RUBRICS

Awareness of Issue/3:
Communication of Information and Ideas/3:
Critical and Creative Thinking Skills/3:
Personal Judgment/3:
Integration to Course Content/3:
SCORE/15
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HECUSOC Reflection Paper

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Name: Joan Malaya

Section: A51
Date: December 1, 2014
Reflection Paper Number: 3

What is/are ethical issue/s depicted in the film?

The main ethical issue depicted in the film is the issue of a big company, PG&E, contaminating the water of
a whole town. PG&E lied to the townspeople about the safeness of their groundwater, and when the water
was starting to affect the health the townspeoples health, PG&E just tried to settle with very insignificant
amounts of money that wouldnt cover the medical bills the victims would need.

Is the company in question liable for its actions?

Of course PG&E is liable for its actions. The people in this town would never have life threatening illnesses
if it werent for the companys recklessness.

If you were a judge, will you order the closure of the company given that it provides employment to people?
I would not order the closure of PG&E, but I would find it for damages for each and every person it has
caused harmed to. They ought to pay the victims enough money for medical bills, and damages for
emotional stress. I would also make sure that the managers in the company who knew about the anomaly
be removed.

Is it enough for the company to pay the victims?

As mentioned above, the company should pay the victims for the medical bills and for emotional stress. Of
course, money cant bring back the life of a person, but what else can a company do?

Can we actually put a monetary value to life?

No, we certainly cannot put a monetary value to life. However, I believe that the party involved should be
the one responsible for ALL things that have to be paid as a result of a persons deathburial costs,
medical bills, and salaries that couldve been received if the person was still alive.

Is it ethical to work for companies that actually pollute the environment?

I do not think it is ethical to work for a company that pollutes the environment. But it also has to be taken
into account that some people work with these companies because they dont know that bad things that are
going on in the company. Some have no other place to work. But of course, there are those who know
exactly what is going on, but choose to do their job because they are able to get a considerable amount of
money.

Discuss issues using the ethical principles we discussed in class.

I would like to talk about the ethical principle of beneficence, which PG&E certainly lacked. The good
certainly did not outweigh the bad in their actions. They also lacked non-maleficencethey certainly didnt
prevent making harm. What they did was pay off people who were already very harmed.

How is the nexus of environment and health presented in the film?

In the film, the nexus, or connection between environment and health is presented in that once the
environment is changed or tampered with, there will be very bad consequences with the health of society.

How is politics relevant to environment and health issues?

Politics is relevant to environment and health issues in that they are the ones that are responsible for its
protection. Politicians are given the reigns to protect the environment and protect the health of the people,
give them the best treatment possible. But this power is often abused because of bribery. Companies that
need an environmental permit or whatever, but simply cannot because of health & environmental hazards,
simply give money to politicians to be able to go on with their business without any complaints from the
government.

Use recycled paper

One page only. Please do no exceed.