Unit 2 Problem of Sustainability

Question 1

Human activity impacts which biosphere the most with relation to neoclassical economics?

Answer 1

BIOSPHERE

• Atmospheric composition
• Climate Variability
• Water cycle
• Land use and coverage
• Carbon cycle

Question 2

What are some threats to sustainability?

Answer 2

Resource depletion

Waste impacts and accumulation
- GHG’s, air and water pollution, ozone depletion, POP’s

Loss of ecosystem resilience (biodiversity)

Question 3

True/False

Pure stock pollutants have a high absorptive capacity?

Answer 3

False

Pure FLOW pollutants have a high absorptive capacity.
- eg. Noise
Pure STOCK pollutants have a low absorptive capacity.
- eg. Radioactive waste

Question 4

What is empty world economics?

Answer 4

it assumes that economic growth will continue as before only to be constrained by limited quantities of human-made capital.

Question 5

What is full world economics?

Answer 5

it assumes that there is a limit to economic growth based on the amount of natural capital (natural resources)

Question 6

Does economic activity face some scale limitations?

Answer 6

yes. the fixed size of the planetary ecosystem places a scale limit on economic system growth.

Question 7

Does de-materialization make infinite growth possible?

Answer 7

NO. resources are still needed to create products so growth can continue. Growth can never be infinite, only more efficient.

Question 8

True/False

strong sustainability is easier to achieve than weak sustainability.

Answer 8

FALSE.
weak sustainability is easier to achieve because:
- natural and human based capital can easily be substituted
- Lifestyle choices don’t have to be altered
- prioritize economic issues over environmental issues
- Technology will progress which provides an optimistic outlook

Question 9

Is GDP a good measure of well-being or happiness? why or why not?

Answer 9

it is not a good measure as it’s not a microeconomic statistic, it’s a macro economic measure of the value of output produced within the domestic economy and equal to the sum of all of the factor incomes arising in the domestic economy.

Question 10

What is an alternate indicator of well-being that is more representative for the individual?

Answer 10

Genuine progress indicator (GPI) describes:

• Income distribution
• Volunteer work
• Crime
• Resource depletion
• Pollution
• Loss of farmland and wetlands

Question 11

What is an alternate indicator of happiness that is more representative for the individual?

Answer 11

Gross National Happiness

Question 12

describe two key arguments for growth optimists.

Answer 12

1. continued economic and human development is occurring, although unequal
2. increasing per capita food consumption and living standards around the world

Question 13

describe two key arguments for growth pessimists.

Answer 13

1. Negative environmental impacts have increased
2. There are limits to growth that will eventually be reached and lead to the significant decline in industrial output, food supplies, and eventually the human population

Question 14

Is GDP a good measure of progress toward sustainability?

Answer 14

NOPE. it doesn’t account for:

• resource depletion
• environmental degradation
• social problems (crime)
• non-market services

Question 15

True/False

The Brundtland Commission defines strong sustainability.

Answer 15

False
The Brundtland Commission defines a weak sustainability because it tries to maintain resource use in the present while expecting future generations to have enough resources to exist in the same manner.