Unit 1
Deontological vs Teleological
Deontological: moral duties that you have to do, explicit right or wrong
Teleological: action based on consequence
Causes of Climate Change
Electricity Production, Transportation, Land Use
Preservation vs. Conservation
Preservation - Set Aside Resources, Aldo Leopold
Conservation - Use the land in the most efficient way possible, Gifford Pinchot
Point Source
A localized and stationary pollution source
What are the Greenhouse Gases?
Water Vapor, Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrogen
What is environmental justice?
What is Fracking?
What is GPI?
Genuine Progress Indicator
Adds - Good Stuff (Forests, Stay at Home Work, Volunteer)
Subtracts - Bad Stuff (Pollution, Carbon Emissions, Property Crimes)
Collective Action Problem
A situation in which all individuals would be better off cooperating but fail to do so because of conflicting interests between individuals.
Mitigation vs. Adaptation
Mitigation - action we do to prevent climate change
Adaptation - how are we gonna respond to climate change
Give two examples of use values.
Travel Cost Method - used to estimate the value of recreational benefits generated by ecosystems, creates an estimated value based on how much people are willing to pay to get there
Hedonic Pricing - the price of a marked good includes the characteristics and services it provides
Explain the Clean Air Act
Regulates air pollution and protects the ozone layer, to promote public health
NAQQS - National Ambient Air Quality Standards
SO2, NO2, Pb, CO, Particulate Matter, O3
What are the 3 pillars of sustainability?
What is weak and strong sustainability?
3 Pillars: Economic, Natural, Social
Weak Sustainability: Each capital can be substituted for one another
Strong Sustainability: All capital is equally important
Forest Degradation
the decline in forest quality
Criticisms of International Trade
Security Reliance, Labor Standards, Environmental Standards, Distributional Impacts,
Describe the social discount rate.
Used to put present value on costs and benefits that will occur at a late date
Explain ALL PARTS of the Clean Water Act
All waters are fishable and swimmable by 1983 applies to surface waters and navigable waterways
EPA creates Water Quality Standards (WQS) -> Creates Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) -> National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
Supply Side vs. Demand Side Management
Supply Side - taking actions to increase water supplies, traditional policy approach
Tapping new water sources, dams, alternative harvesting approach, desalination
Demand Side - reduce water consumption, too much demand for water
Water pricing, technologies that use less water, consumers be more water aware
Fortress Conservation
A conservation model based on the belief that biodiversity protection is best achieved by creating protected areas where ecosystems can function in isolation from human disturbance.
Drivers of Tropical Deforestation
Agricultural Expansion (smallholder and commercial), Commercial Timber Expansion, Livestock Grazing
External Costs (Pigou&Coase) vs External Benefits
External Costs - cost not included in the market price of the goods and services being produced
Pigou - create a tax on anything that created a negative externality
Coase - issuing property rights solves negative externalities, doesn't matter who has the property rights
External Benefits - an unrelated benefit
Explain the Montreal Protocol, Kyoto Protocol, and Paris Agreement
Montreal Protocol - Hole in the ozone layer, get rid of all CFCs and HFCs, extremely successful because of the small industry
Kyoto Protocol - Divided countries into tier 1 and tier 2, tier 1 had to reduce 5% of carbon emissions
Paris Agreement - Naturally Determined Contributor (NDC), countries submit their plans for climate action
What is the EITI and its criticisms?
Extractives Energy Transparency Initiatives
Creates international standards that companies have to follow to participate in the oil market
Criticisms: Voluntary, Not Enforceable
Ostrom's Design Principles
Monitoring, Sanctioning, Congruence between rules and local customs, conflict resolution, minimal recognition of rights
Describe the economic and political explanations for the resource curse.
Economic: Dutch Disease
1. Spending Effect - the price of the nonrenewable resource goes up because of foreign currency
2. Specialization Effect - the economy begins to specialize in one resource, introduces volatility, no spillover
Political: Concentration of Wealth and Multinational Corporations