APES Chapter 20 Vocabulary
Occupational safety and health Administration (OSHA)
a U.S. federal agency responsible for the enforcement of health and safety regulations in the workplace
Department of Energy (DOE)
a U.S. government agency created in 1977 with the goal of advancing the energy and economic security of the United States
Environmental Protections Agency (EPA)
a U.S. government agency that creates federal policy and oversees enforcement of regulations related to the environment, including science, research, assessment, and education
World Health Organization (WHO)
a group within the United Nations responsible for human health, including combating the spread of infectious diseases and health issues related to natural diasters
Human development index (HDI)
a measure of economic well-being that combines life expectancy, knowledge, education, and standard of living as shown in GDP per capita and purchasing power
Gross domestic product (GDP)
a measure of the value of all products and services produced in a country in a year
Genuine progress indicator (GPI)
a measurement of the economy that considers personal consumption, income distribution, levels of higher education, resource depletion, pollution, and the health of the population
Precautionary principle
a principle based on the philosophy that action should be taken against a plausible environmental hazard
United nations environment programme (UNEP)
a program of the United Nations responsible for gathering environmental information and conducting research and assessing environmental problems
United Nations development programme (UNDP)
a program of the United Nations that works to improve living conditions through economic development
Incentive-based approach
a program that constructs financial and other incentives for lowering emissions, based on profits and benefits
Environmental justice
a social movement or field of study that focuses on equal enforcement of environmental laws and eliminating disparities in the exposure of environmental harms to different ethnic and socioeconomic groups within a society
Command-and-control approach
a strategy for pollution control that involves regulations and enforcement mechanisms
Environmental economics
a subfield of economics that examines costs and benefits of various policies and regulations related to environmental degradation
Green tax
a tax placed on environmentally harmful activities or emissions
Biocentric worldview
a worldview that considers human beings to be just one of many species on Earth, all of which have equal intrinsic value
Anthropocentric worldview
a worldview that focuses on human welfare and well-being
Ecocentric worldview
a worldview that places equal value on all living organisms and the ecosystems in which they live
Triple bottom line
an approach to sustainability that advocates consideration of economic, environmental, and social factors in decisions about business, the economy, the environment, and development
Market economy
an economy that relies chiefly on market forces to allocate goods and resources and to determine prices
United Nations (UN)
an institution dedicated to promoting dialogue among countries with the goal of maintaining world peace
World Bank
an international organization that provides technical and financial assistance to help reduce poverty and promote growth, especially in the world's poorest countries
Kuznets curve
as a country develops, there is a natural cycle of economic inequality driven by market forces which at first increases inequality, and then decreases it after a certain average income is attained
Environmental equity
fair distribution of Earth's resources
Sustainability
meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Stewardship
the careful and responsible management of Earth and its resources
Externalities
the cost or benefit of a good or service that is not included in the purchase price of that good or service
Human poverty index (HPI)
the counterpart of the human development index and was developed by the United Nations to investigate the proportion of a population suffering from deprivation in a country with a high HDI
Market failure
the economic situation that results when the economic system does not appropriately account for all costs
Economics
the examination of how humans either as individuals or as companies allocate scarce resources in the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services
Technology transfer
the phenomenon of less developed countries adopting technological innovations that originated in wealthy countries
Valuation
the practice of assigning monetary value to seemingly intangible objects and natural capital
Microlending
the practice of loaning small amounts of money to help people in less developed countries start small business
Natural capital
the resources of the planet
Leapfrogging
the situation in which less developed countries use newer developed technology without first using the precursor technology
Well-being
the status of being happy, healthy, and prosperous
Capital
the totality of our economic assets