PowerPoint® Slides prepared by Jay Withgott and Heidi Marcum

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PowerPoint®_{Slides prepared by}

Jay Withgott and Heidi Marcum

PowerPoint®_{Slides prepared by}

Jay Withgott and Heidi Marcum

Ch 2

Part 1: Foundations of Environmental Science

Environmental Ethics and

Economics: Values and

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This lecture will help you understand:

• _{Culture and worldviews}

• Environmental ethics

• Classical and neoclassical

economics

• Economic growth,

economic health, and sustainability

• Environmental and

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• 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

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Ethics and economics

• Both disciplines deal with

what we value

• Our values affect our

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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

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• _{Different worldviews}

result in different perceptions

• _{Aborigines saw the}

negative environmental impacts of the Jabiluka mine

• _{Others saw jobs, income,}

and energy from the mine

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Many factors shape worldviews

• Religions

• Communities

• Political ideology

• Economics

• Individual interests

- Vested interest = an individual with strong

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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

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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 it OK for some

communities to be exposed to excess pollution?

Should humans drive other species to

extinction?

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We have expanded our ethical consideration

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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

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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

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The preservation ethic

• Unspoiled nature should be protected for its own inherent value

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The conservation ethic

• Use natural resources wisely for the greatest good for the most people

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The land ethic

• Healthy ecological systems depend on protecting all parts

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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

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Environmental justice (EJ)

• _{The poor and minorities are exposed to more pollution,}

hazards, and environmental degradation

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Environmental justice and Native Americans

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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

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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

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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

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Conventional view of economics

•Conventional

economics focuses on production and

consumption

• Ignores the

environment

• The environment is

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Environmental view of economics

• Human economies

exist within, and depend on, the environment

• Without natural

resources, there would be no

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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

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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

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Neoclassical economics

• Examines the

psychological factors underlying consumer choices

• Market prices are explained

in terms of consumer preferences

• Buyers vs. sellers

• The “right” quantities of a

product are produced

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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

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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

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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}

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• 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?

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• A future event counts less than a present one

- Discounting = short-term costs and benefits are more important than long-term costs and benefits

- Policymakers ignore long term consequences of our actions

- Discourages attention to resource depletion and pollution

• Economic growth is necessary to maintain employment and social order

- Promoting economic growth creates opportunities for poor to become wealthier

- Progress is measured by economic growth

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• “More and bigger is better”

• The dramatic rise in per-person consumption has severe

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Is economic growth sustainable?

• Affluenza = material goods do not always bring contentment

• _{Uncontrolled economic growth is unsustainable}

- Technology can push back limits, but not forever

- More efficient resource extraction and food

production perpetuates the illusion that resources are unlimited

• Many economists believe technology can solve

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Other types of economists

• Ecological economists = civilizations cannot overcome environmental limitations

- Steady state economies should mirror natural

ecological systems

- Calls for revolution

• Environmental economists = unsustainable economies have high population growth and inefficient resource use

- Modify neoclassical economics to increase efficiency

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A steady state economy

• As resources became harder to find, economic growth slows and stabilizes (John Stuart Mill, 1806-1873)

• We must rethink our assumptions and change our way of economic transactions

• This does not mean a lower quality of life • Economies are measured in various ways

• _{Gross Domestic Product}_{(GDP) = total monetary} value of final goods and services produced

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GPI: An alternative to the GDP

• Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) = differentiates between desirable and undesirable economic activity

- Positive contributions (i.e. volunteer work) not paid for with money are added to economic activity

- Negative impacts (crime, pollution) are subtracted

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More “green accounting” indicators

• _{Net Economic Welfare} _(NEW)_{= adjusts GDP by}

adding the value of leisure time, while deducting environmental degradation

• _{Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW)}_{= based on}

income, wealth distribution, resource depletion

• These indicators give a more accurate indication of a

nation’s welfare

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Valuing ecosystems goods and services

• Our society mistreats the very systems that sustain it

- The market ignores/undervalues ecosystem values

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Assigning value to ecosystem services

• Contingent valuation = uses surveys to determine how much people are willing to pay to protect or restore a resource

- Measures expressed preferences

- But, since people don’t really pay, they may

overinflate values

• Revealed preferences = revealed by actual behavior

- Time, money, effort people spend

- Measuring the actual cost of restoring natural systems

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Markets can fail

• Market failure = markets do not account for the environment’s positive impacts

- Markets do not reflect the negative effects of activities

on the environment or people (external costs)

• Government intervention counters market failure

- Laws and regulations

- Green taxes = penalize harmful activities

- Economic incentives to promote conservation and

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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

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Corporations are responding to concerns

• Industries, businesses, and corporations can make money

by “greening” their operations

- Local sustainably oriented businesses are being started

- Large corporations are riding the “green wave” of

consumer preference for sustainable products

- Nike, Gap

• Be careful of greenwashing, where consumers are misled

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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,}

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QUESTION: 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

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QUESTION: 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

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QUESTION: 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

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QUESTION: Review

Which is NOT an assumption of neoclassical economics that can lead to environmental degradation?

a) Resources are limited

b) Long-term effects are downplayed

c) All costs and benefits are experienced by the buyer and seller alone

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QUESTION: Review

Which of the following statements would be spoken by an ecological economist?

a) The current economic system is working fine

b) The current economic system simply needs to be fine-tuned

c) The current economic system is broken and a new one needs to be developed

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QUESTION: Interpreting Graphs and Data

Market equilibrium, which sets the price of a product, is reached …

a) When supply exceeds demand

b) When demand exceeds supply

c) By demand when quantity is low, and

supply when quantity is high

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QUESTION: Interpreting Graphs and Data

Which conclusion can you draw from this graph?

a) GDP has not really increased since 1950

b) Although we are

spending more money, our lives are not much better

c) We are spending less money, and our lives are much better

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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

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QUESTION: Viewpoints

What entities do you include in your domain of ethical concern?

a) Humans only

b) Humans and pets

c) Humans, pets, and other animals