Transcript GEOG 352 -

GEOG 352 -- Day 26
Housekeeping Items
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Does anyone have time to help staff the Geography
table tomorrow, especially between 1:00 and 2:30?
It will be next to the 100 Mile Diet table up against
Building 200 on the south side.
Today, I would like to review what you liked and
didn't like about the course – in terms of readings,
lectures, guest speakers, videos, assignments, etc. - and review for the final exam, which will be on
Tuesday, April 14 in the Gym at 9 a.m.
The format will mainly be short answer and essay,
but there might be the odd T/F and multiple choice
question.
Issues and Concepts for the Final
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seeing the economic, social, and ecological as
interdependent;
the issue of controlling carbon and how
“people pollute because it is the cheapest way they
have of solving a certain practical problem: how to
dispose of the waste products remaining after
production and consumption of a good.”
effective incentives/ disincentives;
“lack of ownership rights to environmental
resources means that there are few incentives to
take the environmental consequences of our
actions into account.”
externalities;
Issues and Concepts for the Final
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'pollution havens'
'market failure'
“the invisible hand”
comparative advantage & what has changed since
Ricardo advocated free trade
economic efficiency vs. optimal scale
embeddedness of economy in society & nature
1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics & their
relevance to economics
steady-state economy
“Spaceship Earth”
weakness of the '3-legged stool' model
the theory of infinite substitution
Issues and Concepts for the Final
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defensive expenditures
“capitalism, as we know it today, would... appear
to be incompatible with anything vaguely
resembling sustainability.”
the national and global polarization of wealth
reform globalization or revert to localism?
“we can't reform capitalism without adopting
some of its insights.”
“there is no inherent, fixed or non-negotiable
aspect of capitalism in general... that renders it
for all purposes incompatible with the pursuit of a
sustainable society.”
Issues and Concepts for the Final
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“Capital is a stock of anything that has the ability to
generate a flow of benefits which are valued by humans.”
the 'five capitals' framework and the nature and
definition of each one in term
natural capital as the precondition for the others
3 categories of natural capital
resources- renewable and non-renewable;
sinks- absorbing, neutralizing and recycling wastes,
and
services- such as climate regulation
nature vs. technology as the limiting factor in
production
why the institutional and societal denial?
Issues and Concepts for the Final
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how to get people in the developed world to make the
necessary sacrifices?
where are the Roosevelts and Churchills of the ecological
crisis?
redefining 'national security'
does the commitment to economic growth have to go, and
is that feasible?
the “death of environmentalism”
critiques of, and alternative to, the GDP (Day 14)
Jared Diamond's theories for why societies make
disastrous decisions (Day 17)
can selfishness save the environment?
are humans primarily selfish or altruistic and how much of
this culturally conditioned?
what about people's concern for their children?
Issues and Concepts for the Final
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is 'tragedy of the commons' an accurate analysis?
would privatization of all ecological resources solve the
problems?
civil society and its role and achieving a sustainable society
what is the best way of motivating the desired behaviour of
individuals and corporations?
will the necessary shift in cultural values take place?
“...sufficiency in consumption permits a greater emphasis to
be placed on other aspects of human experience, which are
actually more rewarding and fulfilling than consumption.
Far from entailing self-denial, sufficiency... is a means of
liberation. An all-absorbing concern with consumption is
replaced by the pursuit of other values that yield more
happiness.” Will this sell?
Issues and Concepts for the Final
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dematerialization and resocialization
'consumer sovereignty'/ choice vs. corporate manipulation
how much choice is compatible with sustainability?
the 'communitarian' economy
formal and informal sectors of the economy differentiated
on the basis of rationale and scale
some of the sub-sectors making up the informal sector
the importance of co-ops in some parts of the world
new types and models of corporations and the kinds of
accounting systems and frameworks they are using
'greenwash' and 'ethical investment'
what kinds of reforms will be needed in the financial
system?
the “genuine wealth model” and the history of some of the
alternative currents in economics