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INTRODUCTION: Chapters 1, 2, & 20
Text: Environmental Science: A Study of Interrelationships, 7e, Enger/Smith |
Chapter 1: Environmental Interrelationships
· What is Environmental Science?
· Interrelated nature of environmental problems
· An Ecosystem Approach
· Regional environmental concerns in North America
· A divided world
The Field of Environmental Science
Definition:
Compare the definition of Ecology on page 48...
Interrelated Nature of Environmental Problems
Examples of Interrelatedness:
Over 190 nations in the world
Classified into three levels of development => conflicting interests
Some efforts to get cooperation include:
Many conflicts within a country also - read "Science versus Policy" on page 6...
An Ecosystem Approach
Definition of ecosystem:
Look at environmental problems from the standpoint of how the natural world is organized
Not restricted by political boundaries => Most ecosystem boundaries do not coincide with political boundaries
Regional Environmental Concerns in North America
Textbook recognizes six regions:
Wilderness North
Agricultural Middle
Dry West
Great Lakes & Industrial N.E.
Diverse South
A Divided World
Sample Questions:
What are Bowash and Chipitts?
How are the environmental concerns in the Dry West different from those in the Agricultural Middle?
(or compare any two of the N.A. regions discussed.)
What does it mean that "environmental problems don't respect political boundaries"? Give examples.
How does the field of Environmental Science differ from Ecology?
What are the three levels of "development" that political scientists use to classify all the nations of the world?
What does the text mean when it says that the Southern U.S. is diverse?
Chapter 2: Environmental Ethics
· Environmental Attitudes: Worldviews
· Societal Environmental Ethics
· Corporate Environmental Ethics
· Environmental Justice
· Individual & Global Environmental Ethics
Ethics vs. Morality
Environmental Attitudes: Worldviews
Text defines three different "ethics":
Development Ethic
Preservation Ethic
Conservation Ethic
Societal Environmental Ethics
Prevailing attitudes of society, not individual viewpoints...
"Western" or Developed Societies:
Corporate Environmental Ethics
Pollution is not intentional by corporations
In a democratic country, corporate compliance with environmental agendas must be at least in part voluntary
Some successes:
"Internalizing Externalities"...
Definition:
Example: "Internalizing" Costs:
Environmental Justice
Individual & Global Environmental Ethics
Global Environmental Ethics
Separation of "North" (MDCs) and "South" (DCs and LDCs)
"North" = Industrialized countries =>
"South" = Developing and (especially) less-developed countries are in a vicious circle:
overpopulation & poverty & attempts at industrialization =>
Sample questions:
How would persons with each of the three "worldviews" feel about a project to convert
an abandoned coal strip mine into a multi-purpose recreation area?
What do the following abbreviations mean? MDC, DC, LDC.
What does it mean for a nation to "develop"?
Give an environmental example of "internalizing an externality".
Give an example of voluntary corporate compliance with an environmental agenda.
Why is "environmental justice" a politically charged concept?
Chapter 20: Environmental Policy and Decision Making
Constitutional democracy
The Constitution does the following:
Constitutional democracies:
Definition of Politics:
Environmental policy making in the U.S.
Federal Government Develops policy of:
Problems with process:
Major U.S. Environmental Legislation: See Table 20.1, p. 397
How laws protect the environment
Set standards for pollution levels:
Screen new substances for safety:
Evaluation of environmental impact:
Protecting species, resources, ecosystems:
Encourage resource conservation:
Anti-environment Reaction
E.g., the "Wise-use" Movement: Anti-environmental reaction,
especially strong in the western states (Note: more libertarian than conservative RO):
Environmental Policy & Regulation
"Command-and-Control" approach:
"End-of-pipe" solutions
For the past thirty years:
The basic pattern of environmental protection in developed nations has been to react to specific crises - page 397, last paragraph...
E.g., Clean Water Act and USEPA in reaction to:
International Environmental Policy
"There is no international legislature with authority to pass laws,
nor are there international agencies with power to regulate resources on a global scale."
Divided World
Industrialized countries - the "North":
Less developed and Developing countries - the "South":
"... a billion people live in a degree of poverty that forces them to deplete the environment
without regard to the future."
"In between" countries are some of the worst: Environmental degradation in Eastern Europe -
Industry is dirty yet can't afford pollution controls because of inefficient economies (legacy of communism)
U.S. and others must be role model for rest of world: "The most formidable obstacle may be the entrenched
economic and political interests in the world's most advanced nations."
Laissez-faire: may be good economics, but it can be a prescription for disaster in ecology." p.404
What can you do?
Sample questions:
List some of the acts of environmental legislation in the U.S.
Why would some radical environmentalists not care for a constitutional democracy?
What is a "command-and-control" approach to environmental policy?
What is the libertarian political viewpoint, and why is it frequently at opposition to the environmentalist agenda?
What does "think globally, act locally" mean?
How do the roles of the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government differ with respect to environmental policy?
Why does Eastern Europe have such a poor environmental record?