intro to human midterm

Economists favor "free-market environmentalism" as an alternate approach to pollution regulation. How does a free market-approach work?

- Uses the inventiveness of capitalism to solve environmental problems. ● Solutions that use market mechanisms to incentivize desired behavior and distensive undesirable behavior

Limits

- Want a limit on growth ● Carrying capacity will be exceeded if birth rate does not drop ● Blames population on why the environment is degrading (pessimistic) ● Keywords: Restrictive, present view

Cornucopians

- Want a limit on growth only if technology and science stops ● The Earth is huge relative to our demands ● Growth poses challenges, but gives life a sense of purpose and encourages achievement ● Keywords: Perspective reserves

pros of carbon tax

-Burning fossil fuels is socially undesirable -People want heating, transportation, TV, not the fossil fuels themselves -Relatively easy to implement -Can be implemented on a board- base scale -provide incentive for polluters to develop clean technology

What are some examples of how people are pushing back against consumer culture?

-Choose brands that are more environmentally friendly -Tip the market towards more ecoglocially safer products

What can citizens do to avoid facing charges of irrationality to effectively participate in environmental policymaking?

-Citizens responsibility to become educated and knowledgeable about environmental threats -Demonstrate an understanding of issues to effectively participate in the environmental decision making and policy

How did humans become 'consumers'?

-Cultural reasons: beliefs, values, materialistic -Exposure to mass advertisements that tempt and shape individuals to buy things -Helps to shape social identity, people can bond over shared preferences

why is it opposed by environmentalist?

-Hidden costs of economic action that aren't reflected in the price of goods or services -Moral or ethical considerations are excluded -How do you quantify or put a dollar on clean air and water?

Preservationist view (transcendentalism)

-Nature has intrinsic value -Belief in the divinity of nature - spiritual contemplation of natures has the individual to transcend the physical world -Transcendentalist -Nature should remain untouched and preserved from human use and abuse -Stewards of nature (religious) -Tread lightly, don't destroy something before it is discovered (scientific)

Why is it favored by economists?

-Puts a dollar value on developmental projects - Helps policy makers determine options and trade-offs

cons of carbon tax

-Taxes are often unpopular -Some commodities being taxed are basic necessities -Lower income people impacted more negatively, compared to wealthier people not as significant a share of monthly income

Dominion thesis (also called Developmental view)

-The belief that humans should control nature and use it how they wish (God-given right) - Bible states that humans should be stewards of the environment

what are the pros of pollution tax?

-The higher the taxes on pollution, the stronger incentive to reduce ● Influences people to seek out cleaner and sustainable alternatives

Conservationist view (Utilitarian)

-The value of nature is based on its usefulness to society -Based on the ideas of John Locke -Nature that is left "unused" has no value and is wasted

What is "Command and Control" regulation?

-There is an ideological divide between environmentalists and economists regarding pollution control and industry. -Regulatory system for pollution control based on government telling industry how much pollution to reduce and how to reduce it

what are the cons of pollution tax?

-Uncertainty about the total amount of pollution discharged ● US tax code is complex ● Taxes are not fixed ● Taxes are unpopular ● Sources are allowed to discharge as much as they want as long as they pay the per-unit Charge for each ton emitted

example of secondary environmental impacts

-cutting down trees in order to make goods to meet the demands of the people. -you are indirectly affecting the rainfall patterns or temperatures as a result of deforestation.

3 main perspectives regarding environmental ethics

-dominion thesis -conservationist view -preservationist view

Achuar's beliefs example:

-dreams are good omens before a hunt -sweet foods or salt are taboo -hunting dogs require secret magic songs for success.

what are 3 factors of cost-benefit analysis?

1. Boundaries 2. Time Horizon 3. Discount rates

4 types of adaptations?

1. Genetic 2.Physiological/developm-ental 3. Culture 4. Individual

identify at least 3 decisions that were made based on political considerations. (Love Canal: GIBBS)

1. NY State Health Department chooses to protect business interests and profits over human health and safety of residents. 2. State health authorities dismissed study as "useless housewife data" and the illnesses were "all in their head." 3. Dr. Beverly Paigen, research scientist, punished by federal government for aiding LCHA by pulling her funding

Environmental Hazard(love canal)

20,000 tons of chemical waste buried in the canal is a health hazard to families living around the canal.

What is consumer culture?

A form of material culture facilitated by the market, which thus creates a particular relationship between the consumer and the goods or services he or she consumes.

What are environmental ethics?

A set of moral principles that determine what is right and wrong with regard to the environment.

carbon tax

A specific tax on the consumption of goods which case CO2 emissions

explain how a pollution tax operates

A tax or charge on environmental pollutants or on goods whose use produces such pollutants. This tax creates funding to finance pollution control projects.

Hazard, risk, and uncertainty hazard

An object, condition or process that threatens individuals and society in terms of production (making a living) and reproduction (being alive)

What are some factors that contribute to how people perceive risk?

Biases Cultural Human Nature

genetic adaption

Biological Long-term Group level Reversibility difficult ex:People in africa carry the sickle cell trait

physiological/developmental adaption

Biological Short term or long term Individual Reversible ex: Higher temperature causes the body to sweat Lowering the temperature causes the body to cool

Give some examples of the ways in which characteristics of the hazard influence people's perceptions of risk and their acceptability?

Cars vs. airplanes → The level of level of physical risk to individuals is far higher for every mile traveled by car than by aircraft. However people overwhelmingly fear aircraft travel more.

Why is culture socially constructed?

Culture is socially constructed because people agree on customary beliefs, values, goals, behaviors, and practices.

What is culture?

Culture is the non-biological inheritance that we pass on from generation to generation, excluding genetics.

What is the main argument environmentalists are making against the use of free-market Environmentalism in favor of strict environmental regulation?

Environmentalists argue that market solutions have limitations and should be used in combination with Strict government regulation

clean air act 1970

Establishes EPA- mission to protect environment and human health -EPA sets air quality standards for 6 criteria pollutants

safe drinking water act 1974

Establishes drinking water standards for tap water safety, and requires rules for groundwater protection from underground injection; -The number of americans receiving water that met health standards went from 79 percent, in 1993, to 92 percent, in 2008

Our fast fashion consumption habits have a far-reaching effect on other parts of the world.

Fast fashion has impacts economically, socially, and environmentally.

Social:

Forced and child labor in developing countries

Economic:

Garment workers in Bangladesh underpaid, non living wages average $96/month

LCA sequence

Goal definition and scoping -define the product, process or activity inventory analysis -inputs(materials) and outputs(environmental releases) impact assessment -Assess the potential human and ecological effects of energy, water, and raw materials usage

Equal treatment:

Human and non-humans should be treated as equal in questions of ethics.

pros of cap and trade

Innovative ● Clean industries profit from their cleanliness ● Diriter polluting industries are penalized

why is it important for natural scientists and social scientists to communicate with each other and work together?

It's important for natural scientists and social scientists to communicate with each other and work together in order to study human/environmental relations and their influence over the Earth.

The Love Canal Homeowners Association, starting as a small, grassroots protest, ended as a benchmark case that gained national attention and led to what well-known 1980 law regarding the identification and clean-up of hazardous waste sites in the U.S.?

Lead to the creation of the 1980 Superfund in which the federal government allocated funding for the identification and clean-up of hazardous waste sites in the U.S.

how cap and trade operates?

Market-based approach in which pollution rights are sold to the highest bidder, and then the market will sort it out.

Equal Consideration:

Minimizing the suffering of non-humans should be part of all ethical discussion (cosmetic testing, medical research testing, factory farming, circuses, zoos)

population continuum

Neo-malthusian moderate high tech/marxist

individual adaption

Non-biological Individual level Short-term Reversible ex: Wearing a facemask during pandemic Using an umbrella when it rains

cultural adaption

Non-biological Short term or long term Group level -Reversible, usually, but in some cases becomes more difficult once a pattern ex: Laws and regulations Customs, beliefs and taboos

Environmental:

Overuse of resources

keywords for population

Population growth is exponential

What is the precautionary principle and which of the two debate views subscribes to it?

Precautionary principle is this idea of uncertainty. It involves be cautious in our approach and wise in our use of resources. -limit population growth and economic growth

cons of cap and trade

Price fluctuation ● Complex ● Companies are given free permits to pollute by the government ● Polluters are being compensated, while those being impacted are not ● Supports continued pollution

Which of the 7 disciplines of Human Ecology is most closely associated with advertising and consumerism.

Psychology -focuses on the individual and that is exactly the goals of advertising and consumerism. Companies want the attention of the individual in order to influence their beliefs and get them to purchase their products.

What were they asking for and from whom?

Residents of Love Canal were asking for the truth from the State Health Department. They demanded that they be evacuated.

7 social science discipline

Sociology History Psych Economics Geography Political science Anthropology

Material

Technology, things, stuff

What assumption about human behavior is underlying the idea of a Carbon tax?

The consumption rate of humans is extremely high and we must work to decrease this or carbon emissions will continue to rise.

What role did uncertainty play in the case of Love Canal?

There was much uncertainty surrounding the hazard. Residents wondered if it had a direct connection to them.

Economists alternative

Uses the economic system to solve environmental problems using market-based solutions to reduce pollution

Non-material

Values, norms, language, symbols

What is a cost/benefit analysis?

a tool used by economists to aid decision-making in the public sector

Perceptions

a way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting something, not always based on factual info

Why is this important to environmental problem solving and decision making?

allows us to use our knowledge of the world to make connections between human behavior and their effects on the environment.

"Cradle to grave"

approach seeks to understand the environmental impact of a product or an activity and identify opportunities to lessen the impact.

What are externalities?

are hidden costs of economic action that aren't reflected in the price of goods or services

What do all of the 7 traditional disciplines associated with Human Ecology all have in common?

associated with Human Ecology all examine human-environment relationships.

Why are they examples of market failures?

because the market is incapable of setting price on values.

"linear fashion model"

buying, wearing, and quickly discarding clothes.

perception bias

choice control observability latency potential for catastrophe

Perceived obsolescence

convinces us we need newer, bigger, better products and to throw away what's still good

"Cradle to cradle"

design and production of products of all types in such a way that at the end of their life, they can be truly recycled.

Why must we always take adaptation into account when examining human-environment relationships in different cultures?

each culture has different laws/regulations, customs/beliefs, and food production systems.

Contrast effect

eye- opening data that comes about moment we're comparing 2 brands

How do these hunting practices affect the environment?

help to maintain biodiversity and ensure prey species are reproductive and abundant for future hunts.

How can these factors lead people to perceive risks irrationally?

human beings subjectively tend to see and calculate risk differently. Researchers have demonstrated that the real or measureable risks of some decisions are sometimes far overestimated.

In what ways does the relationship of indegious people with their environment illustrate cultural adaptation?

illustrates cultural adaptation as it is evident that they have incorporated their own traditions and customs into their food production.

What are secondary environmental impacts?

indirect consequences or changes.

Planned obsolescence

intentionally designing a product with limited useful life so we purchase it again

What is the Anthropocene?

is a metaphoric term sometimes applied to our current era, when people exert enormous influence on environments all around the Earth, but where control of these environments and their enormously complex ecologies is inevitably elusive.

What is adaptation?

is a set of processes of change and adjustment that increase a population's chance of survival through successive generations in a given environment.

What is Standard of Living (SOL)? Why is it important to the debate?

is the necessities, comforts, and luxuries enjoyed or aspired to be by an individual or Group. - It is important to the debate because everybody uses a different amount goods, some more than others which may be contributing to the decrease in resources.

What is ethnocentrism?

is the practice of judging other cultures by the standards of our own and deeming our culture superior.

Why is it considered to be multidisciplinary?

it combines many different disciplines. The complexity of humans and the way we behave means that this field of study must involve various academic disciplines.

In what ways is neo-Malthusian thinking problematic?

it underestimated human ability to adapt to environmental constraints and underestimated the ability of human innovation to increase the carrying capacity of the world.

Why is it important to look at environmental impact from the perspective of the consumer?

many consumers are unaware of the effects their actions have on our planet

Eco-angst

moment we discover some piece of unpleasant ecological information about a product we bought causing us a moment of despair about the planets condition and our place in it

what is another word for "free market environmentalism"

new source economics

Explain what the authors mean when they say that "most hazards fall between natural and anthropogenic."

not all hazards are "natural" because many hazardous things are caused by humans (anthropogenic).

How is it related to population growth?

overpopulation to lack of basic resources.

high tech/marxist

population is a false problem a smokescreen- class inequalities, poor distribution economic and social changes necessary

moderate

population is a problem, important, but not one of many

Neo-malthusian

population is the problem

"Fast fashion"

providing clothing quickly and cheaply to consumers through shorter fashion cycles.

What is "greenwashing" a product?

purposely advertising ONE virtue about a product's ecological benefit and conveniently leaving out the many negative environmental impacts caused by the product.

How did he suggest that this problem would "correct" itself?

starvation, famine death.

What does it mean to say that something is socially constructed?

that something exists or is understood to have certain characteristics because people agree that it does. -field of sociology

What does the recent discipline, Industrial Ecology, also called Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analyze?

the cumulative environmental impacts of a product during its lifetime.

What is carrying capacity?

the number of people that the world can support without environmental degradation.

What is human ecology (McCay, Bonnie)

the study of man-environment interactions and interrelationships.

What is Human Ecology?

the study of the relationship between humans and their interaction with the environment.

How do you think Achuar's beliefs influence how they hunt?

they have many different taboos and beliefs.

endangered species act 1973

to conserve imperiled species and the habitats upon which they depend -Prevented the extinction of 99 percent of the species it protects since its inception in 1973

What was Malthus' concern with regard to population?

with unlimited population growth. He called for greater restraints on women to control the population.