Do Good and Do No Harm

Another Moral Economy Column
By Christopher Lind
April 8, 2010

In the 13th century, Thomas Aquinas summed up our ethical imperatives with the phrase “Do good and do no harm”. This was not original to him. He was affirming what he learned from early Greek philosophers. The medical profession makes the same claim, which it learned from Hippocrates over 2,000 years ago. This simple formulation expresses a very powerful and complex moral command.

For example, humanity is hungry for energy. Even as we fret about the consequences of releasing so many greenhouse gases into the atmosphere from burning oil and gas, we also frantically search for new ways of expanding our dwindling supply. One of the dramatic new developments in the energy field has been the re-evaluation of our supply of natural gas stored in shale rock formations. The largest formation of this type in North America is the Marcellus Shale, which lies underneath New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Ohio. It also extends underneath Lake Erie and into southern Ontario between Port Stanley and St. Thomas. In 2002 it was estimated that this shale formation contained 1.9 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of recoverable natural gas. Only 7 years later that estimate was increased over 100 times to 262 TCF. (The largest shale gas field in Canada is the Horn River basin in northeastern British Columbia with an estimated 25-50 TCF of recoverable gas.)

The difference in the estimates has to do with new techniques of recovery. Through a process called hydraulic fracturing, small explosions are created underground by pumping in fluids to create pressure. These explosions create fractures that release the gas and allow it to be extracted. The fluids are mostly water and so many people are concerned about competing uses of water. Similar concerns about water use are raised with the Bakken shale formation in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and even the Tar Sands in Alberta. In an arid climate, who gets first use?

The fracturing can also change the flow of underground water aquifers creating risks for nearby communities. A small amount of the fluid (0.49%) is made up of a variety of chemicals like ethylene glycol (used in antifreeze) and petroleum distillates (used in makeup remover). It used to contain diesel oil, which contains benzene (a carcinogen). In densely populated eastern North America these concerns have caused intensive environmental reviews.

To be concerned about energy production in an energy hungry world is a morally good thing. However, there are two major ethical concerns that need to be addressed. Firstly, it makes a moral difference if we are working to feed someone who is malnourished or if we are feeding someone who is a glutton. No one can argue that North Americans are malnourished when it comes to energy. We are the biggest energy pigs on the planet.

Secondly, when we work to accomplish something good, we need to make sure we are not also causing harm. It would be unethical to increase our energy supply at the cost of polluting our water supply.

Some decisions do require a moral balancing of goods. We might be willing to divert water from golf course irrigation to energy production but we would probably be unwilling to divert it from food production. Food is essential but my favourite six iron maybe not so much.

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This column is published in the Western Producer, Canada's largest farm newspaper. For other moral economy blogs see christopherlind.blogspot.com