education and Training;

 Disinformation
- Information that is false and deliberately created to harm a person, social group organization, or
country" (lreton & Posetti, 2018).
- Example: political candidate during election season posts false statistics with the intent of
discrediting their competitor.
- can be conceived as "a deliberate, intentional lie, and points to people being actively disinformed
by malicious actors"
 Mal-information
- is defined as information that is based on reality, used to inflict harm on a person, social group,
organization, or country
- Example: when someone posts photo of victims of disaster without any context- the photo depicts
something that really happened before, but without any credible information to accompany the
photo.
 Misinformation
- is information that is false but not created with the intention of causing harm.
- the information is false, but the person disseminating it believes that it is true.
- Example: when a person posts an article containing outdated information, but does not realize it.

Fake news

- term given to a range of inaccuracies of information

Post – Truth
 - We live in a post-truth era, time when the truth and objective facts-those that, according to Richard O.
Mason, are difficult to produce, take the backseat and, in front, are lies, hall-truths, and those that feel
good or fit with one's personal biases.
- Post-truth is when no one believes anything unless they read it on Facebook or watch it on Tiktok - if it
has been posted, it must be 'true.

Fact – Checking

- as the term suggests, is the activity and process of verifying factual information to ensure veracity and
correctness.

How to spot fake news and fact check accordingly:

1. Check credentials
2. Read the “About Us”
3. Look for bias
4. Check the dates
5. Check out the source
6. Interrogate URLs
7. Suspect the sensation
8. Judge hard

Module 3 – Section 2

Biodiversity, Healthy Society, and COVID-19

Biodiversity Defined

- Biological diversity, or simply biodiversity, refers to the variety of life on Earth and the essential
interdependence living things at all levels, from genes to ecosystems.

The Convention on Biological Diversity 1992

- which was a multilateral environmental agreement on biodiversity conservation, defined it as the

variability among living organisms from all sources including all the ecological complexes of which they
are a part, including diversity within species, between species and ecosystem.

International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

- the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it,
biodiversity is the totality of genes, species, and ecosystems in a region.

Biodiversity has three levels;

1. genetic diversity
- refers to the gene pool or total genetic information that exists all Individual microorganisms, plants,
animals, and humans
- the least observable as it represents variations only within species.
- Example of Dachshund, Husky, Poodle, and Pug are all dogs, but they vary levels on the genetic
level leading to differences in their color, Size shapes, fur texture, and whiskers.
2. species diversity
- the most common level of biodiversity and comprises the number of different species at place
 -
It consists of the abundance of microorganisms, plants and animal species found in geographic
region
- The number of a species that thrive in a certain location is referred to as species richness.
- The Philippines boasts of a with plants such as the Philippine Teak, Attenborough's Pitcher Plant,
Kalingag, Cebu Cinnamon Tree, and Balakat; and animals such as the Whale Shark (locally
Butanding or Balilan), Philippine Eagle, Philippine Tarsier, Palawan Peacock Pheasant, Dugong,
and Tamaraw, that are native and mostly endemic in the archipelago
3. ecosystem diversity
- refers to the variations in ecosystems within a geographical location It is the variety of habitats, biotic
communities, and ecological processes in the biosphere, and is complex level of diversity.
- The Philippines also boasts of a rich ecosystem diversity and has higher level ecosystems, like terrestrial,
freshwater brackish or estuarine, saltwater, and special ecosystems.
- Some of the most common lower level ecosystems include lowland evergreen forests, forests limestone
(karst), grasslands, beach forests, lakes and ponds, over rivers and streams, marshes, mangrove
swamps, mudflats, seagrass belts, coral reefs, and caves.

Healthy Ecosystems and Rich Biodiversity

 Quinney (2020)
- reported that diversity within species and between species and ecosystems is declining globally at a
never before seen rate in human history.
 Carrington (2018)
- claims that humanity has caused the loss of 83% of all wild mammals and half of all plants.
 The World Economic Forum
- lists biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse the top five global risks of 2020

This alarming state of biodiversity loss should alert stakeholders, because many human of activities and
processes are hinged on healthy ecosystems and as one is no alternative to these rich biodiversity, and there
simply Quinney (2020) enumerates the ways in which this holds true:

1. Biodiversity ensures health and food security

2. Biodiversity helps fight diseases
3. Biodiversity benefits business
4. Biodiversity provides livelihood
5. Biodiversity protects us. Biodiversity makes the planet habitable.

Tang (2020) explained four main types of benefits of biodiversity to humans:

 Nutritional
- biodiversity provides food sources and ensures food security, allows for better nutrition, and
contributes to agricultural resilience
 Cultural
- it is a source of energy, recreational ativities, and even culture and identity.
 Health
- biodiversity provides materials for traditional and modern medicine, prevents the spread of
infectious diseases from animals, and contributes to Physical and mental health
 climate-related
- it helps in climate adaptation, improves microclimates, and sustains the water cycle

Threats to Biodiversity and Biodiversity

Intergovernmental Science-Policy (2019)

- pointed to five direct drivers of biodiversity loss.

1. Iand and sea use change
2. overexploitation
3. climate change
4. pollution
5. invasive alien species
One of the frameworks used to deal with biodiversity loss on a national level is biodiversity
mainstreaming, which is an integral component of the Convention on Biological Diversity. In biodiversity
mainstreaming biodiversity conservation is viewed as a pre-condition of sustainable development.

Biodiversity and Curbing Future Pandemics

Evidence suggests that the loss of biodiversity can increase the likelihood of zoonosis

zoonosis

- an infectious disease transmitted from animals to humans.

- In fact, 70% of emerging infectious diseases in recent years have stemmed from zoonosis.

Curbing future pandemics entails a complex and daunting ask of bringing together different fields of science to
work to pandemic proof future. According to conservation ensure scientists, biodiversity provides two protection
mechanisms for the prevention of zoonosis and potential pandemics;

1. Dilution
- happens when a virus reaches an intermediary host, in which it is unable to achieve optimal concentration
to thrive, the chances of it continuing to spread are very low or it quickly dies out
2. Buffer
- happens when a virus reaches an intermediary host whose genetic diversity allows it to adapt to the virus
thereby becoming resistant and preventing further spread

One Health

- a state in which environmental health, animal health and human health are interdependent is possible.

Module 3 – Section 3

Public Health and Safety in the Time of COVID-19

Health Defined

World Health Organization (WHO)

- a United Nations specialized agency in charge of international public health

- defined health as a state of complete physical mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence
of disease infirmity
- In 1986, the WHO furthered that of health "is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal
resources as well as physical capacities.'
- In this definition health is viewed as not merely "the objective of living, but is resource of everyday life"
The Lancet published an editorial in 2009

- defining health as "the ability to adapt, particularly on emerging threats and infirmities Health is almost
always frequently related to two types physical and mental health.

Physical health refers to having bodily functions, processes, and systems all working at their peak, due not only
to the absence of disease but to the individual's efforts to do regular exercise, maintain a balanced nutrition, and
get adequate rest.

Mental health refers to a person's emotional, social, and psychological well-being. Without mental health, even
at the peak of one's physical health, a full and active lifestyle will be difficult. Like physical health, mental health
is not merely the absence of psychological disorders like depression or anxiety, but it also depends on person's
ability to enjoy life, recover and adapt to difficult experiences and adversity balance different aspects of life, feel
safe and secure, and achieve their goals and potentials.

Public Health Defined

- focuses on the protection and promotion of the health of entire populations.

Charles-Edward A. Winslow (1920)

he defined public health as follows:

the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical health and
efficiency through organized community efforts for the sanitation of the environment, the control
of community infections, the education of the individual in principles of personal hygiene, the
organization of medical and nursing service for the early diagnosis and Preventive treatment of
disease, and the development of the social machinery which will ensure to the individual in the
community a standard of living adequate for the maintenance of health.

King Cholera

- began in India in 1820 (first), Russia, Hungary, and Germany in 1831 then to London and the United
Kingdom in 1832 (second), Russia again in 1846 then to England and Wales in 1848 (third), and the
Ganges Delta of South Asia in 1863 (fourth) claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. In London at the
height of the second major outbreak, the disease claimed around 6500 lives and was nicknamed "King
Cholera." This situation forced governments to put public health at the heart of public policy during the
First Industrial Revolution.

John Snow

- English physician
- Leader in the development of medical hygiene
- Father of Epidemiology

Broad Street cholera outbreak or Golden Square outbreak

During the 1831 cholera outbreak, Snow was a medical apprentice working to systematically study the
Spread of the Vibrio cholerae bacteria. His lifelong work and studies on cholera were extensive although he
is most often credited for solving an 1854 severe cholera outbreak in Soho, London Snow pointed to germ-
contaminated water, rather than air particles, as the cause of the outbreak, which took 616 lives.
 He proposed his hypothesis and tested it by systematically making comparisons between groups of
People who used the Broad Street well and those who used different wells. The statistical evidence on the
association of drinking water from the Broad Street well and infection led to the intervention of removing the
pump handle of the Broad Street well. Snow's experiment caused far greater health and safety impact than
just the removal of the pump handle. His work in solving the 1854 Outbreak led to several important
contributions to the development epidemiologic thinking how diseases spread.

Miasma – bad air theory

Germ theory

- Louis Pasteur
- Proposes that microscopic organisms were the causes of diseases among humans, until 1861

Philosophical Radical

- Jeremy Bentham
- Nature placed humankind under the governance of two masters; pain and pleasure.

Utilitarianism

- A moral theory which states that actions should be judged right or wrong based on whether they maximize
pleasure and minimize pain (utility) among the affected people.
Public Health Today

Core Function 1: Assessment (Collecting and analyzing information about public health problems and concerns)

Essential Service 1: Monitor health status to identify community health problems.

Essential Service 2: Diagnose and investigate health problems and hazards in the community.

Core Function 2: Policy Development (Consulting with a broad range of stakeholders to ensure the best
interventions and serve the public interest)

Essential Service 3: Inform, educate and empower people about health issues.

Essential Service 4: Mobilize community partnerships to identify and solve health problems

Essential Service 5: Develop policies and plans to support individual and community health efforts

Core Function 3: Assurance (Promoting and protecting public interests through public health activities that ensure
the achievement of agreed upon public health goals)

Essential Service 6: Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety.

Essential Service 7: Link people to health services and assure the availability of healthcare when
otherwise unavailable.

Essential Service 8: Assure a competent and public health and personal healthcare workforce

Essential Service 9: Evaluate the effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-
based health services

Essential Service 10: Research on new insights and innovative solutions to health problems.

Public Health and Safety at the Time of COVID-19

COVID-19

- The coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19, pandemic is, by far, the worst public health crisis of the
21st century.
- caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 SARS-CoV-2
- first identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019
- Attempts to contain the virus from its geographic origin failed and the World Health Organization
declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on January 30, 2020 and a
pandemic less than two months later On March 11, 2022.
- spreads between people through close contact and via aerosols and respiratory droplets. These
droplets are transmitted when talking, breathing or exhaling, coughing, and sneezing.
- The virus also tends to spread faster in three Cs, namely crowded places, close-contact settings, and
confined and enclosed spaces with poor ventilation.

Two of the most common diagnostic tests for COVID-19:

1. Molecular tests
- such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, nucleic acid amplification test (NAATs), and
other molecular amplification tests detect the genetic material from the virus and diagnose
active infections. These tests require a nasal swab, oral or throat swab, or saliva sample.
Antibody tests or sometimes called rapid tests, which detect immune response after
exposure, search for specific proteins on the surface of the virus.
2. Antigen
- typically done using a nasal swab, are called rapid tests because they produce results more
quickly than molecular tests.

Aguesia – loss of taste

Anosmia – loss of smell

Antiviral treatments and monoclonal antibodies

- are administered to patients who get very sick.

Antiviral treatments

- such as the oral antiviral pills PaxlovidTM (Pfizer) and Lagevrio (Merck), target specific parts of the
virus to stop it from multiplying in the infected body, thus preventing severe illness and death.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAb)

- such as the recombitant neutralizing human mAb Bebtelovimab, help the infected person's immune
defense by recognizing and responding more effectively to the virus.

The most currently available COVID-19 vaccines in the Philippines are as follows:

1. Pfizer BioNTech COMIRNATY

2. Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine
3. CoronaVac or Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine
4. Sputnik V (or Gam-COVID-Vac
5. Janssen COVID-19 vaccine or Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine
6. Covaxin or BBV152
7. Moderna (Spikevax) COVID-19
8. Sinopharm BIBP COVID-10 vaccine
Epidemiologic Triangle (ET)

- is a model that scientists developed to understand the spread, mitigation, and treatment of infectious
diseases.
- The Epidemiologic Triangle has three vertices, representing the three elements of an infectious disease
outbreak;
1. the agent or the "what" of the outbreak. It is what causes the disease
2. second vertex represents the host or the "who" of the outbreak, usually humans or
animals, which are exposed to or harbor the disease. In this case, the hosts are humans,
although we learned from the previous section that the virus may have been transferred
to humans through zoonosis from bats and some intermediate animal (host)
3. The third and final vertex is the environment or the "where" of the outbreak which causes
or allows disease transmission. In the case of COVID-19, the environment includes the
micro and macro human systems transmitted and interactions which make it possible for
the virus to be transmitted.

Moral Challenge of Science in the Time of COVID – 19

1. Travel Restrictions
2. Retreat from open access data
3. Engaging with the media
4. Improving science communication
5. Financial cuts
6. Navigating social media
7. Infrastructure and resources
8. Encouraging interdisciplinary thinking
9. Academic freedom and integrity
10. Curiosity – versus mission – driven research

Module 3 – Section 4

Environmental Awareness: Instilling a Sense of Responsibility Towards a Sustainable Future

Basic Concepts on the Environmentalist Movement

Environmentalism

- is a term referring to a broad range of concepts revolving around the protection of the environment.
Davies (2020) uses the term in reference to a general concern for the environment, particularly actions
or advocacies aimed at reducing the negative impacts of human activity on the environment.

Thompson (2002)

- defines it as a movement that arose as a response to the global environmental crises of the Modern Age.

World Wild Federation (2018)

- views it as an ideology, a set of ideals and beliefs, that point to the necessity and responsibility of humans
in respecting, protecting, and preserving the natural world from anthropogenic or man- made afflictions

The core of the environmentalist movement is environmental awareness. The success of the movement
is hinged on people's understanding that the natural environment is fragile and that humans, while the primary
cause of environmental destruction, also have it in their hands to protect and save it from further harm.
 Environmental awareness

- is about being informed of the ways in which human actions affect the well-being of the immediate
or local and global ecosystems.
- means understanding that one's actions have an impact on the environment and committing to
changing those actions when they prove damaging to the environment.

Through formal and non-formal education, including the full spectrum of governmental and non-
governmental support towards it, will initiate which is to engender pro-environmental behavior. Once
humans embrace the necessity and responsibility of Protecting the environment, the succeeding aim
is to translate awareness into behavior.

Pro-environmental behavior (PEB)

- or green-, sustainable-, or environment- friendly behavior, is a multidisciplinary psychological and

sociological construct referring to human actions (i.e, behavior) aimed at Protecting the environment.

Green consumerism

- refers to behaviors in which consumers demand or purchase products and services that underwent eco-
friendly production or involved recycling and safeguarding environmental resources.
- refers to a range of behaviors in itself, all of which point to the consumer's power to influence production
towards pro- environmentalism

A Brief History of Environmentalism

The historical development of environmentalism dates back to the Ancient Age. It is one that is both
fascinating and complicated (Weyler, 2018). As early as 5,000 years ago, the idea of ecological awareness
came up in human historical record.

Indus Civilization in Mohenjodaro

- around 3000 BC, they began to recognize the impacts of pollution in human health

Plato

- around 400 BC in Greece, observed that deforestation leads to erosion

“All the richer and softer parts have fallen away, and the mere skeleton of land remains.”

Ancient Chinese, Indian and Peruvian civilizations

- soil erosion was addresses by constructing terraces, crop rotation, and nutrient recycling.
- The Banaue rice terraces in the northern province of the Philippines, Ifugao is believed to have
been built 2000 years ago for this purpose

De aere aquis et locis (air, waters and places)

- Oldest surviving European book about acid contamination among copper miners.

Middle ages (200 to 1200 AD)

- Led to severe environmental problems of soil erosion and insect infestations, which were the driving
factors of atrocious famines of the period.

Industrial Revolution
 - Beginning of the environmentalist movement in response to worsening levels of smoke pollution in the
atmosphere.
- Centers saw an immense growth in coal consumption, which led to atrocious levels of air pollution,
especially in big cities where great factories operated.

Later on, the enormous level of chemical by-products exacerbated the growing volume of untreated by 1900,
causing land and water pollution human waste which also drove some of the most serious public health Crises
of the century. This set the conditions for the first modern environmental laws during the mid-19th century.

Alkali Acts

- Great Britain's Alkali Acts were passed in 1863 to regulate gaseous hydrochloric acid air, which was a
by-product of soda ash production and caused deleterious air pollution.
- The laws were the first modern environmental legislations of the 19th century.

As the conditions worsened, experts and reformers in industrial cities, especially ones after 1890, convened
to identify causes and effects of environmental degradation and pollution.

 They also led grassroots movements aimed at demanding from government much needed reforms.

Coal Abatement Society

- Founded by Sir William Blake Richard, the Coal Abatement Society was established in 1898 and became
one of the oldest non-governmental organizations on environmentalism.
The Public Health Act of 1875

- was the first law to sanction factories that belched large amounts of black smoke. In 1926, the Smoke
Abatement Act extended the definition of harmful gases to include soot, ash, and grity particles.

The Clean Air Act of 1956

- was passed as result of the “Great Smog of 1952" in London, which led to 6,000 deaths and brought the
city to a standstill.
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

- Important wildlife conservation laws were first passed around the same time. The English zoologist Alfred
Newton's investigations and advocacies between 1872 and 1903 on the Protection of animals from
hunting during their mating season was the catalyst to the establishment of the Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds in 1889.

Sea Birds Preservation Act of 1869

- Newton also worked for the passage of the first nature protection law in the world-the Sea Birds
Preservation Act of 1869.

Nature

- The period of Romanticism saw early interest in environmentalism grow. American essayist, lecturer,
philosopher, abolitionist, and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote Nature in 1835, which advocated a
transcendental view of appreciating nature for its own sake.

Walden (Living in the Woods)

 - American naturalist, essayist, poet, and transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau published Walden (Living
in the Woods) in 1854, which details his experiences living in a cabin amidst the woodland in
Massachusetts for more than two years.
- Considered as Thoreau's seminal ecological treatise focused on simple living amidst the natural
surroundings, Walden has since inspired generations of environmentalists.

Jinsei Chirigaku (A Geography of Human Life)

- Japanese geographer, educator, philosopher, and author Tsunesaburo Makiguchi wrote Jinsei Chirigaku
(A Geography of Human Life) in 1903, which is one of the earliest writings on the links between
industrialization and the environment

Commons Preservation Society

- In England, the Commons Preservation Society was founded in 1865 to champion rural Preservation
against industrial encroachments

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest and Natural Beauty

- was established in 1895, becoming one of the first organized movements for heritage conservation.

Sierra Club

- In the United States, the Sierra Club was formed in 1892 to protect natural landscapes against human
development and preserve it for generations to come.

Vereniging tot Behoud van Natuurmonumenten in Nederland

- Society for Preservation of Nature Monuments in the Netherlands

- Was organized in 1905 initially to stand against the plan of using a nearby wetland as a garbage dump
for the then rapidly expanding city of Amsterdam.

Silent Spring

- The American biologist, writer, and conservationist Rachel Louise Carson wrote the Silent Spring in 1962,
which described the impacts of the indiscriminate use of Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, more
commonly known as DDT.
United States Environmental Protection Agency
- in 1970, which banned the use of DDT in 1972.

This renewed interest in environmental protection paved the way for the formation of new lobby groups,
such as the Friends of the Earth in 1969 and Greenpeace in 1971.

 The United Tasmania Group of Australia and the Values Party of New Zealand were the world's first
political parties to campaign on predominantly environmental platforms.
 The very first Earth Day was observed on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the United States.
 The Stockholm Conference of 1972 became a major turning point in international environmental
movement as it was the first United Nations sanctioned conference on international environmental issues.
 Under the influence of Mahatma Ghandi, the Chipko Movement was formed in India in 1973 to set up a
very influential resistance to deforestation by literally hugging trees
 In the Philippines, Presidential Decree 1586, which established the Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) System in 1978, became the first major environmental law to be passed.
  Republic Act 6969 or the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act of 1990
regulated restricted or prohibited the importation manufacture, processing, sale, distribution, use, and
disposal of chemical substances and mixtures, which pose health risks to humans
 R.A 8749 or the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 became a landmark legislation that aimed to achieve
and maintain clean air and set the guidelines for the National Air Quality, providing for the systematic
measurement criteria pollutants throughout the country and reducing the of economic impacts of air
pollution.
 R.A. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 adopted a systematic,
comprehensive, and ecological solid waste management program in the Philippines, ensuring the
protection of public health and the environment through proper segregation, collection, storage,
treatment, and disposal of solid waste
 R.A. 9275 or the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 was passed into law with the aim of protecting
the country's bodies of water from land- based sources of pollution and providing a comprehensive and
integrated strategy to prevent and minimize these through a multisectoral and participatory approach
among stakeholders.

Ecoactivism

- A form of social engagement in campaigns aimed at protecting the environment, have emerged, such as
tree sitting, in which an activist sits in a tree as they attempt to stop the cutting down of a tree or impede
demolition.

Philosophical Background of Environmentalism

 In 1798, English cleric, scholar, and influential economist Thomas Robert Malthus published An
Essay on the Principle of Population, in which he argued that population growth will outpace food
production (Malthusian catastrophe), leading to natural "checks," such as starvation, war, and disease –
- The Malthusian theory of population was severely criticized by economists and eventually
debunked. In one recent study Bretschger (2020) concluded that population growth does not
threaten but supports the economy and demonstrated that climate change is independent of
population growth.
 Malthus' controversial theory was one of the first to establish philosophical links between human activity
and the environment, influencing a generation of neo-Malthusians such as the famed German
physician, scientist, and Nobel laureate Paul Ehrlich, co-author of the 1968 book Population Bomb.
In his 1968 article, "The Tragedy of the Commons,"' the American ecologist Garrett James Hardin
warned of a Malthusian catastrophe and argued that the population problem has no technical solution,
but requires a fundamental extension of morality.

Environmental Philosophy

- For one, deal with the natural environmental and the human’s place in it. It asks critical questions on
what we mean when we talk about nature: what is its value to us or in itself? and how should we
respond to present day environmental challenges?

Environmental ethics
 - studies the moral relationship of human beings with the environment, including, the value and moral
status of the environment and its non-human contents (Metaphysics Research Lab, 2021).

Environmentalism

- itself as a moral philosophy encompasses two schools of thought about the relationship of humans and
the environment.
 ecocentrism
- the environmental protection is viewed as an end in itself, environment for its own sake-.
 Anthropocentrism
- environmental protection is carried out for the environment's role in human development
and sustainability

Basic Concepts on Climate Change

 Climate change is the range of global phenomena caused by the burning of fossil fuels, which add
heat-trapping gases to the Earth's atmosphere.
 Global warming, used interchangeably with climate change, specifically refers to Earth's upward trend
of temperature caused by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
- It is generally defined as the long-term heating of Earth's climate system.
- The greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation that enters the atmosphere and radiate it to
the Earth's surface as heat, thereby warming the Earth.
- Global warming keeps the planet warm and prevents warm air from leaving the planet.
 The global warming potential (GWP) of natural greenhouse gases is small compared to other
anthropogenic gases from the burning of fossil fuels, power plants, transportation vehicles, and other
industrial processes.
- Man-made greenhouse gases and the increase in concentration of natural greenhouse gases
cause adverse global warming. Deforestation is also considered a culprit to this adverse
phenomenon
 Deforestation is also considered a culprit to this adverse phenomenon when forest land is destroyed,
CO, is released into the air, thus increasing the levels of long-wave radiation and trapped heat.
- Deforestation also affects biodiversity because damage in the rainforest results in the
destruction of wildlife habitats.
 Albedo, the ration of the light reflected by any part of the Earth’s atmosphere.

Acid Deposition

- occurs when sulfur dioxide (SO,) and nitrogen oxides (NO,) react with particulate matters (dry) or with
water vapor (wet), causing surface water acidification and affecting soil chemistry.

Thermal Inversion

- an unstable air mass and air constantly flow between warm and cool areas.

Topography

- or man-made barriers like high-rise buildings can also create a temperature inversion

 El Niño is a normal climate pattern that describes the unusual warming of surface waters in the eastern
tropical Pacific Ocean, also known as the warm phase
 The opposite of it is La Niña, the "cool phase, which is a pattern that describes the unusual cooling of
the surface waters of the region.
 Climate Change in the Philippines

- The Philippines tropical climate is typified by a dry season (usually December - May), followed by a
rainy season (usually June - November).

 The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, or

PAGASA is the government agency tasked to issue typhoon warnings among its many mandates
for the protection of the safety, well-being, and economic security of Filipinos amidst the threat of
natural calamities.
 Situated in the Circum-Pacific Belt, or commonly known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines
is one of the world's most typhoon-prone countries, with an average of 19-20 typhoons entering the
Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) and about seven to nine making landfall.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC)

- formerly known as the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC)

- is the multisectoral arm responsible for ensuring the Protection and welfare of the Filipino people during
disasters IN and emergencies.
- It was established through R.A. 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Reduction and Management Act of
2010.
- Among its mandates, the NDRRMC crafted the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Plan (NDRRMP), which is a long-term, national sectoral plan that maps out comprehensive measures
on four main priority areas: disaster prevention and mitigation, disaster preparedness, disaster
response, and rehabilitation and recovery.

R.A. 9729 or the Climate Change Act of 2009

- is a landmark law in the Philippines which integrates risk reduction measures into the planning,
development, and programs aimed at adapting to climate change.
- It required local government units (LGUs) to develop a local climate change action plan (LCCAP).
- created the Climate Change Commission (CCC), which is the Philippines' main policy formulation
agency to address climate change issues.