Ethics of Waterfront Usage Topic for Panel Discussion Tonight

To develop or not to develop? ODU's Institute for Ethics and Public Affairs (IEPA) will consider that question at a panel discussion on "Making Waves in Hampton Roads: Ethical Issues on the Waterfront," at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 13, in 102 Mills Godwin Jr. Building.

A related program aired on WHRV's "HearSay with Cathy Lewis" radio program Friday, April 10. The show can be heard at http://www.whro.org/home/publicradio/whrv/localprogramming/hearsay/2009+Archives/April/04062009.htm.

Waterfront development is a proposition that presents both benefits and problems, the crux of any ethical dilemma. In the panel discussion, also moderated by Lewis, four participants will consider the ethical issues raised by waterfront development, including:

• the effects of different types of development on wildlife and waterfront ecology;
• the costs (financial, social and environmental) of developing, and of not developing, waterfront property;
• the impact on various segments of the economy, such as fisheries and tourism; and
• the best ways of setting policy governing waterfront development.

Panelists include Christy Everett, assistant director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), who helps build grassroots support for CBF activities, and works with CBF's Virginia Advisory Network and the Oyster Gardening Program; Carl Hershner, director of the College of William and Mary's Center for Coastal Resources Management and an associate professor of marine sciences, whose research examines wetlands ecology and issues in resource management and policy; Bill Jones, associate professor of philosophy and religious studies at ODU, who regularly teaches a course on environmental ethics; and Charles Sapp, director of management services at REMSA (Research, Environmental and Management Support) Inc., a former member of Hampton City Council, and an adjunct professor with Regent University's undergraduate leadership program.

IEPA exists to raise awareness and stimulate discussion of the ethical dimensions of matters of public concern within both the ODU campus community and the larger Hampton Roads community. Its goals are to:

• Strengthen moral community and foster a commitment to ethical ideals in public life.
• Facilitate reflection on the ethical standards that govern the professions.
• Highlight the unique and valuable contribution that philosophical reasoning can make to practical decision making.

For more information about IEPA or the April 13 panel discussion, contact iepa@odu.edu or call 683-6705.