As I prepared to teach my course, Technological
Catastrophes, in the Summer II session, I was faced with an all too familiar
problem – how to incorporate in the course the latest such catastrophe, in this
case the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico.
I recently attended the annual meeting of the
Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE). APPE is a group comprised of applied
ethicists and professionals who meet to share common concerns and insights. I usually attend because APPE is the place
where you are most likely to run into engineering and computer ethicists. In most years there are only three to four
sessions on these topics, which usually leave you crying out for more. This year’s meeting was different…
