Transcript GEOG 352
GEOG 352 Day 12 Housekeeping Items • The mid-terms are looking pretty good. I will try hard to have them back by Thursday. • We are going to start on Porritt again (Chapters 6-11), but first we have some presentations (?!), and I would like to allow the debate groups to meet for 5-10 minutes. • I need to see Bucky, Karen, and Sarah after class. Porritt, Chapter 6: ‘5 Capitals’ • “Although it is true that many environmentalists and social justice campaigners remain wary of getting sucked too deep into the working practices and language of capitalism, the premise behind the idea of the Five Capitals Framework is that we can't reform capitalism without adopting some of its insights, tools, and drivers.” Do you agree with this? He acknowledges that some people fear that this will merely further the commodification of people and nature. What do you think? Porritt, Chapter 6: ‘5 Capitals’ • He also suggests that “there is no inherent, fixed or non-negotiable aspect of capitalism in general... that renders it for all time incompatible with the pursuit of a sustainable society.” Do you agree/ disagree?[Keep in mind capitalism's defining characteristics.] Porritt, Chapter 6: ‘5 Capitals’ • Porritt says that the core of capitalism is the economic concept of capital. “Capital is a stock of anything that has the ability to generate a flow of benefits which are valued by humans.” • Traditionally, economists and others have conceived of capital in terms of land, machines, and money. However, the model adopted by Porritt for purposes of moving towards a sustainable economy and society involves five distinct, but overlapping, forms of capital. Porritt, Chapter 6: ‘5 Capitals’ • Financial and manufactured capital are familiar, as is human capital, though in the watered down form of human 'resources'. Natural and social capital have only been theoretically and practically acknowledged in the past few decades. • Since I'm assuming you're all doing the reading, maybe we can get some volunteers for defining these forms of capital. The ‘Five Capitals’ Framework Porritt (cont’d) • Natural Capital is any stock or flow of energy and material that produces goods and services. It includes: -Resources -renewable and non-renewable materials -Sinks -that absorb, neutralise or recycle wastes -Processes -such as climate regulation • Natural capital is the basis not only of production but of life itself. Porritt (cont’d) • Human Capital consists of people's health, knowledge, skills and motivation. • Social Capital concerns the institutions that help us maintain and develop human capital in partnership with others; e.g. families, communities, businesses, trade unions, schools, and voluntary organizations. Anything else? • Manufactured Capital comprises material goods or fixed assets which contribute to the production process rather than being the output itself –e.g. tools, machines and buildings. Porritt (cont’d) • Financial Capital plays an important role in our economy, enabling the other types of Capital to be owned and traded. But unlike the other types, it has no real value itself but is representative of natural, human, social or manufactured capital, e.g. shares, bonds or banknotes. • Hopefully, we will have time soon to look at some of the manipulations and aberrations that have developed in our financial system over the last 60+ years, and especially since the 1980s. Porritt (cont’d) • Porritt argues that of these five, natural capital is the precondition for the others. Do you agree? • We will get into social capital in Chapter 9, but his definition is somewhat more narrow than that of most academics. For him social capital is mainly about how functioning in groups, with division of labour and specialization, people can be more productive and creative. [any alternative suggested definitions?] Porritt (cont’d) • Beyond that he argues that, ultimately, all forms of capital derive from natural capital (powered by solar energy) and from human capital (the application of our bodies, minds, and spirits). • He reiterates that natural capital can be classified into three categories: ° resourcesrenewable and non-renewable; °sinks- absorbing, neutralizing and recycling wastes, and ° services- such as climate regulation. • Ecological economists, such as Robert Costanza, have estimated the value of ecological goods and services provided by nature at $33 trillion, twice the global GDP. Porritt (cont’d) • He cites Herman Daly that, in the past, man-made capital was the limiting factor (nature was seemingly unlimited), and it made sense to maximize economic productivity, but now nature is the limiting factor, and making optimal use of scarce resources means something quite different. • He makes an important distinction between keeping natural capital absolutely intact and what Paul Ekins has characterized as “the maintenance of critical environmental functions.... Manufactured capital is a substitute for natural capital if it performs the same environmental functions as natural capital,” but only if. What are some examples, and their ethical and practical implications? Porritt (cont’d) • That Norway and Alaska set aside money from the exploitation of non-renewable fossil fuels to develop renewable alternatives is an interesting example, and somewhat in line with a suggestion by Daly. • In addition to the estimated monetary value of ecosystem services, Porritt gives more statistics on the underappreciated value of biodiversity and the benefits of conservation, including success stories where local communities are given a stake in preserving local ecosystems and biodiversity. • At the conclusion of the chapter, he introduces Janice Benyus's concept of biomimickry – that what exists on Earth, and what we can't afford to lose, are survival strategies that have worked.