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Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

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

Choices


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


• 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

Central Case: The Mirrar Clan Confronts the Jabiluka Uranium Mine

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Ethics and economics

• Both disciplines deal with

what we value

• Our values affect our

environmental decisions

and actions


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


• 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

Worldviews differ among people

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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


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


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?

Is is OK to destroy a

forest to create jobs

for people?

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We have expanded our ethical consideration

• To include animals, communities, nature


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


Western ethical expansion

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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

• Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau


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


The conservation ethic

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

people

• Gifford Pinchot had an anthropocentric viewpoint

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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


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


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

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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


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


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

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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

• Mitigate pollution


Conventional view of economics

• Conventional

economics focuses on

production and

consumption

• Ignores the

environment

• The environment is

an external “factor

of production”


Environmental view of economics

• Human economies

exist within, and

depend on, the

environment

• Without natural

resources, there

would be no

economies

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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

• Produce too much pollution


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


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

The market favors equilibrium between supply and demand

10


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


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


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

11


• 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?

Assumption: Costs and benefits are internal


• 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

Assumptions: Long-term effects are

discounted and growth is good


• “More and bigger is better”

• The dramatic rise in per-person consumption has severe environmental consequences

Is the growth paradigm good for us?

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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

everything


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

- Calls for reform


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

• Does not account for nonmarket values

• Pollution increases GDP

13


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

In the U.S., GDP has risen greatly, but not GPI


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

- Very controversial, hard to practice


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

14


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

The global value of all ecosystem services = $42 trillion!


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 sustainability


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

15


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 into thinking companies are acting sustainably


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


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

e) All nonliving things

16


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

e) Biocentrism


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

e) All of the above


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

d) Growth is good

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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

d) Economic systems never work


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

d) When supply equals

demand


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

d) The GPI is not as

accurate as GDP

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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

c) Both; a compromise must be reached

d) Whatever costs the taxpayers the least


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

d) Humans, pets, other animals, and nature

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