Environmental Economics Politics and Worldviews Chapter 17 Section

Environmental Economics, Politics, and Worldviews Chapter 17

Section 17 -1 HOW ARE ECONOMIC SYSTEMS RELATED TO THE BIOSPHERE?

Not all market systems are freemarket systems • Economics is a social science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services to satisfy people’s needs and wants. • Market-based economic system—buyers and sellers interact in markets to make economic decisions about how goods and services are produced, distributed, and consumed. – In a free-market economic system, all economic decisions are governed solely by the competitive interactions of supply, demand, and price.

Not all market systems are freemarket systems – If the demand for goods or services is greater than the supply, the price rises, and when supply exceeds demand, the price falls. – Ideally, (1) no company would control the prices of any goods or services; (2) the market prices would include direct and indirect costs; and (3) consumers would have full information about the beneficial and harmful environmental and health effects of goods and services. – Many companies push for government support such as subsidies, tax breaks, trade barriers, or regulations that will give their products a market advantage over their competitors’ products.

Not all market systems are freemarket systems • Three types of capital, or resources, are used to produce goods and services. – Natural capital includes resources and services produced by the earth’s natural processes, which support all economies and all life. – Human capital, or human resources, includes people’s physical and mental talents that provide labor, innovation, culture, and organization. – Manufactured capital, or manufactured resources, are items such as machinery, equipment, and factories made from natural resources with the help of human resources.

Most economic systems use three types of resources to produce goods and services

+ Natural Capital + Manufactured Capital = Human Capital Goods and Services Fig. 17 -2, p. 436

Economists disagree over the importance of natural capital and the sustainability of economic growth • Economic growth for a city, state, country, or company is an increase in its capacity to provide goods and services to people. • Economic development is the improvement of human living standards made possible by economic growth. • High-throughput economies attempt to boost economic growth by increasing the flow of natural matter and energy resources through their economic systems to produce more goods and services.

The high-throughput economies of most of the world’s moredeveloped countries rely on continually increasing the flow of energy and matter resources to increase economic growth

Inputs (from environment) System throughputs Outputs (into environment) Low-quality energy (heat) High-quality energy High-waste economy High-quality matter Waste and pollution Fig. 17 -3, p. 436

Economists disagree over the importance of natural capital and the sustainability of economic growth • Neoclassical economists, following the ideas of Alfred Marshall (1842– 1924) and Milton Friedman (1912– 2006) view the earth’s natural capital as a subset, or part, of a human economic system and assume that the potential for economic growth is essentially unlimited and is necessary for providing businesses with profits and workers with jobs.

Economists disagree over the importance of natural capital and the sustainability of economic growth • Ecological economists believe that: – There are no substitutes for many vital natural resources such as air, water, and biodiversity, or for nature’s free ecological services such as climate control, pest control, and nutrient recycling. – Economic systems are subsystems of the biosphere that depend heavily on the earth’s irreplaceable natural resources and services. – Conventional economic growth eventually will become unsustainable because it can deplete or degrade various irreplaceable forms of natural capital, and because it will exceed the capacity of the environment to handle the pollutants and wastes we produce.

Economists disagree over the importance of natural capital and the sustainability of economic growth • The models of ecological economists are built on three major assumptions. – Resources are limited and should not be wasted; there are no substitutes for most types of natural capital. – We should encourage environmentally beneficial and sustainable forms of economic development, and discourage environmentally harmful and unsustainable forms of economic growth. – The harmful environmental and health effects of producing and using economic goods and services should be included in their market prices (full-cost pricing), so that consumers will have more accurate information about these effects.

Economists disagree over the importance of natural capital and the sustainability of economic growth • Many environmental economists argue that some forms of economic growth are not sustainable and should be discouraged through fine-tuning existing economic systems and tools.

Ecological economists see all human economies as subsystems of the biosphere that depend on natural resources and services provided by the sun and earth

Solar Capital Goods and services Economic Systems Natural Capital Natural resources such as air, land, soil, biodiversity, minerals, and energy, and natural services such as air and water purification, nutrient cycling, and climate control Heat Production Depletion of nonrenewable resources Consumption Degradation of renewable resources (used faster than replenished) Pollution and waste (overloading nature’s waste disposal and recycling systems) Fig. 17 -4, p. 437

Section 17 -2 HOW CAN WE USE ECONOMIC TOOLS TO DEAL WITH ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS?

Most things cost more than we might think • The market price, or direct price, that we pay for something does not include most of the indirect, or external, costs of harm to the environment and human health associated with its production and use. • Hidden costs are the indirect or external costs that can have short- and long-term harmful effects on other people, on future generations, and on the earth’s life-support systems.

Most things cost more than we might think • Analysts say that full-cost pricing would: – Reduce resource waste, pollution, and environmental degradation. – Improve human health by encouraging producers to invent more resource-efficient and less-polluting methods of production. – Enable consumers to make more informed decisions about the goods and services they buy.

Most things cost more than we might think • Phase in shift to full-cost pricing so that environmentally harmful businesses would have time to transform themselves and consumers have time to adjust their buying habits. • Resistance to full-cost pricing. – Opposition from producers of harmful and wasteful products and services who would have to charge more for them and might go out of business. – Difficulty estimating environmental and health costs and how they might change in the future.

Environmental economic indicators could help us reduce our environmental impact • Gross domestic product (GDP) is the annual market value of all goods and services produced by all firms and organizations, foreign and domestic, operating within a country. • The per capita GDP is the GDP divided by the country’s total population at midyear. • GDP provides a standardized, useful method for measuring and comparing the economic outputs of nations, and does not distinguish between goods and services that are environmentally or socially beneficial and those that are harmful.

Environmental economic indicators could help us reduce our environmental impact • Environmental and ecological economists and environmental scientists call for new indicators help monitor environmental quality and human well-being. – Genuine progress indicator (GPI) is the GDP plus the estimated value of beneficial transactions that meet basic needs, but in which no money changes hands, minus the estimated harmful environmental, health, and social costs of all transactions. – In the U. S. , between 1950 and 2004 the per capita GDP rose sharply and the per capita GPI stayed nearly flat and even declined slightly, which shows that even if a nation’s economy is growing, its people are not necessarily better off.

Comparison of the per capita GDP and GPI in the US between 1950 and 2004

35, 000 30, 000 1996 Dollars person 25, 000 20, 000 Per capita gross domestic product (GDP) 15, 000 10, 000 5, 000 Per capita genuine progress indicator (GPI) 0 1950 1960 1970 1980 Year 1990 2000 Fig. 17 -5, p. 439

We can reward environmentally sustainable businesses • Governments can use several strategies, including subsidies, to encourage or force producers to work toward full-cost pricing. • Perverse subsidies and tax breaks enable businesses to operate in such a way that they do damage to the environment or to human health, such as: – – Extracting minerals and oil. Cutting timber on public lands. Irrigating with low-cost water. Overfishing commercially valuable aquatic species.

We can reward environmentally sustainable businesses • Companies spend considerable money lobbying, or trying to influence governments to continue and even increase their subsidies. • Some countries have begun reducing these subsidies. • Governments could phase in environmentally beneficial subsidies and tax breaks for: – – – Pollution prevention. Ecocity development. Sustainable forestry, agriculture. Sustainable water use. Energy efficiency and renewable energy use. Actions to slow projected climate change.

Tax pollution and wastes instead of wages and profits • Use green taxes, or ecotaxes, to help include many of the harmful environmental and health costs of production and consumption in market prices. • To many analysts, the tax system in most countries is backward because it discourages what we want more of—jobs, income, and profitdriven innovation—and encourages what we want less of—pollution, resource waste, and environmental degradation.

Tax pollution and wastes instead of wages and profits • Three requirements for successful implementation of green taxes. – Phased in over 10– 20 years to allow businesses to plan for the future. – Income, payroll, or other taxes would have to be reduced or replaced so that there is no net increase in taxes. – The poor and middle class would need a safety net to help provide them with essentials such as fuel and food.

Tax pollution and wastes instead of wages and profits • Polls indicate that once such tax shifting is explained to voters, 70% of European and U. S. voters support shifting toward a green tax. • In some countries in Europe, green taxes have helped to create jobs, lower taxes on wages, and increased use of renewable energy resources.

Using green taxes to help reduce pollution and resource waste has advantages and disadvantages

Environmental laws and regulations can discourage or encourage innovation • Environmental regulation is a form of government intervention in the marketplace that is widely used to help control or prevent pollution and to reduce resource waste and environmental degradation. • Laws that: – Set pollution standards. – Regulate harmful activities such as the release of toxic chemicals into the environment. – Protect certain irreplaceable or slowly replenished resources such as public forests.

Environmental laws and regulations can discourage or encourage innovation • Currently most environmental laws enforced through a command-control approach; often concentrating on cleanup instead of prevention. • Incentive-based environmental regulations use the economic forces of the marketplace to encourage businesses to be innovative in reducing pollution and resource waste. • Innovation-friendly environmental regulation sets goals and frees industries to meet them in any way that works, and allows enough time for innovation.

Using the marketplace to reduce pollution and resource waste • One incentive-based regulation system allows the government to set acceptable pollution/use limits or caps and gives or sells companies a certain number of tradable pollution or resourceuse permits. • The U. S. has used this cap-and-trade approach to reduce the emissions of sulfur dioxide and several other air pollutants. • Effectiveness depends on how high or low the initial cap is set and on the rate at which the cap is reduced to encourage further innovation.

Using tradable permits to reduce pollution and resource waste has advantages and disadvantages

Reducing pollution and resource waste by selling services instead of things • A proposed new economic model would provide profits while greatly reducing resource use, pollution, and waste for a number of goods by shifting from the current material-flow economy to a service-flow one. – Customers rent/lease services that goods provide. – A manufacturer or service provider makes more money if its product uses the minimum amount of materials, lasts as long as possible, is energy efficient, produces as little pollution as possible in its production and use, and is easy to maintain, repair, reuse, or recycle – Since 1992, Xerox has been leasing most of its copy machines as part of its mission to provide document services instead of selling photocopiers.

Reducing poverty can help us deal with environmental problems • Poverty is defined as the inability to meet one’s basic economic needs. – 1. 4 billion people struggle to survive on an income equivalent to less than $1. 25 a day. – Poverty has numerous harmful health and environmental effects. – Reducing poverty benefits individuals, economies, and the environment and helps to slow population growth.

Reducing poverty can help us deal with environmental problems • Ways to reduce poverty and its harmful effects: – Mount a massive global effort to combat malnutrition and the infectious diseases that kill millions of people prematurely. – Provide primary school education for all children and for the world’s nearly 800 million illiterate adults. – Stabilize population growth. – Sharply reduce the total and per capita ecological footprints. – Large investments in small-scale infrastructure and sustainable agriculture projects. – Encourage lending agencies to make small loans to poor people who want to increase their income.

The Millennium Development Goals present challenges • Millennium Development Goals included sharply reducing hunger and poverty, improving health care, achieving universal primary education, empowering women, and moving toward environmental sustainability by 2015. • More-developed countries agreed to devote 0. 7% of their annual national income toward achieving the goals. • By 2009, only five countries—Denmark, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands—had donated what they had promised; the U. S. —the world’s richest country—gives only 0. 16% of its national income to help poor countries.

What should our priorities be?

Expenditures per year needed to Reforest the earth Expenditures per year (2008) $6 billion World military $1. 4 trillion U. S. military Protect tropical forests $8 billion Restore rangelands $9 billion $734 billion $39 billion U. S. dog food U. S. highways Stabilize water tables Deal with global HIV/AIDS Restore fisheries Provide universal primary education and eliminate illiteracy Protect topsoil on cropland Protect biodiversity Provide basic health care for all Provide clean drinking water and sewage treatment for all Eliminate hunger and malnutrition $10 billion $29 billion $27 billion U. S. foreign aid U. S. potato chips and similar snacks $10 billion $13 billion U. S. cosmetics U. S. EPA $14 billion $22 billion $8 billion $7. 2 billion $24 billion $31 billion $33 billion $37 billion $48 billion Total Earth Restoration and Social Budget $245 billion Fig. 17 -9, p. 444

We can use lessons from nature to shift to more environmentally sustainable economies • There is a sharp contrast between the beliefs of neoclassical economists and ecological economists. • The best long-term solution to our environmental and resource problems is to shift from a high-throughput (high-waste) to a more sustainable low-throughput (lowwaste) economy.

Learning and applying lessons from nature can help us to design and manage more sustainable low-throughput economies

Inputs (from environment) High-quality energy High-quality matter System throughputs Outputs (into environment) Lowquality energy (heat) Energy conservation Waste and pollution prevention Low-waste economy Pollution control Waste and pollution Recycle and reuse Fig. 17 -10, p. 445

We can use lessons from nature to shift to more environmentally sustainable economies • Make this transition by: – reusing and recycling most nonrenewable matter resources – using renewable resources no faster than natural processes can replenish them – reducing resource waste by using matter and energy resources more efficiently – reducing environmentally harmful forms of consumption – emphasizing pollution prevention and waste reduction – slowing population growth to keep the number of matter and energy consumers growing slowly.

We can use lessons from nature to shift to more environmentally sustainable economies • Simple golden rule: “Leave the world better than you found it, take no more than you need, try not to harm life or the environment, and make amends if you do. ” • Large numbers of new green jobs, which are devoted to improving environmental quality, developing cleaner and low-carbon energy resources, and promoting environmental sustainability.

We can use these strategies for shifting to eco-economies during this century

Economics Reward (subsidize) environmentally sustainable economic development Penalize (tax and do not subsidize) environmentally harmful economic growth Shift taxes from wages and profits to pollution and waste Use full-cost pricing Sell more services instead of more things Do not deplete or degrade natural capital Live off income from natural capital Reduce poverty Use environmental indicators to measure progress Certify sustainable practices and products Use eco-labels on products Environmentally Sustainable Economy (Eco-Economy) Resource Use and Pollution Cut resource use and waste by reducing, reusing, and recycling Improve energy efficiency Rely more on renewable solar, wind and geothermal energy Shift from a nonrenewable carbon-based (fossil fuel) economy to a non-carbon renewable energy economy Ecology and Population Mimic nature Preserve biodiversity Repair ecological damage Stabilize human population Fig. 17 -11, p. 446

Environmentally Sustainable Businesses and Careers

Aquaculture Environmental law Biodiversity protection Environmental nanotechnology Biofuels Fuel cell technology Climate change research Geographic information systems (GIS) Conservation biology Ecotourism management Energy-efficient product design Environmentally Sustainable Environmental Businesses chemistry and Careers Environmental design and architecture Environmental economics Environmental education Environmental engineering Environmental entrepreneur Environmental health Geothermal geologist Hydrogen energy Hydrologist Marine science Pollution prevention Recycling and reuse Selling services in place of products Solar cell technology Sustainable agriculture Sustainable forestry Urban gardening Urban planning Waste reduction Water conservation Watershed hydrologist Wind energy Fig. 17 -12, p. 446

Section 17 -3 HOW CAN WE IMPLEMENT MORE SUSTAINABLE AND JUST ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES?

Dealing with environmental problems in democracies is not easy • A government’s policies sets the laws and regulations it enforces and the programs it funds. • Politics is the process by which individuals and groups try to influence or control the policies and actions of governments at local, state, national, and international levels. • Representative democracy is government by the people through elected officials and representatives.

Dealing with environmental problems in democracies is not easy • In a constitutional democracy, a constitution provides the basis of government authority, and, in most cases, limits government power by mandating free elections and guaranteeing free speech. • Political institutions in most constitutional democracies allow gradual change to ensure economic and political stability. – The U. S. has a system of checks and balances that distributes power among three branches of government—legislative, executive, and judicial—and among federal, state, and local governments.

Dealing with environmental problems in democracies is not easy • The major function of government in democratic countries is to develop and implement policies for dealing with various issues. – Develop a policy and enact it into a law. – Get funds set aside by an elected legislative body to implement and enforce the new law. – Draw up regulations or rules for implementing a new law.

Dealing with environmental problems in democracies is not easy • Pressures from many competing specialinterest groups may influence policy. – Corporations are profit-making organizations. – Many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are nonprofits, such as labor unions and environmental organizations.

Certain principles can guide us in making environmental policy • Several principles designed to minimize environmental harm: – The humility principle: Our understanding of nature and how our actions affect nature is quite limited. – The reversibility principle: Try not to make a decision that cannot be reversed later if ends up wrong. – The net energy principle: Do not encourage the widespread use of energy alternatives or technologies with low net energy yields. – The precautionary principle: When substantial evidence indicates that an activity threatens human health or the environment, take precautionary measures to prevent or reduce such harm.

Certain principles can guide us in making environmental policy – The prevention principle: Whenever possible, make decisions that help to prevent a problem from occurring or becoming worse. – The polluter-pays principle: Develop regulations and use economic tools such as green taxes to ensure that polluters bear the costs of dealing with the pollutants and wastes they produce (full-cost pricing). – The environmental justice principle: Establish environmental policy so that no group of people bears an unfair share of the burden created by pollution, environmental degradation, or the execution of environmental laws.

Individuals can influence environmental policy • History shows that significant change usually comes from the bottom up, when individuals join together to bring about change. • Without grassroots political action by millions of individual citizens and organized citizen groups: – The air you breathe and the water you drink today would be much more polluted. – Much more of the earth’s biodiversity would have disappeared.

Individuals can influence environmental policy • At a fundamental level, all politics is local; what we do to improve environmental quality in our own neighborhoods, schools, and work places has national and global implications. • “Think globally; act locally. ” • Environmental leaders can make a big difference. – Lead by example, using our own lifestyle and values to show others that change is possible and can be beneficial.

Individuals can influence environmental policy – Campaign and vote for informed and eco-friendly candidates, and by communicating with elected officials. – Vote with our wallets—not buying their products or services and letting them know why. – Choose one of the many rapidly growing green careers. – Run for some sort of local office. – Propose and work for better solutions to environmental problem.

These are some ways in which you can influence environmental policy

U. S. environmental laws and regulations have been under attack • U. S. Congress enacted a number of important federal environmental and resource protection laws, most of them in the 1970 s. • U. S. environmental laws have been highly effective but since 1980 a strong campaign to weaken or repeal them, such as: – Some corporate leaders and other powerful people who see them as threats to their profits, wealth, and power. – Citizens who see them as threats to their private property rights and jobs. – State and local government officials who resent having to implement federal laws and regulations with little or no federal funding.

U. S. environmental laws and regulations have been under attack • Since 2000, efforts to weaken most major U. S. environmental laws and regulations have escalated. • Some concerned citizens have worked together to improve environmental quality in their local communities. • More than 80% of the U. S. public strongly support environmental laws and regulations and do not want them weakened, but less than 10% of the U. S. considers the environment to be one of the nation’s most pressing problems.

Some major environmental laws and their amended versions enacted in the US, 1969 -1983

Some major environmental laws and their amended versions enacted in the US, 1984 -1996

Citizen environmental groups play important roles • The spearheads of the global conservation, environmental, and environmental justice movements are the tens of thousands of nonprofit NGOs working at the international, state, and local levels. – Grassroots groups with just a few members. – Mainline organizations like the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a 5 -million-member global conservation organization, which operates in 100 countries.

Citizen environmental groups play important roles – Groups with large memberships include Greenpeace, the Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, and the Grameen Bank. – More than 8 million U. S. citizens belong to more than 30, 000 NGOs that deal with environmental issues. – A loosely connected worldwide network of grassroots NGOs working for bottom-up political, social, economic, and environmental change can be viewed as an emerging citizen-based global sustainability movement.

Citizen environmental groups play important roles – Some grassroots environmental groups use: • Nonviolent and nondestructive tactics of protest marches, tree sitting and lawsuits that generate bad publicity for practices and businesses that threaten or degrade the environment. • Militant environmental groups use violent means such as destroying bulldozers and SUVs, and breaking into some types of research laboratories.

Students and educational institutions can play important environmental roles • Since the mid-1980 s, there has been a boom in environmental awareness on U. S. college campuses and in public and private schools across the U. S. . • Students, faculty, and administration work together to make environmental improvements. – Environmental audits of campuses or schools gather data on practices affecting the environment and are used it to propose changes. – Environmentally sustainable practices usually save money in the process.

Environmental security is as important as military and economic security • Ecologists and many economists point out that all economies are supported by the earth’s natural capital. • Serious new threats to global and national military and economic security are the potential for rapid climate change, increasing hunger and malnutrition, spreading water shortages, and environmental degradation. • There is an increase in the number of failing states where governments can no longer provide security and basic services such as education, health care, and safe supplies of water for their citizens.

Environmental security is as important as military and economic security • The United Nations houses a large family of influential organizations including: – the U. N. Environment Programme (UNEP). – the World Health Organization (WHO). – the U. N. Development Programme (UNDP). – the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Environmental security is as important as military and economic security • The United Nations houses a large family of influential organizations including: – – the U. N. Environment Programme (UNEP). the World Health Organization (WHO). the U. N. Development Programme (UNDP). the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). • Other organizations that make or influence environmental decisions include the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN).

Environmental security is as important as military and economic security • These and other international organizations have played important roles in: – Expanding global understanding of environmental issues; – Gathering and evaluating environmental data. – Developing and monitoring international environmental treaties. – Providing grants and loans for sustainable economic development and reducing poverty. – Helping more than 100 nations to develop environmental laws and institutions.

Section 17 -4 WHAT ARE SOME MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS?

There a variety of environmental worldviews • People disagree on how serious various environmental problems are as well as on what we should do about them. – Environmental worldviews are how people think the world works and what they believe their role in the world should be. – Widespread lack of understanding of how the earth works, keeps us alive, and supports our economies.

A comparison of three major environmental worldviews

Environmental Worldviews Planetary Management We are apart from the rest of nature and can manage nature to meet our increasing needs and wants. Because of our ingenuity and technology, we will not run out of resources. The potential for economic growth is essentially unlimited. Our success depends on how well we manage the earth's life- support systems mostly for our benefit. Stewardship We have an ethical responsibility to be caring managers, or stewards, of the earth. We will probably not run out of resources, but they should not be wasted. We should encourage environmentally beneficial forms of economic growth and discourage environmentally harmful forms. Our success depends on how well we manage the earth's life- support systems for our benefit and for the rest of nature. Environmental Wisdom We are a part of and totally dependent on nature, and nature exists for all species. Resources are limited and should not be wasted. We should encourage earthsustaining forms of economic growth and discourage earth- degrading forms. Our success depends on learning how nature sustains itself and integrating such lessons from nature into the ways we think and act. Fig. 17 -19, p. 455

Environmental Worldviews Planetary Management ■ We are apart from the rest of nature and can manage nature to meet our increasing needs and wants. ■ Because of our ingenuity and technology, we will not run out of resources. ■ The potential for economic growth is essentially unlimited. ■ Our success depends on how well we manage the earth's life- support systems mostly for our benefit. Stewardship ■ We have an ethical responsibility to be caring managers, or stewards, of the earth. ■ We will probably not run out of resources, but they should not be wasted. ■ We should encourage environmentally beneficial forms of economic growth and discourage environmentally harmful forms. ■ Our success depends on how well we manage the earth's lifesupport systems for our benefit and for the rest of nature. Environmental Wisdom ■ We are a part of and totally dependent on nature, and nature exists for all species. ■ Resources are limited and should not be wasted. ■ We should encourage earthsustaining forms of economic growth and discourage earthdegrading forms. ■ Our success depends on learning how nature sustains itself and integrating such lessons from nature into the ways we think and act. Stepped Art Fig. 17 -19, p. 455

There a variety of environmental worldviews • Environmental ethics—what one believes about what is right and what is wrong in our behavior toward the environment. • People with widely differing environmental worldviews can take the same data, be logically consistent, and arrive at quite different conclusions.

Most people have human-centered environmental worldviews • The planetary management worldview sees humans as the planet’s most important and dominant species, and we can and should manage the earth mostly for our own benefit. – The values of other species and parts of nature are based primarily on how useful they are to us. – Human well-being depends on the degree of control that we have over natural processes. – We can also redesign parts of the planet and its lifesupport systems to support us and our ever-growing economies.

Most people have human-centered environmental worldviews • The stewardship worldview assumes that we have an ethical responsibility to be caring and responsible managers, or stewards, of the earth. – Using the earth’s natural capital is borrowing from the earth and from future generations. • Human-centered worldviews assume that we have enough knowledge to be effective managers or stewards of the earth.

Some environmental worldviews are lifecentered and others are earth-centered • Recognize the inherent or intrinsic value of all forms of life, regardless of their potential or actual use to humans. • Life-centered worldview states that we have an ethical responsibility to avoid hastening the extinction of any species through our activities. – Each species is a unique storehouse of genetic information that should be respected and protected simply because it exists. – Every species has the potential for providing economic benefits.

Some environmental worldviews are lifecentered and others are earth-centered • The earth-centered environmental worldview is devoted to preserving the earth’s biodiversity and the functioning of its life-support systems for the benefit of humans and other forms of life, now and in the future. – Earth-centered worldviews believe that humans are not in charge of the world and that human economies and other systems are subsystems of the biosphere.

Some environmental worldviews are lifecentered and others are earth-centered • The environmental wisdom worldview sees us as part of—not apart from—the community of life and the ecological processes that sustain all life. – We should work with the earth to promote environmental sustainability instead of trying to conquer and manage it mostly for our own benefit. – The earth has been around for billions of years and doesn’t need saving. – We need to save our own species and cultures, well as other species that may become extinct because of our activities

Section 17 -5 HOW CAN WE LIVE MORE SUSTAINABLY?

We can become more environmentally literate • Increase literacy by understanding three important ideas: – Natural capital matters because it supports the earth’s life and our economies. – Our ecological footprints are immense and are expanding rapidly. – Ecological and climate change tipping points are irreversible and should never be crossed.

Achieving environmental literacy

Questions to answer How does life on earth sustain itself? How am I connected to the earth and other living things? Where do the things I consume come from and where do they go after I use them? What is environmental wisdom? What is my environmental worldview? What is my environmental responsibility as a human being? Components Basic concepts: sustainability, natural capital, exponential growth, carrying capacity Three scientific principles of sustainablility Environmental history The two laws of thermodynamics and the law of conservation of matter Basic principles of ecology: food webs, nutrient cycling, biodiversity, ecological succession Population dynamics Sustainable agriculture and forestry Soil conservation and sustainable water use Nonrenewable mineral resources Nonrenewable and renewable energy resources Climate disruption and ozone depletion Pollution prevention and waste reduction Environmentally sustainable economic and political systems Environmental worldviews and ethics Three social science principles of sustainability Fig. 17 -20, p. 458

We can learn from the earth • Appreciation for ecological, aesthetic, and spiritual value of nature. • Not simply a lack of environmental literacy but also many people lack intimate contact with nature and have a limited understanding of how it sustains us. • Humans have more power than ever before to disrupt nature. • Direct experiences with nature reveal parts of the complex web of life that cannot be built with technology or in a chemical lab, bought with money, or reproduced with genetic engineering. • The healing of the earth and the healing of the human spirit are one and the same.

We can live more simply and lightly on the earth • Sustainability is about sustaining the entire web of life. • Ethical guidelines for achieving more sustainable and compassionate societies by converting environmental concerns, literacy, and wisdom into environmentally responsible actions: – Use three principles of sustainability to mimic the ways in which nature sustains itself.

We can live more simply and lightly on the earth – Do not deplete or degrade the earth’s natural capital. – Do not waste matter and energy resources. – Protect biodiversity. – Repair ecological damage that we have caused. – Leave the earth in as good a condition as we found it, or better.

We can live more simply and lightly on the earth • People who have a habit of consuming excessively should to learn how to live more simply and sustainably. – Seeking happiness through the pursuit of material things is considered folly by almost every major religion and philosophy. – Modern advertising persistently encourages people to buy more and more things to fill a growing list of wants as a way to achieve happiness. – Mark Twain put it: “Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities. ”

We can live more simply and lightly on the earth • Research shows that what a growing number of people really want is more community, greater and more fulfilling interactions with family, friends, and neighbors, and a greater opportunity to express their creativity and to have more fun. • Some affluent people are adopting a lifestyle of voluntary simplicity, in which they seek to learn how to live with much less than they are accustomed to having. – A life based mostly on what one owns is not fulfilling.

We can live more simply and lightly on the earth – Living with fewer material possessions and using products and services that have a smaller environmental impact – Instead of working longer to pay for bigger vehicles and houses, they are spending more time with their loved ones, friends, and neighbors. – Shifting from a culture of “faster, bigger, and more” to one of “slower, smaller, and less. ”

We can live more simply and lightly on the earth • Practicing voluntary simplicity is a way to apply Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of enoughness: “The earth provides enough to satisfy every person’s need but not every person’s greed. . When we take more than we need, we are simply taking from each other, borrowing from the future, or destroying the environment and other species. ”

The sustainability eight: ways in which people can live more lightly on the earth

Food Reduce meat consumption Buy or grow organic food and buy locally grown food Transportation Reduce car use by walking, biking, carpooling, car-sharing, and using mass transit Drive an energy-efficient vehicle Home Energy Use Insulate your house, plug air leaks, and install energy- efficient windows Use energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, lights, and appliances EARTH Resource Use Reduce, reuse, recycle, compost, replant, and share Use renewable energy resources whenever possible Fig. 17 -21, p. 459

We can bring about a sustainability revolution during your lifetime • Time for an environmental or sustainability revolution. • Three social science principles of sustainability: – Full-cost pricing (from economics): in working toward this goal, we would find ways to include in market prices the harmful environmental and health costs of producing and using goods and services. – Win-win solutions (from political science): by focusing on solutions that will benefit the largest possible number of people, as well as the environment, we might learn to work together consistently in dealing with environmental problems. – A responsibility to future generations (from ethics): through this principle, we would accept our responsibility to leave the planet’s life-support systems in at least as good a shape as what we now enjoy, for all future generations.

Cultural shifts in emphasis that will be necessary to bring about the environmental or sustainability revolution.

Current Emphasis Sustainability Emphasis Energy and Climate Fossil fuels Direct and indirect solar energy Energy waste Energy efficiency Climate disruption Climate stabilization Matter High resource use and waste Less resource use Consume and throwaway Reduce, reuse, and recycle Waste disposal and pollution control Waste prevention and pollution prevention Life Deplete and degrade natural capital Protect natural capital Reduce biodiversity Protect biodiversity Population growth Population stabilization Fig. 17 -22, p. 460

The three social science principles of sustainability

Change can occur very rapidly

Change Environmental Concerns Social Trends Economic Tools Technologies Protecting natural capital Sustaining biodiversity Repairing ecological damage Addressing climate change Reducing waste Using less Living more simply Reusing and recycling Growth of ecocities and eco-neighborhoods Environmental justice Environmental literacy Full-cost pricing Micro-lending Green subsidies Green taxes Net energy analysis Solar energy Wind energy Geothermal energy Pollution prevention Organic farming Drip irrigation Solar desalinization Energy efficiency Environmental nanotechnology Eco-industrial parks Time Fig. 17 -24, p. 462

Three big ideas • A more sustainable economic system would include the harmful environmental and health costs of producing and using goods and services in their market prices, subsidize environmentally beneficial goods and services, tax pollution and waste instead of wages and profits, and reduce poverty. • Individuals can work together to become part of the political processes that influence how environmental policies are made and implemented. • Living more sustainably means becoming environmentally literate, learning from nature, living more simply, and becoming active environmental citizens.