5th, 6th, and 7th Chapter Vocab Flashcards
culture
the overall ensemble of knowledge, beliefs, values, and learned ways of life shared by a group of people
ethics
the academic study of good and bad, right and wrong. the term can also refer to a persons or groups set of moral principles or values
relativist
an ethicist who maintains the belief that ethics do and should vary with social context
ethical standard
a criterion that helps differentiate right from wrong
intrinsic (inherent) values
value ascribed to something for it intrinsic worth; the notion that the thing has a right to exist and is valuable for its own sake
worldview
a way of looking at the world that reflects a persons (or groups) beliefs about the meaning, purpose, operation and essence of the world
universalist
an ethicist who maintains the belief that their exist objective notions of right and wrong that hold across cultures and situations
instrumental value
value ascribed to something for the pragmatic benefits it brings us if we put it to use
environmental ethics
the application of ethical standards to environmental questions
anthropocentrism
a human-centered view our relationship with the environment
ecocentrism
a philosophy that considers actions in terms of their damage or benefits to the integrity of whole ecological systems, including both living and non-living things. for an ecocentrist, the well being of an individual is less important than the long-term well-being of of a larger integrated ecological system
transcendentalism
a philosophical movement that flourished in the u.s. in the 1840’s. transcendentalist writers such as Henery david Thoreau, Ralph walda Emerson, and Walt Whitman viewed nature as a manifestation of the divine, championed a spriritual approach to life, and critiqued societies focus on material goods
John Muir (1838-1914)
Scottish immigrant to the u.s. who eventually settled in California and made Yosemite valley his wilderness home. today he is strongly associated with the preservation ethic. he argued that naturre deserved protection for its own inherent values (a ecocentric argument) but also claimed that nature facilitated human happiness and fufillment (an anthropocentric argument)
Gifford Pinchot (1865-1946)
the forest professionally trained american forester, Pinchot helped establish the u.s. forest service. today he is the person most closely associated with conservation ethic
Ralph waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
american author, poet, and philosopher who espoused transcendentalism
Henery david Thoreu (1817-1862)
american transcendentalist author, poet, and philosopher. his book walden, recording his observations and thoughts while he lived at walden pond away from urban Massachusetts, remains a classic of american literature
Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
american poet who espoused transcendentalism
conservation ethic
an ethic holding that people should put natural resources to use but also have a responsibility to manage them wisely
preservation ethic
an ethic holding that we should protect the natural environment in a pristine, unaltered state
economy
a social system that converts resources into goods and services
good
a material commodity manufactured for and bought by individuals and businesses
service
work done for others as a form of buisness
substance economy
a survival economy, one in which people meet most or all of their daily needs directly from nature and do not purchase or trade for most of life’s necessities
capitalist market economy
an economy in which buyers and sellers interact to determine which goods and services to produce and how to distribute them
centrally planned economy
an economy in which a nations government determines how to allocate resources in a top-down manner. also called a “state socialist economy”
mixed economy
an economy that combines elements of a capitalist market economy and a centrally planned economy
Adam Smith (1723-1790)
a Scottish philosopher known today as the father of classical economics. he believed that when people are free to pursue their own economic self-interest in a competitive marketplace, the marketplace will behave as if guided by an invisible hand that ensures that their actions will benefit society as a whole
classical economics
founded by Adam Smith, the study of the behavior of buyers and sellers in a capitalist market economy. holds that individuals acting in their own self interest may benefit society, provided that their behavior is constrained by the rule of law and and by private property rights and operates within the competitive markets
neoclassical economics
a mainstream economic school of thought that explains market prices in terms of consumer preferences for units of particular commodities and that uses cost-benefit analysis
biocentralism
a philosophy that ascribes relative values to actions, entities, or properties on the basis of their effects on all living things or on the integrity of the biotic realm in general. the biocentrist evaluates an action in terms of its overall impact on living things, including - but not limited to - human beings
cost-benefit analysis
a method commonly used by neoclassical economists, in which estimated costs for a proposed action are totaled and then compared to the sum of benefits estimated to result from the action
external cost
a cost borne by someone not involved in an economic transaction. examples include harm to citizens from water or air pollution from nearby factories
discounting
a practice in neoclassical economics by which short-term costs and benefits are granted more importance than long term costs and benefits. future effects are thereby “discounted” under the notion that an impact in the future should count much less than the one present
economic growth
an increase in an economies activity - that is at is an increase in the production and consumption of goods and services
affluenza
term coined by social critics to describe the failure of material goods to bring happiness to people who have the financial means to afford them
economic development
improvement in the efficiency of production due o better technologies and approaches that allow us to produce more goods with fewer imput
cornucopian
a world-view (or person holding the world view) that we will find ways to make earths natural resources meet all of our needs indefinitely and that human integrity will see us through any difficulty , in greek mythology, cornucopia- literally “horn of plenty”- is the name for a magical goats horn that overflowed with grain, fruit, and flower
cassandra
a world-view (or person holding the world view) that predicts doom and disaster as a result of our environmental impacts. in greek mythology, cassandra was the princess of troy with the gift of prophecy, whose dire predictions were not belived
environmental economics
a developing school of economics that modifies the principles of neoclassical economics to address environmental challenges. most environmental economists believe that that we can attain sustainability within our current economic systems. whereas ecological economists call for revolution, environmental economics call for reform
non market value
a value that is not usually included in the price of a good or service
steady-state economy
an economy that does not grow or shrink but remains stable
ecological economics
a developing school of economics that applies to the principles of ecology and system thinking to the description and analysis of economics
herman daly
contemporary american ecological economist and well-known proponent of a steady-state economy
contingent valuation
a technique that uses surveys to determine how much people would be willing to pay to protect a resource or to restore it after damage has been done
gross domestic product (GDP)
the total monetary value of final goods and services produced in a country each year. GDP sees all economic activity, whether good or bad, and does not account for benefits such as volunteerism or for extreme costs such as environmental destruction or social upheaval
genuine progress indicator (GPI)
an economic indicator that attempts to differentiate between desirable and undesirable economic activity. the GPI accounts for benefits such as volunteering and for costs such as environmental degradation and social upheaval
full cost accounting (true cost accounting)
an accounting approach that attempts to summarize all costs and benefits by assigning monetary values to entities without market prices and then generally subtracting costs from benefits. examples include GPI and happy planet index
market failure
the failure of markets to take into account the environments positive effects on economies (for example, ecosystem services) or to reflect the negative effects of economics on the environment and thereby on the people (external costs)
ecolabelling
the practice of designating on product labels how the product was grown, harvested, or manufactured, so that consumers are aware of the processes involved and can judge which brands use more sustainable processes
socially responsible investing
investing companies that have met criteria for environmental or social sustainability
greenwashing
a public-relations effort by s corporation or institution to mislead customers or the public into thinking it is acting more sustainable than it actually is
triple bottom line
an approach to sustainability that attempts to meet environmental, economic, and social goals simultaneously
development
the use of natural resources for economic advancement (as opposed to simple substance or survival)
sustainable development
development that satisfies our current needs without compromising the future availability of natural capital or our future quality of life
millennium development goals
a program of targets for sustainable development set by the international community through the un at the turn of this century
shale gas
natural gas trapped deep underground in tiny bubbles dispersed throughout formations of shale, a type of sedimentary rock. shale gas is often extracted by hydraulic fracturing
hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking or fracking)
a process to extract shale gas in which a drill is sent deep underground and angled horizontally into a shale formation; water, sand, and chemicals are pumped in under great pressure, fracturing the rock; and gas migrates up through the drill pipe as sand holds the fracture open
policy
a rule or guideline that directs individual, organized, or silicate behavior
public policy
policy made by governments, including those at the local, state, federal, and international levels; it consists of legislation, regulation, order, incentives, and practices intended to advance societal welfare
environmental policy
public policy that pertains to human interactions with the environment. it generally aims to regulate, reduce use, or reduce pollution to promote human welfare and/or protect natural systems
tragedy of commons
the process by which publically accessible resources open to unregulated use tend to become damaged and depleted through overuse. coined by govett hordin and widely applicable to resource issues
free rider
a party that fails to invest in controlling pollution or carrying out other environmentally responsible activities and instead relies on the effects of other parties to do so. examples include a factory that fails to control its emissions gets a “free ride” from those that do
polluter-pays principle
principle specifying that the party responsible for producing pollution should pay the costs of cleaning up the pollution or mitigating its impacts
revolving door
the movement of powerful officials between the private sector and government agencies
vested interests
a direct interest (from an individual or interest group) in some condition or policy change due to the prospect for personal or financial benefits even if this counteracts the common good
legislation
salutary laws
regulatory taking
the deprivation of a properties owner, by means of law or regulation, of most or all economic uses of that property
national environmental policy (NEPA)
a u.s. law enacted on January 1, 1970, that created on agency called the council on environmental quality and required that an environmental impact statement be prepared for any major federal action
environmental impact statement (EIS)
a report of results from detailed studies that assess the potential effects on the environment that would likely result from development projects or other actions undertaken by the government
environmental protection agency (EPA)
an administrative agency charged with conducting and evaluating research, maintaining environmental quality, setting standards, enforcing those standards, assisting the states in meeting standards and goals for environmental protection, and educating the public
customary law
international law that arises from long-standing practices, or customs, held in common by most cultures
conventional law
international law that arises from conventions, or treaties, that nations agree to enter into
convention (treaty)
a treaty or binding agreement among national governments
north american free trade agreement (NFTA)
a 1994 treaty among canada, mexico, and the u.s. that reduced or eliminated boundaries to trade (such as tariffs) among these nations. side agreements were negotiated to minimize the degree to which protections for workers and the environment were undermined
united nations (U.N.)
organization founded in 1945 to promote international peace and to cooperate in solving international economic , social, cultural, and humanitarian problems
world bank
institution founded in 1944 that serves as one of the globes largest sources of funding for economic development, including such major projects as dams, irrigation, infrastructure, and other undertakings
world trade organization (WTO)
organization located in geneva, Switzerland, that represents multinational corporations and promotes free trade by reducing obstacles to international commerce and enforcing fairness among nations in trading practices
European Union (EU)
poltical and economic organization ceated after WWII to promote Europes economic and social progress, as of 2013, the EU consisted of 27 member nations
nongovernmental organization (NGO)
an organization not affliliated with any national government, ane frequently international in scope, that particular mission for a political cause
command-and-control
a top down approach to policy, in which a legislative body or a regulating agency sets rates, standards, or limits and threatens punishment for violation of these limits
interest group
a small group of people seeking private gain that may work against the larger public interest
subsidy
a government grant of money or resources to a private entity, intended to support and promote an industry or activity
green tax
a levy on environmentally harmful activity and products aimed at providing a market-based incentive to correct for market failure
permit trading
the practice of buying and selling government-issued marketable emission permits to conduct environmentally harmful activities, under a cap-and-trade system, the government determines an acceptable level of pollution and then issues permits to pollute. a company receives credit for amounts it does not emit and can then sell the credit to other companies
emission trading system
a permit trading system for emissions in which a government issues marketable emission permits to conduct environmentally harmful activities, under a cap-and-trade system, the government determines an acceptable level of pollution and then issues permits to pollute. a company receives credit for amounts it does not emit and can then sell the credit to other companies
cap-and-trade
a permit trading system in which government determines an acceptable level of pollution and then issues parties permits to pollute. a company receives credit for amounts it does not emit and can then sell the credit to other companies
