Ch Environmental Ethics and Economics: Values and Choices Part 1: Foundations of Environmental Science PowerPoint® Slides prepared by Jay Withgott and Heidi Marcum Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Central Case: The Mirrar Clan Confronts the Jabiluka Uranium Mine • 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Ethics and economics • Both disciplines deal with what we value • Our values affect our environmental decisions and actions Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Worldviews differ among people • 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 is OK to destroy a forest to create jobs for people? Should humans drive other species to extinction? Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Is it OK for some communities to be exposed to excess pollution? We have expanded our ethical consideration • To include animals, communities, nature Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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! Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Markets can fail • Market failure = markets not account for the environment’s positive impacts - Markets 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings QUESTION: Viewpoints Think of an issue in your community that could pit environmentalists against economic development What 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings QUESTION: Viewpoints What entities you include in your domain of ethical concern? a) b) c) d) Humans only Humans and pets Humans, pets, and other animals Humans, pets, other animals, and nature Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings [...]... 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson... 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Environmental justice (EJ) • The poor and minorities... 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Environmental justice and Native Americans From 1948 to the 1960s, Navajo miners were not warned of radiation... favors equilibrium between supply and demand Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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”... 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Assumption: Resources are infinite • Economic models treat resources as substitutable and. .. Renewable resources can also be depleted - For example, Easter Islanders destroyed their forests Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Assumption: Costs and benefits are internal • 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... Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings 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 Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Deep ecology, ecofeminism, and justice • Deep ecology = humans are inseparable from nature... 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... production and consumption • Ignores the environment • The environment is an external “factor of production” Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Environmental view of economics • Human economies exist within, and depend on, the environment • Without natural resources, there would be no economies Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Environmental. .. Resource depletion - Hard to account for and eliminate - How do you assign monetary value to illness? Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Assumptions: Long-term effects are discounted and growth is good • 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