Unit 3: Environmental Decision Making Flashcards
Ethical Standards
influenced by the values and moral principles held by a person or culture and are the criteria that help differentiate right from wrong
Utilitarian
“it is valuable because it is useful or beneficial in some way”
Intrinsic
“it is valuable in itself”
Environmental Ethics
the application of ethical standards to relationships between people and nonhuman entities and involves issues of sustainability, environmental justice, and intrinsic values
Anthropocentric Ethical View
human-centered and often ignores the notion that nonhuman entities also have intrinsic value
Biocentric Ethical View
ascribes intrinsic value to all living things, including nonhuman life
Ecocentric Ethical View
assesses actions in terms of their benefit or harm to the integrity of whole ecological systems, both living and nonliving
Preservation Ethic
preserving natural systems intact and for their own intrinsic value; pioneered by John Muir
Conservation Ethic
advocating wise use of natural resources, a utilitarian standard; pioneered by Gifford Pinchot
Aldo Leopold’s “Land Ethic”
called upon humans to include the environmental in their ethical framework
Environmental Justice
positing the important of the fair and equitable treatment of all people with respect to environmental policy and practice, regardless of their income, race, or ethnicity
Economics
the study of how people decide to use potentially scarce resources to provide goods and services in the face of demand for them
Economy
a social system that converts resources into goods and services
Classical Economics
founded by Adam Smith; argues that self-interested economic behavior will benefit society as long as the behavior is constrained by law and private property rights, and is operating within a competitive marketplace
Neoclassical Economics
the psychological factors underlying consumer choices and considers demand, costs, and benefits
Cost-Benefit Analysis
an approach of neoclassical economics; used to evaluate public projects, assessing the capital costs that must be paid in order to gain benefits/value for a large group of people
Economic Growth
an increase in an economy’s production and consumption of goods and services
Externalities
costs affecting members of society other than the immediate buyer or seller
Steady-State Economy
an economy that neither grows nor shrinks, but actually mirrors natural economic ecological systems
Ecological Economics
maintains that civilizations, like natural populations, cannot permanently overcome their limits to growth and should not expect endless economic growth, but should support the principles of stability, steady-state, and sustainability
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
the total monetary value of final goods and services a country produces each year
Nonmarket Values
values not usually included in the price of a good or service such as ecosystem services
Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI)
differentiates between desirable and undesirable economic activity and is more accurate indicator of a society’s well-being
Ecolabeling
provides businesses a powerful incentive to move towards more sustainable processes when these products are preferentially purchased
EX. labeling tuna as “dolphin-safe”
Sustainable Development
occurs when three sets of goals overlap; social, economic, and environmental
Policy
a tool for decision making and problem solving that makes use of information from science as well as values from ethics and economics
Environmental Policy
pertains to human interactions with the environment; aims are to promote human welfare and to protect natural systems by regulating resource use and pollution effects
Hydraulic Fracturing
the process of extracting gas by deep-drilling of shale formations, followed by pumping water, sand, and chemicals under great pressure to fracture the shale, releasing gas
“Tragedy of the Commons”
when publicly accessible resources are open to unregulated use (often because no one person, group, or nation “owns” the resource), these resources tend to become overused, damaged, or depleted
Regulatory Taking
occurs when the government, by means of a law or regulation, deprives a property owner of some economic use of his or her private property
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
established the Council on Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); required that an environmental impact statement (EIS)
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
is required when any federal action (building an interstate highway or dam; logging) that might affect environmental quality
Clean Water Act
goal of creating “fishable, swimmable” waterways by setting maximum permissible amounts of pollutants that can be discharged into waterways and requiring permits for the discharge of these pollutants
Clean Air Act
established air quality standards for primary and secondary air pollutants and required states to develop specific plans for cleaner air, including the emission testing of automobiles
Endangered Species Act
identifies threatened and endangered species in the United States, puts their protection ahead of economic consideration, protects their habitat, and directs the Fish and Wildlife Service to prepare effective recovery plans
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
established the Superfund for emergency response and remediation of toxic and hazardous waste sites
Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
the primary law pertaining to the disposal of solid and hazardous wastes, setting standards and requiring permits for “cradle to grave” management
Safe Drinking Water Act
authorizes the EPA to set quality standards for tap water provided by public water systems and to protect drinking water from sources of contamination
The Environmental Protective Agency (EPA)
main U.S. agency working to develop solutions to pollution issues, conducting and evaluating environmental research, setting and enforcing standards for pollution levels, and monitoring overall environmental quality
Congressional Legislation
comprises the command-and-control approach in which the regulating agency prohibits certain actions, sets limits or standards, and threatens punishment for those violating these terms
Green Taxes
levies taxes on businesses that engage in environmentally harmful activities and products, provides a market-based incentive to discourage/correct the activity
Subsidies
the government provides an incentive (cash or tax break) intended to encourage a particular industry or activity; can be used to promote environmentally sustainable or unsustainable activities
Permit Trading
the government issues marketable emissions permits to businesses that conduct environmentally harmful activities; businesses then engage in buying and selling these permits to each other
Cap-and-Trade System
an acceptable level of pollution is determined by the government, which then issues permits
Market Incentives
operate at the local level
EX. charging for waste disposal, issuing rebates to residents who buy environmentally efficient appliances
World Bank
one of the largest sources of funding for economic development worldwide, providing funding for irrigation infrastructure, dams, and other major development projects
European Union’s (EU) Environmental Agency
works to address waste management, noise, pollution of water and air, and habitat degradation for its 27 member nations
World Trade Organization (WTO)
imposes financial penalties on those nations that do not comply with its directives; can exercise authority in a nation’s internal affairs
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
protects endangered species by banning their commercial trade as live specimens or wildlife products
Montreal Protocol
the goal is to reduce the emission of airborne chemicals (CFCs) that deplete stratospheric ozone
Kyoto Protocol
calls for reducing, by 2012, emissions of 6 greenhouse gases to levels lower than their 1900 levels
