Download 6 - Heartland Community College

Lecture Outlines
Chapter 6
Environment:
The Science behind the
Stories
4th Edition
Withgott/Brennan
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
This lecture will help you understand:
• Culture and worldviews
• Environmental ethics
• Classical and neoclassical
economics
• Economic growth,
economic health, and
sustainability
• Environmental and
ecological economics
• Rendering plant clip
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Central Case: The Mirrar Clan Confronts the
Jabiluka Uranium Mine
• Uranium deposits in Australia often occur on sacred Aboriginal
land
- The Mirrar oppose the mine for cultural, religious, ethical,
health, and economic reasons
The mine will not be developed unless the Mirrar agree
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Ethics and economics involve values
• Both disciplines deal with what we value
– Values affect our decisions and actions
• Solving environmental problems needs more than
understanding how natural systems work
– Values shape human behavior
– Ethics and economics give us tools to pursue the
“triple bottom line” of sustainability
– Environmental, economic, social
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Ethics and economics
• Both disciplines deal with
what we value
• Our values affect our
environmental decisions
and actions
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Culture and worldview
• Our relationship with the environment depends on
assessments of costs and benefits
• Culture and worldview also affects this relationship
- Culture = knowledge, beliefs, values, and learned
ways of life shared by a group of people
- Worldview = a person’s or group’s beliefs about the
meaning, purpose, operation, and essence of the world
Culture and worldview affect our perception of the
environment and environmental problems
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Worldviews differ among people
• Well-meaning people can
support or oppose an action
• Some support uranium mines
- Jobs, income, energy,
economic growth
• Opponents see other impacts
- Destroyed land, pollution,
radiation poisoning
- Community disruption,
substance abuse, crime, etc.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Culture and worldviews affect perceptions
• The landscape is a sacred text to
Australian Aborigines
- Holding their beliefs and values
- Equal to the Christian Bible or
Islamic Koran
• Spirit ancestors leave signs and
lessons in the landscape
- Aborigines construct mental
maps of their surroundings in
“walkabouts”
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Many factors shape worldviews
• Religions
• Communities
• Political ideology
• Economics
• Individual interests
- Vested interest = an individual with strong
interests in the outcome of a decision that results
in gain or loss for that individual
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Ethics
• Ethics = the study of good and bad, right and wrong
- Relativists = ethics varies with social context
- Universalists = right and wrong remains the same
across cultures and situations
• Ethical standards = criteria that help differentiate right
from wrong
- Classical standard = virtue
- The golden rule
- Utility = something right produces the most benefits
for the most people
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
We value things in two ways
• Instrumental (utilitarian) value: valuing something for
its pragmatic benefits by using it
- Animals are valuable because we can eat them
• Intrinsic (inherent) value: valuing something for its own
sake because it has a right to exist
- Animals are valuable because they live their own lives
• Things can have both instrumental and intrinsic value
- But different people emphasize different values
• How we value something affects how we treat it
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Environmental ethics
• Environmental ethics = application of ethical standards
to relationships between human and non-human entities
- Hard to resolve; depends on the person’s ethical
standards
- Depends on the person’s domain of ethical concern
Should we conserve
resources for future
generations?
Is is OK to destroy a
forest to create jobs
for people?
Should humans drive
other species to
extinction?
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Is it OK for some
communities to be exposed
to excess pollution?
Expanding ethical concern
• Why have we expanded our ethical concerns?
- Economic prosperity: more leisure time, less anxieties
- Science: interconnection of all organisms
• Non-western cultures often have broader ethical domains
• Three perspectives in Western ethics
- Anthropocentrism = only humans have rights
- Biocentrism = certain living things also have value
- Ecocentrism = whole ecological systems have value
- Holistic perspective, stresses preserving
connections
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Western ethical expansion
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
History of environmental ethics
•
People have questioned our relationship with the environment for
centuries
•
Christianity’s attitude towards the environment
•
•
Anthropocentric hostility, or
•
Stewardship?
The Industrial Revolution increased consumption and pollution
•
People no longer appreciated nature
•
Transcendentalism = nature is a manifestation of the divine
•
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
The preservation ethic
• Unspoiled nature should be protected for its own inherent value
• John Muir (right, with President Roosevelt at Yosemite National
Park) had an ecocentric viewpoint
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
The conservation ethic
• Use natural resources wisely for the greatest good for the most
people
• Gifford Pinchot had an anthropocentric viewpoint
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
The land ethic
• Healthy ecological systems depend on protecting all parts
• Aldo Leopold believed the land ethic changes the role of people
from conquerors of the land to citizens of it
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Developmental Ethic
• Based on individualism.
• Assumes human race is, and should be, masters of nature.
- All resources exist solely for human benefit.
• Reinforced by work ethic.
- Humans should always be busy creating change.
- Bigger, better, and faster represents “progress”.
- If it can be done, it should be done
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
19
Anti-Environmental Movement
• Wise- Use movement of 1970-80s
• Received support from ranchers, developers, resource
extractors, real estate agents, etc.
• Was a response to the environmental legislation of the
1950s- 1970s
• Alliance For America
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
20
Goals of Wise-Use Movement
• Cut All Old-growth National Forests & replace them with
tree plantations
• Modify the Endangered Species Act
• Eliminate Government restrictions on wetlands
• Open all National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, &
Wilderness Areas to oil, mining, orv’s & development
• Do away with National Park System & allow them to be
run by private firms
• Wise Use groups are often funded by timber, mining, and chemical companies.
In return, they claim, loudly, that the well-documented hole in the ozone layer
doesn't exist, that carcinogenic chemicals in the air and water don't harm anyone,
and that trees won't grow properly unless forests are clear-cut, with government
subsidies.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
21
Deep ecology, ecofeminism, and justice
• Deep ecology = humans are inseparable from nature
• Since all living things have equal value, they should be
protected
• Ecofeminism = male-dominated societies have degraded
women and the environment through fear and hate
• Female worldview = cooperation
• Environmental justice = the fair and equitable treatment
of all people regarding environmental issues
• Wealthy nations dump hazardous waste in poorer
nations with uninformed residents
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Environmental Justice
• In 1998, the EPA defined environmental justice as fair
treatment, meaning:
- “No group of people, including racial, ethnic, or
socioeconomic groups should bear a disproportionate
share of the negative environmental consequences
resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial
operations of the execution of federal, state, local, and
tribal programs and policies.”
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
23
Environmental justice (EJ)
• The poor and minorities are exposed to more pollution,
hazards, and environmental degradation
75% of toxic waste landfills in the southeastern U.S. are in
communities with higher racial minorities
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Environmental justice and Native Americans
From 1948 to the 1960s, Navajo miners were not warned
of radiation risks, nor provided protection by the industry
or the U.S. government
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Significant inequities still remain
• Significant inequities remain despite progress toward
racial equality
– Economic gaps between rich and poor have widened
– Minorities and the poor still suffer substandard
environmental conditions
• Poor Latino farm workers in California suffer from
unregulated air pollution (dairy and pesticide emissions)
– Organized groups convinced regulators to enforce the
Clean Air Act and state legislatures to pass new laws
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Environmental justice and Hurricane Katrina
People most affected by the hurricane and its aftermath
were poor and nonwhite
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Environmental justice: an international issue
• Wealthy nations impose pollution on poorer nations
- Hazardous waste is expensive to dispose of
• Companies pay poor nations to take the waste
- It is dumped illegally
- It may be falsely labeled as harmless or beneficial
- Workers are uninformed or unprotected
• The Basel Convention prohibits international export of
waste
- But illegal trade and dumping continue
- The United States has not ratified this treaty
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
The environment vs. economics
•
Friction occurs between ethical and economic impulses
•
Is there a trade-off between economics and the
environment?
•
–
People say protection costs too much money, interferes
with progress, or causes job loses
–
But environmental protection is good for the economy
Traditional economic thought ignores or underestimates
contributions of the environment to the economy
–
Human economies depend on the environment
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Uranium mining: ethics vs. economics
• Uranium mining provides jobs and income
- Unemployment is above 16% among Aborigines
- 20% of mine employees are Aboriginal
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Economics
•
Friction occurs between people’s ethical and economic
impulses
•
Is there a trade-off between economics and the
environment?
•
Generally, environmental protection is good for the
economy
•
Economics studies how people use resources to provide
goods and services in the face of demand
•
Most environmental and economic problems are linked
•
Root “oikos” gave rise to both ecology and economics
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Types of modern economies
• Economy = a social system that converts resources into
• Goods: manufactured materials that are bought, and
• Services: work done for others as a form of business
• Subsistence economy = people get their daily needs
directly from nature; they do not purchase or trade
• Capitalist market economy = buyers and sellers interact
to determine prices and production of goods and services
• Centrally planned economy = the government
determines how to allocate resources
• Mixed economy = governments intervene to some extent
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Government intervenes in a market economy
• Even in capitalist market economies, governments
intervene to:
• Eliminate unfair advantages
• Provide social services
• Provide safety nets
• Manage the commons
• Mitigate pollution
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Conventional view of economics
• Conventional
economics focuses on
production and
consumption
• Ignores the
environment
• The environment is
an external “factor
of production”
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Environmental view of economics
• Human economies
exist within, and
depend on, the
environment
• Without natural
resources, there
would be no
economies
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Environmental systems support economies
• Ecosystem services = essential services support the life
that makes economic activities possible
*Soil formation
*Pollination
*Water purification
*Nutrient cycling
*Climate regulation
*Waste treatment
• Economic activities affect the environment
• Deplete natural resources
• Produce too much pollution
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Classical economics
•
Competition between people free to pursue their
own economic self-interest will benefit society as a
whole (Adam Smith, 1723-1790)
•
The market is guided by an “invisible hand”
•
This idea is a pillar of free-market thought today
•
It is also blamed for economic inequality
•
•
Rich vs. poor
Critics think that market capitalism should be
restricted by government
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Marginal benefit and cost curves
• Cost-benefit analysis =
the costs of a proposed
action are compared to
the benefits that result
from the action
• If benefits > costs:
pursue the action
• Not all costs and benefits
can be identified
Marginal benefit and cost curves determine an “optimal” level
of resource use or pollution mitigation
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Neoclassical economics
• Enormous wealth and jobs are generated
- Environmental problems are also created
• Assumptions of neoclassical economics:
- Resources are infinite or substitutable
- Costs and benefits are internal
- Long-term effects are discounted
- Growth is good
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Assumption: Resources are infinite
• Economic models treat resources as substitutable
and interchangeable
- A replacement resource will be found
• But, Earth’s resources are limited
- Nonrenewable resources can be depleted
- Renewable resources can also be depleted
- For example, Easter Islanders destroyed
their forests
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Assumption: Costs and benefits are internal
• Costs and benefits are experienced by the buyer and seller alone
- Do not affect other members of the society
- Pricing ignores social, environmental or economic costs
• Externalities = costs or benefits involving people other than the
buyer or seller
• External costs = borne by someone not involved in a transaction
- Human health problems
- Resource depletion
- Hard to account for and eliminate
- How do you assign monetary value to illness?
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
People suffer external costs
External costs include water pollution, health problems,
property damage, and harm to other organism
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Can growth go on forever?
• Economic growth comes from:
- Increased inputs (labor, natural resources)
- Economic development = improved efficiency of
production (technology, ideas, equipment)
• Uncontrolled economic growth is unsustainable
- Technology can push back limits, but not forever
- Efficient resource extraction and production
perpetuate the illusion that resources are unlimited
• Many economists believe technology can solve anything
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Cornucopians vs. Cassandras
• Cornucopians = economists, businesspeople,
policymakers
- Improved technology allows continued economic
growth
- Human innovation, technologies, and market forces
increase access to resources and avoid depletion
• Cassandras = scientists and others
- Limits to Growth, Beyond the Limits, Limits to
Growth: The Thirty-year Update
- Computer models predict economic collapse as
resources become scarce
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Valuing ecosystems goods and services
• Our society mistreats the very systems that sustain it
- The market ignores/undervalues ecosystem values
• Nonmarket values = values not included in the price of a
good or service
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Ecolabeling addresses market failures
• The market can be used to counter
market failure
- Create markets in permits
- Ecolabeling = tells consumers
which brands use sustainable
processes
- A powerful incentive for
businesses to switch to better
processes
- “Dolphin safe” tuna
- Socially responsible investing in
sustainable companies
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Corporations are responding to concerns
• Industries, businesses, and
corporations make money by
“greening” their operations
- Ben & Jerry’s (ice cream),
Patagonia (clothing)
• Industries donate to
environmental groups,
preserve land, etc.
• Manufacturers use recycled
materials, cut energy use, etc.
• Local sustainable businesses
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
A “green wave” of consumer preferences
• Large corporations are riding the “green wave” of
consumer preference for sustainable products
- McDonald’s, Starbucks, Intel, Ford, Dow, etc.
• Greenwashing: consumers are misled into thinking
companies are acting more sustainably than they are
- “Pure” bottled water may not be safer or better
• Any changes made by large companies will help
- Hewlett-Packard, Wal-Mart
• Corporate actions hinge on consumer behavior
- People must support sustainable economics
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Conclusion
• Recent developments have brought economic approaches
to bear on environmental protection and conservation
• Environmental ethics has expanded people’s ethical
considerations
• Economic welfare can be enhanced without growth,
resulting in economic health and environmental quality
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
External Costs include:
• A. Worker’s compensation and insurance
• B. Raw materials
• C. Utilities
• D. Wages
• E. Environmental damage
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Ecosystem services include:
• A. Genetically modifying food
• B. Pollination of crop plants
• C. Global warming
• D. Creating pollution
• E. Erosion
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
• A. pesticide misuse
• B. how American Navajos
suffered from the effects of
uranium mining
• Aldo Leopold’s “Land
Ethic describes:
• C. how most toxic landfills
are located in poorer
communities
• D. individuals as members of
a community of
interdependent parts
• E. the history of the EPA
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
QUESTION 6: Review
An ecocentric worldview would consider the impact of
an action on… ?
a) Humans only
b) Animals only
c) Plants only
d) All living things
e) All nonliving things
f) All living and nonliving things
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
QUESTION 7: Review
Which ethic holds that healthy ecosystems depend on the
protection of all their parts?
a)
Preservation ethic
b) Land ethic
c)
Conservation ethic
d) Deep ecology
e)
Biocentrism
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
QUESTION 8: Review
Which of the following is an ecosystem service?
a) Water purification in wetlands
b)
Climate regulation in the atmosphere
c)
Nutrient cycling in ecosystems
d)
Waste treatment by bacteria
e)
All of the above
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
QUESTION: Viewpoints
Think of an issue in your community that could pit
environmentalists against economic development. What
do you think should prevail: environmental protection or
economic development?
a) Economic growth; we need the jobs
b) Environmental protection; we need the
environment
c) Both; a compromise must be reached
d) Whatever costs the taxpayers the least
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
QUESTION: Viewpoints
What entities do you include in your domain of ethical
concern?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Humans only
Humans and pets
Humans, pets, and other animals
Humans, pets, other animals, and nature
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings