Ecological economics

Question 1

Traditional economics: Voluntary economic interactions occur because of ___ ___-___.

Answer 1

mutual self-interest

Question 2

Traditional economics:

a) Society benefits by becoming more ___.
b) Assumes: ?
c) But, often violations of this assumption: Hidden costs that affect non-participants, called ___. (ex: environmental damage)

Answer 2

a) prosperous
b) costs and benefits are borne by the participants
c) externalities

Question 3

Comment on this extract from Braiding Sweetgrass: “As the scholar and writer Lewis Hyde notes, it is the cardinal difference between gift and commodity exchange that a gift establishes a feeling-bond between two people.”

Answer 3

I agree, but: how many of you have established a bond with a local vendor?

Question 4

Why are organic products more expensive than non-organic?

Answer 4

Economy of scale? Animals at lower density. No hidden costs (you’re paying a more realistic value of the product. you pay for the externalities)

Question 5

Name some environmental externalities of buying fresh produce

Answer 5

Pesticides, Machinery, transportation, irrigation

Question 6

What are the goals of ecological economics (5)

Answer 6

1. Expose hidden costs or externalities
2. Internalize the external environmental costs in the price of goods
3. Green taxes are used to make bad products more expensive or to subsidize greener products
4. Shopping choices become environmentally neutral
5. Think about your own guilty pleasure: don’t have to abstain, just less often

Question 7

Should we all go vegan? Do we need to stop entirely our own guilty pleasures?

Answer 7

No, just do it less often/do it greener. Being a vegetarian is great, but just eating less meat is ok. you don’t have to give up driving or flying, just do it less or find a way to pay the full environmental costs.