Sustainable Environments Exam 2
Kyoto Protocol (
(2005) controlling global warming by setting greenhouse gas emissions targets for developed countries
What were some policy outcomes of the environmental movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s?
1. (Largest policy was) National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 (NEPA) --This set up the department of environmental protection agency 2. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency---This was established to conduct federal research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection 3. Clean Air Act (1970)--- This gave the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the power to regulate emissions of hazardous air pollutants 4. Clean Water Act (1972)--- This gave the EPA the power to regulate/control acid or other mine water pollution... Implement pollution control programs
If we increase the supply of a good in the marketplace, what happens to price?
1. A change in the price of a good or service, holding all else constant, will result in a movement along the supply curve. A change in the cost of an input will impact the cost of producing a good and will result in a shift in supply; 2. supply will shift outward if costs decrease and will shift inward if they increase.
Explain what happened in "the bet," as in who bet whom about what, who won, and why.
1. Bet between Ehrlich (biologist well-known for book, Population Bomb. Believes that the population will strip the Earth of all its natural resources) vs Simon (economist who wasn't an environmentalist, but he disagreed with Ehrlich) 2. Simon famously challenged him to a bet... Based on the price of five (nonrenewable) mineral commodities of Ehrlich's choice over 10 years. Simon thinks the price of the commodities will severely drop. Ehrlich said okay and chose nickel, copper, etc (expensive ones)... 3. Simone won the bet, the prices ended up going down (this does not however reflect the cost and tool taken on the environment)
What and where is cancer alley? What led to such high rates of cancer there? What do either cancer alley or "fracking" have to do with externalities?
1. Cancer alley is the last 100 miles or so of the Mississippi River where cancer rates are 50 times larger than the national average 2. Groundwater flows towards the Mississippi River all the way to the Gulf of Mexico... There is is concentration of chemicals towards the southern end of the river (water has so many toxins aka why we call it cancer alley) 3. Pesticides and fertilizer from food/crops will flow into the watershed and many surrounding factories and chemical companies that air pollute local communities by the Mississippi River
What new forms of hazards were created by the mid-20th century regarding automobility, housing, and food? What changed about these sectors of society that led to these new forms of hazard? Be able to give at least a couple examples in each category.
1. Car culture develops -After World War II the American manufacturing industry changed from war-related items to consumer goods. - Jobs were also created.. By the end of the 1950's one in six working Americans was employed in the automobile industry. 2. Housing patterns change -Government subsides after WWII -money paid by a government to help an organization or industry reduce its costs, so that it can provide products or services at lower prices: ... Big farms that receive large government subsidies would lose some of that money. -A housing boom, stimulated in part by easily affordable mortgages for returning members of the military, added to the expansion. -Federal Highway Act of 1956 3. Agricultural Patterns change -The honey program is a price support program provided by the United States Department of Agriculture to American honey producers. Federal subsidies to the honey industry began in 1950, when demand for honey decreased following the end of World War II. 4. Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring
How has the Environmental Movement changed since the "command and control" era of the 1970s?
1. Climate change has taken center stage 2. Market based approaches (neoliberalism) 3. "go green" approach
Rational Actor Model
1. In economics, the assumption that all individuals spend their limited resources in a fashion that maximizes their individual utilities. 2. Idea that 'rational actors' in the marketplace will pursue an action (buying or selling) if benefits outweigh costs
example of ecosystem services
1. Pollination - bees pollinate crops and bees are dying from colony collapse disorder (WHICH THEY GET FROM PESTICIDES) This is an issue because without pollination there are no crops.. This will in return increase the price of food because bees pollinate the food for free 2. Flood control - Nature soaks up rain to prevent floods 3. Erosion Control - Plants like grass and shrubs are very effective at stopping soil erosion
What arguments might be made for why, in that era, the environmental movement took off?
1. Post-war affluence?? (With wealth we use more resources which would lead to more consumption) 2. Creation of new forms of hazard 3. Development of Ecology as scientific discipline
Who was Rachel Carson?
1. Rachel Carson was an American biologist well known for her writings on environmental pollution and the natural history of the sea. 2. Her book, Silent Spring (1962), became one of the most influential books in the modern environmental movement and provided the impetus for tighter control of pesticides, including DDT.
What are ecosystem services?
1. These are essential processes such as soil formation, nutrient cycles, the pollination of plants, etc. 2. Aspects of ecosystem structure and function that have economic social or cultural value
Earth First!
1. radical environmental advocacy group emerged in 1979 members pledged "No Compromise in Defense of Mother Earth"
Environmental Impact Statement
A detailing of a proposed policy's environmental effects, which agencies are required to file with the EPA every time they propose to undertake a policy that might be disruptive to the environment. ---So companies are forced to make a truthful statement as to how they might be harming the environment ... This also alerts the EPA and helps them keep track of what environmental things these companies are disrupting or hurting.
What is colony collapse disorder, and why should it worry us?
A mysterious disease that causes adult bees to disappear from their hives without a trace. It may be caused by: parasites, fungus, viruses, bacteria, pesticides, poor nutrition, or stress ----This is an issue because without pollination there are no crops.. This will in return increase the price of food because bees pollinate the food for free
environmental justice
A social movement and 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.
Neoliberalism
A strategy for economic development that calls for free markets, balanced budgets, privatization, free trade, and minimal government intervention in the economy.
environmental economics vs ecological economics
Environmental economics: try to "tweak" social costs to market costs in environment Ecological economics: Calculates the value of nature into its model making
Pigouvian Tax Example (Environmental economics)
Government needs money to upkeep roads and we pay for it with takes..BUT some people don't use the roads the same or might not even drive at all... so who should pay more? People receive a pigouvian tax when paying a toll fee while driving on the PA turnpike for example. Also, each year a person has their car registered, they pay a fee to the government for road repairs.
What happened in the Love Canal controversy of the late 1970s?
In 1978, Love Canal, located near Niagara Falls in upstate New York, was a nice little working-class enclave with hundreds of houses and a school. It just happened to sit atop 21,000 tons of toxic industrial waste that had been buried underground in the 1940s and '50s by a local company. Over the years, the waste began to bubble up into backyards and cellars. By 1978, the problem was unavoidable, and hundreds of families sold their houses to the federal government and evacuated the area. The disaster led to the formation in 1980 of the Superfund program, which helps pay for the cleanup of toxic sites.
just transition
Just Transition is a vision-led, unifying and place-based set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy
· What ecosystem services do bats provide?
Some plants depend partly or wholly on bats to pollinate their flowers or spread their seeds, while other bats also help control pests by eating insects.
As the price of a good in the marketplace goes up, what happens to supply? and demand?
Supply Increase: price decreases, quantity increases. Demand Increase: price increases, quantity increases Supply Decrease: price increases, quantity decreases. Demand Decrease: price decreases, quantity decreases.
What was the "Wise Use" movement?
The "Wise Use" movement describes an environmental backlash that minimizes the extent of problems & encourages the exploitation of resources
What's the "environmental Kuznets curve"?
The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) is a hypothesized relationship between environmental quality and economic development: various indicators of environmental degradation tend to get worse as modern economic growth occurs until average income reaches a certain point over the course of development.
What did it have to do with the "market response model" as described in your reading ("markets and commodities")?
The idea market prices reflect scarcity or abundance of a resource, and this will conserve scarce resource and export abundant ones.... BASICALLY - If a resource is scarce, the price will increase -This causes producers to look for more abundant resources because it will bring manufacturing costs down for the company and final sales down for the consumer.
Why are bat populations currently in decline in North America?
White Nose Syndrome: a fungal infection that dehydrates hibernating bats, causing them to wake too early in search of water and food and they die Ecosystem services provided: Some plants depend partly or wholly on bats to pollinate their flowers or spread their seeds, while other bats also help control pests by eating insects.
Pigouvian Tax
a tax imposed on an activity that creates a negative externality -We can tax waste or anything environmental
Environmental Liberation movement
aka "Elves" or "The Elves", is the collective name for autonomous individuals or covert cells who, according to the ELF Press Office, use "economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to stop the exploitation and destruction of the environment".
What's deep ecology?
an environmental movement and philosophy that regards human life as just one of many equal components of a global ecosystem.
Environmental Protection Agency
an independent federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment
In the context of supply and demand in the marketplace, what does "market equilibrium" mean?
condition of price stability where the quantity demanded equals the quantity supplied
Environmental externalities
costs that businesses do not directly pay, and are therefore not reflected in the money that consumers pay ex. Environmental degradation
environmental justice movement
promotes the fair and equitable treatment of all people with respect to environmental policy and practice, regardless of their income, race, or ethnicity
environmental economics
the field of economics that links environmental and economic costs....this means we can tax waste or anything environmental
ecological economics
the field of economics that recognizes the relationships between ecosystems and economic systems - Companies dump pollutants into a river but did not pay anyone to do so...but we must pay taxes for necessities like garbage collection....how does this work
cap and trade system
total number of emissions is capped and producers must buy licence to emit greenhouse gasses