Environmental Biology Part 3 Flashcards
In the percent use of energy in Canada by sector, how much is transportation?
38%
In the percent use of energy in Canada by sector, how much is industrial?
31%
In the percent use of energy in Canada by sector, how much is residential?
15%
In the percent use of energy in Canada by sector, how much is commercial/institutional?
13%
In the percent use of energy in Canada by sector, how much is agriculture?
3%
In the percent use of energy in Canada by sector, what uses up the largest amount of energy?
Transportation
In the percent use of energy in Canada by sector, the residential component is broken down. What is percent energy expenditure on space heating?
31%
In the percent use of energy in Canada by sector, the residential component is broken down. What is percent energy expenditure on space cooling?
12%
In the percent use of energy in Canada by sector, the residential component is broken down. What is percent energy expenditure on water heating?
12%
In the percent use of energy in Canada by sector, the residential component is broken down. What is percent energy expenditure on lighting?
11%
In the percent use of energy in Canada by sector, the residential component is broken down. What is percent energy expenditure on refrigeration OR electronics OR washing clothes/dishes?
~7%
In the percent use of energy in Canada by sector, the residential component is broken down. What is percent energy expenditure on cooking?
3%
In the percent use of energy in Canada by sector, the residential component is broken down. What category has the percent energy expenditure?
Space heating
What are the three BIGGEST things in terms of residential energy use that theoretically could be reduced to save fossil fuels?
Is that realistic?
Space heating
Space cooling
Water heating
No
What can we do personally to reduce fossil fuel usage that will actually make a big difference?
Transportation
For oil consumption in Canada (2006), what percent comes from oil?
32
For oil consumption in Canada (2006), what percent comes from natural gas?
24
For oil consumption in Canada (2006), what percent comes from hydroelectric power?
25
For oil consumption in Canada (2006), what percent comes from coal?
10
Nuclear?
7
For oil consumption in Canada (2006), what source is the largest contributor for energy?
Oil
What percent of energy sources in Canada (2006) comes from non renewable sources?
75
What non renewable energy source is heavily mined in Canada, with a small amount contributing to electric power then the rest being exported?
Uranium
TRUE or FALSE: nuclear power can be a clean source of power?
TRUE
How much of the hydro power harvested is exported?
None.
Ha that was a trick question because it can’t be exported unless converted to electrical power.
How much natural gas is used vs. exported?
50:50
TRUE or FALSE: Canada exports more coal than what we use?
FALSE
For oil consumption in Canada (2006), what percent comes from fossil fuels?
80
For oil consumption in Canada (2006), what percent comes from renewable sources?
17
For oil consumption in Canada (2006), what percent comes from nuclear power?
3
What type of renewable source does the majority of renewable energy come from worldwide?
Biomass heat
How much does biomass heat contribute to the renewable energy for total world energy consumption (2010)?
68
How much does hydropower contribute to the renewable energy for total world energy consumption (2010)?
20
How much does wind power contribute to the renewable energy for total world energy consumption (2010)?
3
What is the definition of renewable energy?
Supplies of energy will not be depleted by our use
What is the definition of non renewable energy?
At our currents rates of consumption we will use up Earth’s accessible store of these sources in a matter of decades to centuries
True or false: Canada and the US use more oil per person than other industrialized countries?
TRUE
True or false: USA uses more oil per person than Canada?
FALSE - they use the same
What do Canada and the US use so much oil on? How much more do they spend vs. other industrialized countries?
Transportation
2x
What are the other two high energy consumption per capita countries (other than CAN and USA)? WHY?
Norway and Saudi Arabia
Because they are big energy producers so they don’t care about conserving it.
What does EROI stand for?
Energy returned on investment
What is EROI?
Ratio of energy returned vs. energy invested
Why could EROI ratios decline?
When we extract the easiest deposits first and now must work harder to extract the remaining reserves
What do high EROI ratios mean?
Receive more energy than you invest
What energy type has the highest EROI? What is the ratio?
Historic oil and gas fields
40:1
What type of energy has the lowest EROI? What is the ratio?
Oil shale
1:1
What is the economically viable threshold EROI ratio?
7
What are the 2 energy sources that do NOT meet the economically viable EROI threshold?
Solar PV
Biomass
What is the definition of fossil fuels?
Highly combustable substances formed from remains of organisms from past geologic ages: coal, oil and gas
How many years ago did the organisms who’s fossils are used for fossil fuels were alive?
100-500 million years ago
What type of environment is required for fossil fuel production?
Anaerobic
Nearly 70% of the worlds proven crude oil is located in _____
Middle East
The use of wood peaked at ____ due to the ____.
1875
Industrial Revolution
In the past 30ish years the use of coal in USA has ____ while the use of natural gas has ____
Declined
Inclined
In the past 20ish years, the use of coal in CHINA has ____
Increased
What is the definition of coal?
Organic matter (woody plant material) that was compressed under very high pressure to form dense, solid carbon structure
True or false: coal is the worlds most abundant fossil fuel
True
What is the definition of peat?
Organic material that is broken down anaerobically but remains wet, near the surface and not well compressed
What type of coal is the most compressed?
Anthracite
What type of coal is least compressed?
Lignite
True or false: the coal that is the least compressed has the most energy
FALSE
Sulphur content in coal depends on….
…whether the coal was formed in salt water or freshwater
True or false: coal was used in the 2nd-3rd century Britain
TRUE
True or false: coal was used in China for 3000 years
TRUE
Commercial mining began in the ____
1700s
The invention of the ____ expanded coals market
Steam engine
What type of fossil fuel has the largest carbon content?
Coal
What is the dirtiest fossil fuel?
Coal
What is the cleanest fossil fuel?
Natural gas
What countries have the largest natural gas consumption per capita?
USA
Canada
Russia
It is estimated that the natural gas consumption in China is supposed to be ___ x the 2008 levels.
2-3x
What is the main ingredient in natural gas?
Methane
World supplies of natural gas are projected to last until ____
2070
What is biogenic gas?
Natural gas created at shallow depths by bacterial anaerobic decomposition of organic matter (aka swamp gas)
What is thermogenic gas?
Natural gas resulting from compression and heat deep underground
Why is natural gas the fastest growing fossil fuel in use today? (2 reasons)
- More environmentally friendly
2. Cheaper –> being produced in lots of areas that have the ability to export lots
The use of natural gas is ___
rising
The first commercial extraction of natural gas occurred in
1821
What was natural gas first used for?
Street lamps
What is LNG?
Liquefied natural gas
What is liquefied natural gas?
Liquid gas that can be shipped long distances in refrigerated tankers
Gas is accessed by sophisticated techniques such as
Fracturing
What is the fracturing technique (AKA fracking) for extracting natural gas?
Pumps high pressure salt water into rocks to crack them causing them to release content it has
What is the immediate impact of fracking?
Collapse of layers above therefore damaging environment to humans and everything else
Fracking occurs at ___ km under ground
2
What is the worlds most used fuel? Why?
Oil
Easier to mine, less man power
The first modern extraction of oil was in __.
1850s
The first extracted oil was sold as a ___
Healing aid
Why is Edwin Drake important?
Drilled the worlds first oil well in Pennsylvania in 1859
Canada consumes __% of the worlds oil
2.5%
Oil is formed in what conditions?
Heat, time, pressure, anaerobic
What is biotic theory?
Tiny sea plants and animals died and were buried on the ocean floor. Over time they were covered by layers of sediment and rock. Over millions of years the remains were buried deeper and deeper. The enormous heat and pressure turned them into oil and gas.
Definition of crude oil =
A mixture of hundreds of different types of hydrocarbon molecules
How deep is crude oil formed?
1.5-3 km underground
What is technically recoverable oil?
Reveals oil that could be extracted with current technology
What is economically recoverable oil?
Recognizes the balance between the costs of extraction, transportation and current price of oil
What is a proven recoverable reserve?
Oil that is technologically and economically feasible to remove under current conditions
What is better? Regular oil or shale oil?
Regular oil
Will we run out of oil in the next few hundred years?
No because large shale oil reserves
What is primary oil extraction?
Initial drilling and pumping of available oil
What is secondary oil extraction?
Solvents, water, or stream is used to remove additional oil; expensive
What is more environmentally damaging - 1° or 2° oil extraction?
2°
Most oil pollution comes from ____ sources.
Small
How much (%) oil pollution comes from naturally occurring leads from the seabed?
45
How much (%) oil pollution comes from consumption?
35
How much (%) oil pollution comes from transport?
15
How much (%) oil pollution comes from extraction?
5
Hubert prediction of peak in US oil production has the peak at ______ and a decline to zero at ____
1960-1970
2050
The actual US production of oil peaked at _____ and is currently ______
1970
Declining
We have use up ~ ______ barrels of oil
1.1 trillion
We have depleted ____ of our oil reserves
Half
What is the reserves to production ratio?
The amount of total remaining reserves divided by the annual rate of production
Current levels of oil production =
30 billion barrels/year
At current levels of production, we have ___ years of oil left
40
Oil sands aka
Tar sands
What are oil sands?
Sand deposits with 1-20% bitumen
What is bitumen?
Thick form of petroleum rich in carbon poor in hydrogen
How are oil sands mined?
Strip mining
How much freshwater is needed per barrel of oil?
0.4-3.1
How much natural gas is needed per barrel of oil?
0.3
What is oil shale?
Sedimentary rock willed with kerogen that can be processed to produce liquid petroleum
True or false: shale oil = oil shale
FALSE
How can oil shale be processed to produce liquid petroleum?
- Burned like coal
2. Baked in hydrogen = prylosis
More than 40% of oil shale is found in ____
USA
The EROI ratio for oil shale is ___ than crude oil
Lower
Alternative fossil fuels (oil shale, tar sands) have a ____ environmental impact
Greater
What is suquestration?
Storage of materials in geologic reservoirs on a long timescale
True or false: some emission from FF burning can be captured?
True
What is nuclear power?
The use of nuclear reactions that release nuclear energy to generate heat
What is a nuclear power plant?
Thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. (Typical for heat to be used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to an electric generator which produces electricity)
True or false: nuclear power generation contributes to the prevention of global warming my ELIMINATING CO2 emissions?
True
France with a population of 66 million (which is ___ than Germany) produces ___ tWh electrical generation (which is ___ than Germany). What percent is nuclear?
LESS
600
MORE
66%
Germany with a population of 81 million (which is ___ than France) produces ___ tWh electrical generation (which is ___ than France). What percent is nuclear?
MORE
480
LESS
30%
What nuclear disaster occurred on March 11, 2011?
Fukushima Japan
What nuclear disaster occurred on April 26, 1986?
Chernobyl Ukraine
What nuclear disaster occurred on March 28, 1979?
Pennsylvania USA = Three Mile Island accident
The only sustainable way to guaranteeing a reliable long term supply of energy is to ensure sufficiently…
…rapid development of renewable energy sources
Who are the top 2 producers of coal?
China
USA
Who are the top 2 consumers of coal?
China
USA
Where are the top 2 proven coal reservoirs?
USA
Russia
Who are the top 2 producers of oil?
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Who are the top 2 consumers of oil?
USA
China
Where are the top 2 proven oil reservoirs?
Saudi Arabia
Iran
Where are the top 2 countries with technically recoverable shale oil?
Russia
USA
Who are the top 2 natural gas producers?
USA
Russia
Who are the top 2 natural gas consumers?
USA
RUssia
Where are the top 2 proven natural gas reserves?
Russia
Iran
Who are the top 2 nuclear power users?
USA
France
True or false: China produces more coal than it uses?
False
True or false: Russia produces more oil than it uses?
True
True or false: USA produces more natural gas than it uses?
False
New or old renewable energy: hydroelectric?
Old
New or old renewable energy: geothermal?
New
New or old renewable energy: biofuels?
New
New or old renewable energy: biomass?
Old
New or old renewable energy: solar?
New
New or old renewable energy: wind?
New
New or old renewable energy: ocean?
New
Old energy alternatives exert ___ environmental impact vs. FF but ___ than new renewables.
LESS
MORE
60% of electricity generation in Canada comes from…
hydroelectric
True or false: Ontario uses more nuclear than coal
TRUE
True or false: Ontario uses more hydro than nuclear?
FALSE
The use of hydro power started in
1831
The first large commercial station to produce electricity from hydropower is the
Schoelkopf power station near Niagara Falls USA in 1881
What is hydroelectric power?
Uses kinetic energy of moving water to turn turbines and generate electricity
What do you have to build for hydro power?
Dam
True or false: the bigger the height difference across the dam the MORE electricity you can generate
TRUE
What are the two techniques for hydropower?
Storage/dams
Run of river
What is the benefit of run of river technique for hydropower?
Don’t disrupt river
For remote locations
What is the EROI of hydropower?
10:1
The world ____ the ability to expand the production of electricity from hydro
Doesn’t have
What are the 3 top countries for hydro electric power generation?
Canada
China
Brazil
What is biomass?
Organic material that makes up living organisms
Burning wood is an example of…
biomass energy
True or false: Biomass is much bigger in developing nations vs industrialized nations
TRUE
True or false: biomass is carbon neutral
TRUE
What are the 3 major applications of new renewable energy sources?
Power generation
Space heating
Transportation fuel
Globally we obtain __% from new renewable energy
0.5
Canada obtains ___% from new renewable energy
6
True or false: wind power in Canada has been growing exponentially for 45 years
TRUE
What is the new renewable energy source Canada uses most
Wind
True or false: Federal funding for energy research and development has significantly ____ in Canada over the past 20 years
Decreased
What are biofuels?
Biomass sources converted to fuels to power vehicles
Ethanol produces a biofuel by…
Fermenting a CHO rich crops (corn)
Biodiesel =
Biofuel for diesel engines produced from vegetable oil (canola)
True or false: burning biodiesel in diesel engines produces less emissions
TRUE
Biodiesel B20 =
20% biodiesel
80% petrodiesel
Both ___ and ___ plants can be grown specifically for biofuel
Switchgrass
Algal cells
Biopower =
Produced when biomass sources are burned in power plants generating heat and electricity
Co firing combines biomass with
Coal
True or false: adding biofuels helps FF combust more completely
TRUE
What is the biggest drawback of biofuels?
Agricultural impact
What is passive solar energy?/
Most common way to harness solar energy
Buildings are designed to maximize direct absorption of sunlight in winter and keep cool in summer
What is active solar energy?
Collection via solar panels uses technology to focus, move, or store solar energy
What is a PV cell?
Photovoltaic cell
Collect sunlight and convert it into electrical energy
The n layer of a PV cell is ___ in electrons
Rich
The p layer of a PV cell is ___ in electrons
Deficient
In a PV cell, sunlight hits the ___ layer and causes electrons to move from the ____ to the ___ layer.
N type
P type > N type
Solar panels are currently paying for themselves in ___ years.
20-30
Wind energy =
energy derived from moving air masses
Windmills have been used for __ years
800 years
Wind power produces electricity for __ price of conventional sources
Same
Wind turbines =
devices that harness power from wind
Wind turns the blades that rotate machinery inside a compartment called the
nacelle
2x wind velocity = ? x power output
8
___ is the fastest foriwng energy sector
wind
___ is the world leader in installed wind capacity
Germany
In Denmark, wind supplies ___ % of nations electricity
20
In Canada, wind power could meet __% of nations electrical needs
15
Wind speeds are __% ___ over water vs. land
20% greater
Winter months = ___ wind energy
Greater
Geothermal energy =
renewable energy is generated from deep within the Earth
Geothermal energy currently provides less than ___% of total energy use worldwide
0.5%
True or false: geothermal energy provides MORE energy than solar and wind energy
True
True or false: geothermal energy provides MORE energy than biomass
False
True or false: geothermal energy can be the CHEAPEST form of energy production
True
Downfall of geothermal energy?
Can only harvest in specific locations where ground water comes close to surface (e.g. Iceland)
Tidal energy =
Erecting gates/sluices across the outlets of tidal basins
True or false: wave energy can be developed at a greater variety of sites vs. tidal energy
True
Wave energy is greatest at ___ sites
Deep ocean
Where is a ideal sport for ocean current energy?
Gulf Stream
Ocean currents =
Underwater wind turbines (used in Europe)
Hydrogen fuel cell =
Utilize chemical energy like batteries as storage component
True or false: hydrogen could alleviate dependence on foreign fuels and fight climate change
True
Creation of hydrogen power is based on the process of
Electrolysis of water
What are the 3 fuel cell components?
Negative electrode
Positive electrode
Exchange membrane
Steps of a hydrogen fuel cell energy production =
- In negative electrode = H removed from electrons
- Electrons move to positive electrode = current
- Protons move across membrane to positive electrode
- In positive electrode = O + protons + electrons = water
What is the waste product of fuel cells?
Water
True or false: Hydrogen is the most abundant element in universe
True
Urbanization =
the movement of people from rural to urban areas
Since the onset of ________, rural populations have been decreasing in developed countries
green revolution
True or false: Fertility rates in rural areas of undeveloped countries is the highest
True
In developed regions, urban population surpasses rural in
1950
In developed regions, the gap between urban populations and rural populations is getting
progressively larger
In developed countries, the urban population in the future…
increases very slightly
In developed countries, the rural population in the future…
slowly decreases
In non developed regions, urban population surpasses rural in
2020
In non developed regions the gap between urban populations and rural populations is getting
Smaller
In non developed countries, the urban population in the future…
HUGE linear increase
In non developed countries, the rural population in the future…
Peaks at 2020 then falls off
In 2010 the gap between urban and rural populations in developed counties is about
0.5 billion
In 2010 the gap between urban and rural populations in non developed counties is about
0.75 billion
In 2050 the gap between urban and rural populations in developed counties is about
1 billion
In 2050 the gap between urban and rural populations in non developed counties is about
2.5 billion
Green revolution =
increases in agricultural productivity during mid to late 20th century
Main driver of urbanization is
green revolution
In 1960 China, about __% of people were living in urban areas vs. __% in rural areas
17
85
In what year did the rural pop = urban pop in China
2011
China: 4 star hotels increased __x from 2000-2012 vs. hospitals increased __x
8
1.2
__ is the main source of energy in china
Coal
__% of Canada is considered urban
80
28% of urban population lives in
suburbs
Suburbs =
areas that are peripheral to and strongly influenced by cities and towns
Mega cities =
have more than 10 million residents
How many mega cities are there?
20
What is the largest city? Pop?
Tokyo
36.5 million
Cities in developing world are growing at rates of __% per year
3-5
Large Canadian cities were largely based on
trading centres
Montreal was originally…
Iroquois settlement; flourished as early trade route because of strategic port locations between St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers
Calgary was founded via…
Town site laid out by CPRC and incorporated in 1884 as first town in Alberta
Sprawl =
spread of low density urban or suburban development outward from an urban centre
Sprawl: un-centered commercial strip development =
Have lots of huge stores together surrounded by huge parking lot which are separated for each store
Sprawl: low density single use development =
House with enough area for recreation in between
Sprawl: scattered/leapfrog development =
have suburban areas were each house is located on mall lot (no green space in-between for personal leisure) BUT have large common park
Sprawl: sparse street network =
(LONDON)
Leave natural areas intact; where not all land is useable for building houses
What are 5 disadvantages of sprawl?
Transportation Pollution from transportation Health Land use Economics
How is transportation a disadvantage of sprawl?
Pressur et own own cars and drive greater distances
Lack of mass transit
How is air pollution a disadvantage of sprawl?
Low population density correlates with high carbon emissions (vs. high population density)
How is health a disadvantage of sprawl?
Encourages physical inactivity (driving vs walking)
How is land use a disadvantage of sprawl?
Loss of ecosystems
How is economics a disadvantage of sprawl?
Drains tax dollars for city maintenance
(urban) planning =
the professional pursuit that attempts to design cities so as to maximize their efficiency, functionality, and beauty
(urban) zoning =
practice of classifying areas for different types of development and land use
Defined urban growth boundaries and greenbelts are not widely used to
control sprawl
Urban growth boundaries ___ sprawl
Prevents
Greenbelt =
land use or zoning designation that is intended to contain urban development while protecting natural or agricultural lands
(urban) smart growth =
urban growth boundaries nd other land use policies to control growth (aims to counter sprawl)
What is the best source of transportation inside cities?
Light rail = smaller rail systems powered by electricity
Greenways =
strips of land that connect parks or neighbourhoods = protect water quality, boost property values, corridors for wildlife movement
Urban resource consumption environmental impacts: resource sinks =
cities must import resources from long distances - rely on large expanses of land elsewhere for resources
Urban resource consumption environmental impacts: efficiency =
maximize the efficiency of resource use and delivery of goods and services; the density of cities facilitates the provision of social services
Urban resource consumption environmental impacts: more consumption =
heavy use of outside resources extends ecological footprints of cities to a level fa beyond their actual side
Cities take up __% of land surface but consume more than __% of worlds resources
2
75
The biggest component to (Calgary’s) ecological footprint is
energy
Urban heat island effect =
cities have ambient temperateness that are several degrees higher than surrounding areas
Noise pollution =
undesired ambient sound; can induce stress and harm hearing
Light pollution =
lights obscure the night sky impairing visibility of stars
Urban dust domes =
meterological phenomenon in which soot, dust, and chemical emissions become trapped in the air above urban spaces which is a product of local air circulations (urban heat island effect)
Urban ecology =
cities can be viewed as ecosystems
What are the top 3 countries for cars per capita?
Canada
US
Australia
Culture =
knowledge, beliefs, values, and learned ways of life shared by a group of people
World view =
a person’s OR groups beliefs about the meaning purpose operation and essence of the world
Vested interest =
an individual with strong interests in the outcome of a decision that result in a gain or loss for that individual
Traditional/indigenous ecological knowledge =
the intimate knowledge of a particular environment possessed and passed along by those who have inhabited an area for many generations
Ethics =
the study of good and bad, right and wrong
Relativists =
ethics varies with social context
Universalists =
right and wrong remains the same across cultures and situations
ethical standards =
criteria that help differentiate right from wrong
Utilitarian principle =
something right produces the most benefits for the most people; if something is right then it is right for all = produces benefits results for many people
environmental ethics =
application of ethical standards to relationships between humans and non human entities
sustainable development =
we must meet out current needs without compromising the availability of natural resources or the quality of life for future generations
Why are ethical consideration is extended to non human entities?
Economic prosperity - more leisure time/less anxiety
Science - interconnection of all organisms
We currently have extended ethical standards for animals, humans, race, and nation. What will the future have?
Universe Planet Rocks Ecosystems Life Plants
Western ethics: anthropocentrism =
only humans have rights
Western ethics = biocentrism =
certain living things also have value
Western ethics = ecocenticism =
whole ecological systems have value
preservation ethics =
holds that we should protect the natural environment in a pristine, unaltered state
conservation ethics =
holds that humans should put natural resources to use but also have a responsibility to manage them wisely
environmental justice = humans have the right to…
- live and work in clean and healthy environment
- receive protection from risk and impacts of environmental degradation
- be compensated for having suffered ^ impacts
- have equitable access to environmental resources
economics =
study of how people decide to use scare resources to prove foods and services in the face of demand for them
Environmental protection works in ___ to economic progress
Opposition
Arguments are made that environmental protection is too ____, interferes with ____, and leads to ____
Expensive
progress
job loss
economy =
social system that converts resources into goods and services
Economy: goods =
manufactured materials that are bought
Economy: services =
work done for others as a form of business
subsistence economy =
people get their daily needs directly from nature; do not purchase or trade
capitalist market economy =
buyers and sellers interact to determine prices and production of goods and services
centrally planned economy =
the government determines how to allocate resources
mixed economy =
governments intervene to some extent
open system =
economies are open systems integrated with the larger environmental system of which they are part of
closed system =
earth/environment is a closed system; the material inputs Earth can provide are finite and so is the waste
Standard neoclassical economists focus on ____; and view environment as ___
production vs. consumption
a factor of production
Environmental and ecological economists view the human economy as existing within _____; receiving resources from it and discharging waste into it
natural environment
ecosystem services =
essential services support the life that makes economic activities possible
classical economics promoted the
free market
classical economics is blamed for economic
inequality
neoclassical economics considers
price, supply and demand
market equilibrium =
where the market is at the same level as the supply (100% saturation)
cost benefit analysis =
the costs of a proposed action are compared to the benefits that result form the action
marginal benefit and cost curves determine an
optimal level of resource use OR pollution reduction
What are the 4 assumptions of free market/neoclassical economy?
What is
- resources are finite or substitutable
- costs and benefits are internal
- long term effects are discounted
- growth is good
What is wrong with the neoclassical assumption that resources are finite?
Resources are limited (renewable and non renewable)
What is wrong with the neoclassical assumption that costs and benefits are internal?
Can effect other members of society
Externalities =
costs or benefits involving people other than the buyer or seller
external cost =
cost borne by someone not involved in a transaction
What is wrong with the neoclassical assumption that long term effects should be discounted?
Future events do not count less than present ones
discounting =
short term costs and benefits are more important than long term costs and benefits
What is wrong with the neoclassical assumption that growth is good?
Bigger isn’t always better = dramatic rise in per person consumption has severe environmental consequneces
Critics say that economic growth was not good for __ and is dangerous for ___
Japan
China
True or false: economists agree that economic growth is sustainable
false
What are the 2 basic arguments re: if economic growth is sustainable or not
Endless improvements in technology are possible
Growth is not sustainable
What do ecological economists think re: if economic growth is sustainable or not
civilizations do not overcome their environmental limitations in the long run
What do environmental economists think re: if economic growth is sustainable or not
economies are unsustainable if population growth is not reduced and resource use is not made more efficient
steady state economy =
economies that do not grow or shrink but are stable and mirror ecological systems
gross domestic product =
total monetary value of final goods and services produced
GDP does not account for
non market values
A large oil spill would ___ GDP
increase
genuine progress indicator =
differentiates between desirable and undesirable economic activity
A large oil spill would ___ GPI
decrease
In the past 60 years, GDP has ____ and GPI has ____
increased
stayed the same
Green washing =
consumers are mislead into thinking companies are acting sustainably