Concepts
in Stutz Chapter 3
Resources
and Environment
1.
Key issue: Why is there growing concern
that human economic activities in developed and developing countries are
depleting resources and irreparably degrading the physical environment?
a.
How
did we get in this situation?
b.
What
can we do about it?
2.
What are the limits, if any, to growth?
a.
Optimists
versus pessimists on the role of resources and technology
b.
Is
there sustainable economic development as opposed to growth-oriented
development?
c.
How
can we maximize human well-being with a minimum of material consumption?
d.
Human
development index: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0778562.html
1.
The
link between resources and economic growth
a.
Resources
are needed to support an affluent way of life
b.
What
is the resource cost of a basket of goods?
Middle-class basket cost six times higher than for essential basket.
c.
Are
current generations better off at the expense of future generations?
d.
What
about the distribution of ‘well-being’ among the population?
2.
Carrying capacity and Overpopulation
a.
Carrying capacity is what economist call a ‘stationary state’ of economic growth-
b.
A
stationary state will occur without the grace of modern technology.
c.
The
second law of thermodynamics says that global energy is fixed.
d.
Fossil
fuels versus solar and wind power? What
about hydrogen fuel cells?
e.
Can
a developed nation live above its carrying capacity without lowering the carrying
capacity of developing countries?
1.
Resources include all materials of the environment that someday may be used
under future technological and
socioeconomic conditions.
a.
Resources
are nonrenewable, such as fossil fuels, or renewable, such as
vegetation.
b.
Renewable
is not automatic and may be depleted through misuse or exploitation, such as
over fishing.
2.
Reserves are resources that are known and available with current technologies
and at current prices.
a.
Projected
reserves are reserves based on expected future price trends and
available technologies.
b.
Uncertainty
of existence and cost of reserves increases with resource use.
1.
Worldwide hunger. Global food
production has been increasing faster than population, but world hunger still
exists because of need to overcome the past and the difficulty in food
distribution to poorer nations.
2.
Causes
of the food problem.
a.
Population
growth in some countries, especially in Africa.
b.
Problems
in transporting food without transportation infrastructure
c.
Problems
of marketing and storage (hoarding by merchants to drive up price)
d.
Civil
unrest diverts resources from civilian development to governments that have
excess debt
e.
Agricultural
productivity decline in poor countries due to deforestation and drought
f.
Distribution
of food tied to wide dispersion of income in developing nations and increased
structure of agriculture
industry toward export crops with income concentrated in a few hands.
3.
Policies to increase food production http://www.highyieldconservation.org/
a.
Expanding
the cultivated area (potential to double, but may lead to desertification.
b.
Expanding
productivity of existing cropland
c.
Bio-engineered
hybrid crops, fertilization, pesticides, herbicides may have adverse effects on
health or environment.
4.
The economic problem: More focus
should be placed on the ability of the poor to buy food and changes in the
structure of land holdings of the population in developing countries.
5.
Creating new food sources.
a.
Cultivate
the oceans
b.
Develop
high-protein cereal crops
c.
Expand
use of underused food sources, including soybean derivatives, like tofu, or
fish meal (currently turned into animal feed or fertilizer.
b.
Mineral
supplies are stockpiled and import demands affected by domestic exploration and
mining technology.
c.
Transmaterialization
of new technologies—use of graphite, clay, and silicon (fiber optics) rather
than metals (copper).
d.
Environmental degradation may be affected by
domestic exploration (open-pit mines and quarries).
1.
Oil Dependency (Global oil supplies
to the U.S.)
a.
Oil
accounts for about one-quarter of world trade.
b.
Energy shocks impact of domestic economies.
c.
Transition
of political power affect by the international oil market and OPEC.
d.
The
U.S., Japan, and Europe consume more energy than they produce.
e.
The
U.S. consumes roughly one-fourth of the world’s energy (with 5% of World’s
population)
2.
Coal
and Natural Gas
a.
U.S.
natural gas reserves are limited
b.
Coal
is abundant but causes more problems, including pollution, mining costs,
transport costs, difficulty of meeting mobile demands (can be used to create
electricity)
3.
Future
energy policy? When Will the Joy Ride End?
http://www.oilcrisis.com/debate/udall/joyride.htm
a.
Market
response to higher cost of fossil fuels?
b.
More
conservation (fuel efficient cars?)
c.
Alternative
energy sources (nuclear, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind, biomass)
1. Environmental Awareness—1962, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring
a. EPA in July 1970 when
President Nixon consolidated 5 departments and agencies.
b.
The new age environmentalists began in the late 80s when concern developed over
survival rather than merely the quality of life. Concern trickled down from the
affluent to the socially repressed. (Lead content in South Oak Cliff.)
c.
Equity
and sustainable growth were adopted concepts and information was successfully
mobilized along with political resources even during the Reagan years. (Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and
Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002.)
2.
Pollution
is the discharge of waste gases and chemicals into the air and water.
a.
Air
pollution is local, regional, and global based on the type of discharge.
b.
Water
pollution is from point sources and non-point sources (agricultural runoff—Waco
water supply controversy)
3.
Wildlife
and habitat preservation (tradeoff with economic development)
4.
Nonrenewable
natural resource management (pit-mining, oil spills, recycling)
5.
Environmental
equity and sustainable development.
a.
Emphasis
by developed countries on the long-run rather than the short-run
b.
Need
to internalize environmental costs
c.
Question
of redistribution of wealth in short-run and long-run (future generations)
d.
Focus
on different set of values and priorities?
Or do you shape behavior by changing its ‘price’
e.
Need
to recognize the need for integration and compromise