Landing : Athabascau University

Week 1 – Weekly Reflection

This week’s readings were very interesting and I think have provided me with a good foundation to starting the course off. In an informal way I dabbled and read around the internet on basic concepts of ethics and morality and also looked to how current laws reflect our collective ideas of right and wrong. The consideration between a moral obligations was really interesting to look into this week also because through this case I discovered a lot of old and outdated laws that I don’t think many people would feel morally obligated to uphold. Even current laws have little moral obligation tied to them from individuals, once example being music and movie pirating. Stealing in the eyes of the law is wrong, but yet why do so many individuals not even bat an eyelash when it comes to ripping content off the internet without paying. 

In my everyday I’ve identified a few ethical actions that I try to partake in when it comes to using computers. I am a big supporter of energy saving and trying to limit my footprint on the environment so often will try to set my computer energy settings down when I don’t need the power capabilities. Also, running unnecessary programs on my computer adds wear and tear to my computer (fans kick in, processor being used more). It may seem like little impact, but the little things and hard use of one’s computer really adds up! 

I am really lucky that the company I work for is really forward thinking. Much travel to teams and client’s is limited through telephone and video conferencing (all meetings with a few exceptions are done this way). As well as email and soft-copy formats replace any printing needed. These are just a few of many examples in which I as an individual and the company I work for tries to limit its impact on the environment. 

I think though that as ethical human beings we should always be looking to constant improvement and to identify ways and methods to improve our lives and those around us. Thinking in this way I think I could be more responsible by driving less and also buying more locally grown food. I don’t think many people realize the amount of energy that goes into transporting cheap foods from non-local sources. I think just these two actions alone can help to limit my energy footprint and to also to support the local community.