Chapter 4 Flashcards
sustainable
capable of being continued without degrading the environment
economics
the social science that deals with how we allocate scarce resources
ecosystem services
essential ecological processes that make life on Earth possible.
ecological footprint
the land needed to provide the resources for and assimilate the waste of a person or population.
natural capital
the wealth of resources on Earth.
natural interest
readily produced resources that we could use and still leave enough natural capital behind to replace what we took.
IPAT model
An equation ( I = P x A x T ) that identifies 3 factors that increase human impact (I) directly: population size (P), affluence (A), and technology (T).
*however, when companies use their technology to reduce ecological footprint, equation changes to I = ( P x A ) / T
internal cost
those costs - such as manufacturing costs, labor, taxes, utilities, insurance, and rent - that are accounted for when a product or service is evaluated for prices.
external cost
costs that are not taken into account when a price is assigned to a product or service.
triple-bottom line
considering the environmental, social, and economic impacts of our choices.
true cost
including both internal and external costs when setting a price for a good or service.
closed-loop system
a production system in which the product is folded back into the resource stream when consumers are finished with it, or is disposed of in such a way that nature can decompose it.
cradle to cradle
management of a resource that considers the impact of its use at every stage of the process.
discount future value
to give more weight to short-term benefits and costs than to long-term ones.
environmental/ecological economics
new theories of economics that consider the long-term impact of our choices on people and the environment.
