Transcript Ch. 2 Environmental Laws, Economics and

Chapter 2
Environmental Laws, Economics and
Ethics
Overview of Chapter 2
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Brief US Environmental History
US Environmental Legislation
Economics and the Environment
Environmental Problems in Central and
Eastern Europe
Environmental Ethics, Values and
Worldviews
Environmental History of the US
1600
Establishment of
Jamestown, VA
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1700
Dominated by Frontier Attitude
1600s - early 1800s =
Frontier Attitude
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1800
Natural Resources (land,
timber soil, water) seemed
inexhaustible
Widespread Environmental
Destruction
1900
Environmental History of US
1750
1800
1850
1900
John James Audobon (1785-1851)
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882)
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19th century- US Naturalists voiced concerns
about natural resources
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Audobon- painting increased interest in environment
Thoreau- naturalist author on simplifying life
Marsh- wrote Man and Nature
Environmental History of US
1875
1850
1875 American
Forestry Assoc.
Formed
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1900
1890 Yosemite and
Sequoia National
Parks Established
1891 General
Revision Act
General Revision Act
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Gave President Authority to establish forest reserves
Presidents Harrison, Cleveland, Roosevelt put 17.4 million
hectares into reserve
Roosevelt reserved additional 6.5 million hectares
before signing bill preventing further forest reservation
Environmental History of US
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Utilitarian
Conservationist
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Roosevelt
Value natural resources
for their usefulness
Biocentric
Preservationist
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John Muir (founded Sierra Club)
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Fought for National Parks
Protect nature because all life deserves respect
Environmental History of US
1925
1900
1906 Antiquities
Act
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1935 Creation of
Soil Conservation
Service
Antiquities Act
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1916 National Park
Service Created
1950
Allows president to set aside sites of scientific or
historical importance (monuments)
American Dust Bowl (1930s droughts)
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Basis for Soil Conservation Service
Created by Franklin Roosevelt
Environmental History of US
1900
1925
1950
Aldo Leopold (1886-1948)
Wallace Stegner (1909-1993)
Rachel Carson (1907-1964)
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20th Century Naturalists
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Leopold- Author (A Sand Country Almanac)
Stegner- Author (“Wilderness Essay”)
Carson- Author (Silent Spring)
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Heightened awareness of DDT and pesticides
1975
US Environmental Legislation
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Environmental Protection Agency
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Est. 1970
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
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Cornerstone of Environmental Law
Requires Environmental Impact Statements
(EIS) for any proposed federal action
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Ex: highway or dam construction
EIS must answer many questions (next slide)
Revolutionized environmental protection in US
Environmental Impact Statements
US Environmental Legislation
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Numerous laws passed since 1970
They address:
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Clean water
Clean air
Energy conservation
Hazardous waste
Pesticides
Federal regulation of pollution
Effects of Environmental Legislation
(According to EPA’s Draft Report on the Environment 2003)
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Since 1970,
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Since 1990
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94% of US had healthy drinking water
(up from 79% in 1993)
As of 2002
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wet sulfate levels decreased 20-30%
In 2002
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6 air pollutants have dropped by 25%
846 of 1498 Superfund Sites are
cleaned up
Fewer streams violate water
standards
Economics and the Environment
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Economics- study of how people use limited
resources to satisfy unlimited wants
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Analytical tools include models
Precepts to study Economics
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Economics is utilitarian
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Rational Actor Model
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Goods and services have value that can be
converted to currency
Assumes all individuals spend limited resources
to maximize individual utilities
Ideal economy
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Resources are allocated efficiently
Optimum Level of Pollution
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Optimum Level of Pollution
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Cost to society of having less pollution is
offset by benefits to society of activity
creating pollution
Must identify
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Marginal Cost of Pollution- Cost of small
additional amount of pollution
Marginal Cost of Abatement- Cost of reducing
small amount of pollution
Economic Optimum Level of Pollution
Private vs Social Cost of Pollution
Strategies for Pollution Control
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Command and Control Solutions
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Government agency requires limitations to
emissions or pollutants
Discourages development of low-cost
alternatives
Economists dislike this
Environmental Taxes/ Tradable Permits
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If taxes are set at correct level private
marginal cost of pollution = social cost of
pollution
Economists like this
Effect of Tax on Optimum Pollution
Critiques of Environmental Economics
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Difficult to assess true costs of
environmental pollution and abatement
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Impacts of pollution on people and nature is
uncertain
Ecosystem services have no known value
Utilitarian economics may not be
appropriate
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Dynamic changes and time are not considered
Based only on monetary value – what is
monetary value of clean earth?
National Income Accounts
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Estimates of National Economic
Performance and used in Politics
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Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Net Domestic Product (NDP)
Environment may be overexploited to yield
a higher GDP in developing countries
EPI (Environmental Performance Index)
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Assesses a country’s commitment to
environmental and resource management
Case Study- Environmental Problems in
Eastern Europe
Fall of Communist governments revealed
large environmental destruction
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Soil and water poisoned
Unidentified leaks in dumping sites
Industry with air
pollutants causing
acid rain
Children with chronic
asthma, bronchitis,
and heart problems
Case Study- Environmental Problems in
Eastern Europe
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Meeting industrial quotas took precedence
over environmental concerns
Switch from communism to market
economies- need to improve environment
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Will take decades to clean up polluting
economics of communism
Success varies by country
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Romania- EPI = 90th
Czech Republic- EPI = 4th
Environmental Ethics
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Field of ethics that considers the moral
basis of environmental responsibility
Western Worldview
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Deep Ecology Worldview
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Human superiority and dominance over nature
All species have an equal worth to humans
Most people’s ethics fall somewhere in
between