Environmental Science:

User Generated

urwb88

Science

Description

1. Describe the primary differences between subsistence, capitalistic, and centrally planned economies. Explain how capitalistic and centrally planned economic societies tend to have greater effects on the environment than subsistence economies.

2. Define renewable and nonrenewable resources in your own words. Give two examples of each in your answer.

3. Describe the main differences between a cap and trade approach, and a carbon tax as methods to decrease industrial emissions of carbon dioxide.

4. List the seven steps of the environmental policy process in order. Among the steps, where would you put most efforts to establish new policy? Why?

5. Explain how birth rates and death rates affect population dynamics specifically.

6. Fully describe exponential growth and logistic growth.

7. How do birth rates and death rates affect population dynamics specifically? When do you see stable populations with regard to birth and death rates? What about growing and shrinking populations?

8. Use your own words to describe an age-class diagram. What can you predict about the future for a population that has a triangular shaped age-class diagram?

9. Explain how poverty affects the environment.

10. Describe the role of women’s rights in population growth.


Each question must be answered from the text uploaded. Each answer must be cited in APA format with a minimum of 100 words. Each question should also be referenced to the text uploaded

Unformatted Attachment Preview

5 Environmental Economics and Environmental Policy Upon completing this chapter, you will be able to: ➤ Describe principles of economic theory and summarize their implications for the environment ➤ Compare the concepts of economic growth, economic health, and sustainability S economics and ecological economics ➤ Explain the approaches of environmental ➤ Describe the aims of environmental policy M and assess its societal context ➤ Discuss the history of U.S. environmental policy and identify major U.S. environmental laws I T handle transboundary issues H and evaluate its effectiveness ➤ Outline the environmental policy process ➤ Discuss the role of science in the policy , process ➤ Characterize the institutions involved with international environmental policy and describe how nations ➤ Contrast the different approaches to environmental policy J O S H U A 6 8 9 0 B U Contaminated beach near Tijuana River mouth Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 87 8/7/11 5:47 PM CENTR AL C A SE S TUDY San Diego and Tijuana: Pollution Problems and Policy Solutions “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world—indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” —Anthropologist Margaret Mead “It is the continuing policy of the Federal Government . . . to create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony and fulfill the social, economic, and other requirements of present and S future generations of Americans.” M I he beaches south of San Diego boast T some of the world’s best waves for surfing. These days, however, most surfers avoidHthe temptation. For it is here that the heavily polluted Tijuana River flows across the international border from Mexico and empties , —National Environmental Policy Act T into the Pacific Ocean, disgorging millions of gallons of untreated wastewater. J “When it rains, I call it the apartments, shanties, and factoCANADA O sewage tsunami,” says surfer and ries, as well as leaky sewage treatS environmentalist Serge Dedina. ment plants and toxic dump sites. UNITED San “For 40 square miles, from ImRains wash pollutants from all H STATES Diego perial Beach to Coronado, there these sources into the Tijuana RivU Tijuana Atlantic is a brown plume as far as the er and eventually onto U.S. and Ocean A eye can see.” Mexican beaches (FIGURE 5.1B). MEXICO Such incidents occur when Although pollution has heavy rains overwhelm the abiliflowed in the Tijuana River for 6 Pacific ty of sewage treatment plants to decades, the problem grew SOUTH Ocean AMERICA worse in recent years as the reprocess wastewater. San Diego’s 8 gion’s population boomed, outcoastal waters receive stormwa9 stripping the capacity of sewage treatment facilities. ter runoff when rains wash pollutants into local rivers. 0 As impacts intensified, people on both sides of the Across the border in the Mexican city of Tijuana, the border pressed policymakers for action. As a result, aging, leaky sewer system becomes clogged with deB Mexico and the United States worked together to bris, causing raw sewage to overflow into the streets U and, eventually, into the Tijuana River. construct a wastewater treatment plant to handle exWinding northwestward through the arid landcess waste from Tijuana. The South Bay International scape of northern Baja California, Mexico, the Tijuana Wastewater Treatment Plant (IWTP) began operatRiver crosses the U.S. border south of San Diego (FIGing just north of the border in 1997 and treats up to URE 5.1A). A river’s watershed consists of all the land 95 million L (25 million gal) of wastewater each day. from which water drains into the river, and the Tijuana Unfortunately, the facility reached its capacity withRiver’s watershed covers 4,500 km2 (1,750 mi2) and is in three years because Tijuana’s population grew home to 2 million people of two nations. The Tijuana so quickly, and excess wastewater began flowing River watershed is a transboundary watershed (so downriver. named because it crosses a political boundary—in this Since then, beach closures and pollution-related case, an international border), with approximately 70% health advisories have been commonplace. Garbage of its area in Mexico. On the Mexican side of the borcarried by the river litters the beaches. “Every day I der, the river and its tributaries are lined with farms, find broken glass, balloons, or can pop-tops. I’ve Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 88 8/7/11 5:47 PM San Diego International Wastewater Treatment Plant U.S. MEXICO Tijuana Tijuana River Watershed (a) Map of the Tijuana River watershed (b) Wastewater enters the ocean near Tijuana FIGURE 5.1  The Tijuana River winds northwestward from Mexico into California just south of San Diego, draining 4,500 km2 (1,750 mi2) of land in its watershed (colored green in map) (a). Pollution entering the river affects people on both sides of the border and sometimes creates a visible brown plume of wastewater entering the Pacific Ocean (b). The photo shows an aerial view from the north, with Tijuana in the background. even found hypodermic needles. It’s really sad,” one resident of Imperial Beach told her local newspaper. Mexican residents of the Tijuana River watershed suffer more pollution because most live in poverty relative to their U.S. neighbors. Close to one-third of Tijuana’s homes are not connected to a sewer system, and in poor neighborhoods such as Loma Taurina, river pollution directly affects people’s day-to-day lives by contaminating water for drinking and washing and by promoting risks of disease, especially when flooding occurs. The rise of U.S.-owned factories, or maquiladoras, on the Mexican side of the border also has contributed to pollution, through the direct disposal of industrial waste and by attracting thousands of new workers to the already crowded region. In many ways, economic inequities spanning the border region have aggravated its problems with water pollution. As we explore environmental economics and environmental policy in this chapter, we will periodically return to the Tijuana River watershed and see how people are making progress by using science and policy to help address the region’s pollution challenges. ■ ECONOMICS: APPROACHES AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS Many environmental problems share the mix of impacts we see in the Tijuana River watershed—harming human health, altering ecological systems, inflicting economic damage, and contributing to inequities among people. In the Tijuana River watershed, pollution affects the region’s economies—while economic inequities, in turn, worsen pollution. Sewage-tainted water carries pathogens (organisms that cause illness), posing health risks and leading to higher medical costs. Untreated S M I wastewater lowers concentrations of dissolved oxygen, killing T economically valuable fish and shellfish. Pollution and beach H closures reduce recreation and tourism both in Mexico and in southern California, whose beaches each year host 175 million , visitors who spend over $1.5 billion. As a result, finding ways to reduce pollution will help the region economically. Economics is the study of how people decide to use reJ sources to provide goods and services in the face of demand O for them. By this definition, environmental problems are also economic problems that vary with population and per capita S resource consumption. Indeed, the word economics and the H word ecology come from the same Greek root, oikos, mean“household.” Economists traditionally have studied the U ing household of human society, while ecologists study the broadA er household of all life. Several types of economies exist 6 An economy is a social system that converts resources into 8 goods, material commodities manufactured for and bought 9 by individuals and businesses; and services, work done for as a form of business. The oldest type of economy 0 others is the subsistence economy. People in subsistence econoB mies meet their daily needs by subsisting on what they can from nature or produce on their own, rather than U gather working for wages and then purchasing life’s necessities. Environmental Economics and Environmental Policy Tijuana River CHAPTER 5 Pacific Ocean 89 A second type of economy is the capitalist market economy. In this system, interactions among buyers and sellers de- termine which goods and services are produced, how much is produced, and how these are produced and distributed. Capitalist economies contrast with state socialist economies, or centrally planned economies, in which government determines how to allocate resources. In reality, today’s capitalist and socialist economies have borrowed much from one another and are in fact hybrid systems (often termed mixed economies). In modern mixed economies, governments typically intervene in the market for several reasons: (1) to eliminate unfair advantages held by single buyers or sellers; (2) to provide Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 89 8/7/11 5:47 PM social services, such as national defense, medical care, and education; (3) to provide “safety nets” for the elderly, victims of natural disasters, and so on; (4) to manage the commons (p. 3–4); and (5) to reduce pollution and other threats to health and quality of life. Economies rely on goods and services from the environment 90 Economies receive inputs (such as natural resources) from the environment, process them in complex ways that enable human society to function, and then discharge outputs (such as waste) into the environment. Although these interactions between human economies and the nonhuman environment are readily apparent, traditional economic schools of thought have long overlooked the importance of these connections. Indeed, most mainstream economists still adhere to a worldview that largely ignores the environment (FIGURE 5.2A)—and this worldview continues to drive most policy decisions. However, modern economists belonging to the fast-growing fields of environmental economics and ecological economics (pp. 93–94) explicitly recognize that human economies are subsets of the environment and depend crucially upon it for natural resources and ecosystem services (FIGURE 5.2B). Economic activity uses natural resources (pp. 2–3), the substances and forces we need to survive: the sun’s energy, the fresh water we drink, the trees that provide us lumber, the rocks that provide us metals, and the fossil fuels that power our machines. We can think of natural resources as “goods” produced by nature. Environmental systems also naturally function in a manner that supports economies. Earth’s ecological systems purify air and water, form soil, cycle nutrients, regulate climate, pollinate plants, and recycle the waste generated by our economic activity. Such essential processes, called ecosystem services (pp. 2, 36), support the life that makes our economic activity possible. While our environment enables economic activity by providing ecosystem goods and services, economic activity can affect the environment in return. When we deplete natural resources and generate pollution, we often degrade the capacity of ecological systems to function. In fact, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (p. 16) concluded in 2005 that 15 of 24 ecosystem services its scientists surveyed globally were being degraded or used unsustainably. The degradation of ecosystem services can in turn disrupt economies, as we see along the Tijuana River, where pollution depresses people’s economic opportunities. Ecological degradation is harming poor people more than wealthy people, according to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. As a result, restoring ecosystem services stands as a prime avenue for alleviating poverty. Adam Smith proposed an “invisible hand” When economics began to develop as a discipline in the 18th century, many philosophers argued that individuals acting in their own self-interest would harm society (as in the tragedy of the commons, p. 3–4). However, Scottish philosopher Adam Smith (1723–1790) believed that self-interested behavior could benefit society, as long as the behavior was constrained by the rule of law and private property rights and operated within fairly competitive markets. Known today as a founder of classical economics, Smith felt that when people are free to pursue their own economic self-interest in a competitive marketplace, the marketplace will behave as if guided by “an invisible hand” that leads their actions to benefit society as a whole. Smith’s philosophy remains a pillar of free-market thought today. Neoclassical economics incorporates psychology and cost-benefit analysis Economists subsequently adopted more quantitative approaches as they aimed to explain human behavior. NeoclassiScal economics examines the psychological factors underlying choices, explaining market prices in terms of conMconsumer sumer preferences for units of particular commodities. In I neoclassical economic theory, buyers desire the lowest possiprice, whereas sellers desire the highest possible price. As Tble a result of this conflict, a compromise price is reached, and Hthe “right” quantities of commodities are bought and sold. , This balance is often phrased in terms of supply, the amount of a product offered for sale at a given price, and demand, the amount of a product people will buy at a given price if free to Jdo so (FIGURE 5.3). To evaluate an action or decision, neoclassical economists Ooften use cost-benefit analysis. In this approach, economists Stotal up estimated costs for a proposed action and compare these to the sum of benefits estimated to result from the acHtion. If benefits exceed costs, the action should be pursued; if Ucosts exceed benefits, it should not. Given a choice of alternaactions, the one with the greatest excess of benefits over Ative costs should be chosen. This reasoning seems eminently logical, but problems often arise because not all costs and benefits can be easily 6identified, defined, or quantified. For example, it may be 8easy to tally up the costs of installing equipment to reduce 9pollution, yet difficult to assess the effects of pollution on people’s health or lifestyles. Moreover, monetary values 0can often be assigned more easily to economic benefits B(such as jobs created by a factory) than to environmental costs (such as long-term health impacts of the factory’s polUlution on a community), so economic benefits tend to be overrepresented in cost-benefit analyses. As a result, environmental advocates often feel these analyses are biased in favor of economic development and against environmental protection. Neoclassical economics has profound implications for the environment Today’s capitalist market systems operate largely in accord with the principles of neoclassical economics. These systems have generated unprecedented material wealth for our societies. Alas, four fundamental assumptions of neoclassical economics often contribute to environmental degradation. Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 90 8/7/11 5:47 PM FIGURE 5.2  Standard neoclassical economics focuses on processes of production and consumption between households and businesses (a), viewing the environment only as a “factor of production” that helps enable the production of goods. In contrast, environmental economics and ecological economics each view the human economy as existing within the natural environment (b), receiving resources from it, discharging waste into it, and benefiting from various ecosystem services. Agriculture, industry, business Wages Products (goods and services) Labor Payment for products Households (a) Conventional view of economic activity Recycling Natural resources (ecosystem goods) Households Economy Natural recycling: Climate regulation, air and water purification, nutrient cycling, etc. (ecosystem services) Waste acceptance (ecosystem service) 6 8 9 0 B U CHAPTER 5 Agriculture, industry, business J O S H U A Environmental Economics and Environmental Policy S Ecosystem services M (e.g., recreation, pollination of crops, etc.) I T H , 91 (b) Economic activity as viewed by environmental and ecological economists Are resources infinite or substitutable? One assumption is that natural resources and human resources (such as workers) are either infinite or largely substitutable and interchangeable. This implies that once we have used up a resource, we should be able to find a replacement for it. Certainly it is true that many resources can be replaced. However, some cannot. Nonrenewable resources (such as fossil fuels) can truly be depleted, and many renewable resources (such as forest products) can also be used up if we exploit them faster than they are replenished. Should we discount the future? Second, neoclassical economics grants an event in the future less value than one in the present. In economic terminology, future effects are Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 91 8/7/11 5:47 PM Supply Price Market equilibrium Demand Quantity FIGURE 5.3  In a supply-and-demand graph, the demand curve indicates the quantity of a given good (or service) that consumers desire at each price, and the supply curve indicates the quantity produced at each price. The market automatically moves toward an equilibrium point at which supply equals demand. “discounted.” Short-term costs and benefits are granted more importance than long-term costs and benefits, causing us to ignore the long-term consequences of policy decisions. Many environmental problems unfold gradually, and discounting causes us to downplay the impacts on future generations of the pollution we create and the resources we deplete today. 92 Are all costs and benefits internal? A third assumption of neoclassical economics is that all costs and benefits associated with an exchange of goods or services are borne by individuals engaging directly in the transaction. In other words, it is assumed that the costs and benefits are “internal” to the transaction, experienced by the buyer and seller alone. However, many transactions affect other members of society. For example, pollution from a maquiladora along the Tijuana River can harm people living downstream. In such a case, members of society not involved in producing the pollution end up paying its costs. When market prices do not take the social, environmental, or economic costs of pollution into account, then taxpayers bear the burden of paying them. Costs of a transaction that affect people other than the buyer or seller are known as external costs (FIGURE 5.4). External costs commonly include the following: ▶ Human health problems ▶ Property damage ▶ Declines in desirable features of the environment, such as fewer fish in a stream ▶ Aesthetic damage, such as from air pollution or clear-cutting ▶ Stress and anxiety experienced by people downstream or downwind from a pollution source ▶ Declining real estate values resulting from these problems FIGURE 5.4  River pollution creates external costs. This woman washing clothes in the Tijuana River suffers pollution from factories upstream, and her use of detergents causes pollution for people living downstream. S M I By ignoring external costs, economies create a false imTpression of the consequences of particular choices and unjustly subject people to the impacts of transactions in which they Hdid not participate. External costs comprise one reason gov, ernments develop environmental legislation and regulations. Is all growth good? A fourth assumption of the neo- Jclassical economic approach is that economic growth is reOquired to keep employment high and maintain social order. Economic growth, it is argued, should create opportunities Sfor the poor to become wealthier. By making the overall ecoHnomic pie larger, everyone’s slice becomes larger, even if some people still have much smaller slices than others. In today’s Ueconomies, economic growth has become the quantitative Ayardstick by which progress is measured. To the extent that economic growth is a means to an end— a path to greater human well-being—it is a good thing. How6ever, when growth becomes an end in itself it may no longer the best route toward well-being. Sociologists have even 8be coined a word for the way material goods often fail to bring 9contentment to people affluent enough to afford them: affluMoreover, critics of the growth paradigm fear that the 0enza. endless pursuit of economic growth will eventually destroy our Beconomic system, because resources to support growth are ulUtimately limited. How sustainable is economic growth? Our global economy is seven times the size it was just half a century ago. All measures of economic activity—trade, rates of production, amount and value of goods manufactured—are higher than ever before. This has brought many people much greater material wealth (although not equitably, and gaps between rich and poor are wide and growing). The modern-day United States exemplifies the view that “more and bigger” are always better. Spurred on by advertising and the increased availability of goods due to technological advances and expanded global trade, Americans have embarked on a frenzy of consumption unparalleled in history. Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 92 8/7/11 5:47 PM More resource extraction Idea that all growth is good Advertising Consequences More resource extraction 6 8 Rising per capita 9 consumption 0 B U Globalization and trade Loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services Habitat alteration More fossil fuel use Global climate change Environmental Economics and Environmental Policy More agricultural production More manufacturing , J O S H U A Causes New technologies Can we conclude, then, that improvements in technology will allow us to overcome all our environmental limitations and continue economic growth indefinitely? Surely we can innovate and achieve further efficiency and economic growth without depleting our resource base—but ultimately, nonrenewable resources are finite, and renewable resources can be exploited only at limited rates. If our population and consumption continue to grow and we do not shift to full reuse and recycling, we will inevitably deplete resources and put ever-greater demands on our capacity to innovate. Ecological economists argue that civilizations do not, in the long run, overcome their environmental limitations. Ecological economists apply principles of ecology and systems science (Chapter 2) to the analysis of economic systems, and they view natural systems as good models for making human economies sustainable. In nature, every population faces limS iting factors and a carrying capacity (p. 58), and systems generally operate in self-renewing cycles, not in a linear manner. MMany ecological economists advocate economies that do not I grow and do not shrink, but rather are stable. Such steadystate economies are intended to mirror natural systems. T Ecological economists maintain that quality of life should H continue to rise in a steady-state economy, as a result of technological advances and behavioral changes (such as greater CHAPTER 5 The dramatic rise in per-person consumption has numerous consequences (FIGURE 5.5). Economic growth stems from two sources: (1) an increase in inputs to the economy (e.g., greater inputs of labor and natural resources) and (2) improvements in the efficiency of production due to better technologies and approaches (i.e., ideas and equipment that enable us to produce more goods with fewer inputs). This second approach—whereby we produce more with less—is often termed economic development. As our population and consumption rise, it is becoming clearer that we cannot sustain growth forever using the first approach. Nonrenewable resources on Earth are finite in quantity, and there are limits on the rates that we can harvest many renewable resources. As for the second approach, we have used technological innovation to push back the limits on growth time and again. More-efficient technologies for extracting minerals, fossil fuels, and groundwater allow us to exploit these resources more fully with less waste. Automated farm machinery, fertilizers, and chemical pesticides enable us to grow more food per unit area of land (p. 136). Better machinery in our factories speeds our manufacturing. We continue to make computer chips more powerful while also making them smaller and using fewer raw materials. In all these ways, we are producing more goods and services while using fewer resources. 93 Economic loss Health impacts More waste and pollution Social disruption “Affluenza” Solutions As you progress through this chapter, try to identify as many solutions to rising per capita consumption as you can. What could you personally do to help address this issue? Consider how each action or solution might affect items in the concept map above. FIGURE 5.5  The rise in per-person consumption of goods and services stems from multiple causes (ovals on left) and results in a diversity of environmental, social, and economic consequences (boxes on right). Arrows in this concept map lead from causes to consequences. Note that items grouped within an outlined box do not necessarily share any special relationship; the outlined box is intended merely to streamline the figure. Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 93 8/9/11 12:07 PM use of recycling) that enhance sustainability. They argue that wealth and human well-being can continue to increase after economic growth has leveled off. Environmental economists tend to agree with ecological economists that economies are unsustainable if population growth is not reduced and resources are not used more efficiently, but they argue that, with effort, we can accomplish these changes and attain sustainability within our current economic systems. By modifying the principles of neoclassical economics to address environmental challenges, environmental economists maintain that we can keep our economies growing and that technology can continue to improve efficiency. Thus, whereas ecological economists call for revolution, environmental economists call for reform. One approach environmental economists take is to assign monetary values to ecosystem goods and services, so as to better integrate them into traditional cost-benefit analyses. We can assign monetary value to ecosystem goods and services Ecosystem services are said to have nonmarket values, values not usually included in the market price of a good or service (TABLE 5.1 and FIGURE 5.6). For example, the aesthetic and recreational pleasure we obtain from natural landscapes is something of real value. Yet because we do not pay money for this, its value is hard to quantify and appears in no traditional measures of economic worth. Or consider Earth’s water cycle (p. 37), by which rain fills our reservoirs with drinking water, rivers give us hydropower and flush away our waste, and water evaporates, purifying itself of contaminants and readying itself to fall again as rain. This natural cycle is vital to our very existence, yet because we do not quantify its value, markets impose no financial penalties when we disturb it. To resolve this dilemma, environmental and ecological economists have sought ways to assign values to ecosystem services. In one technique, economists use surveys to determine how much people are willing to pay to protect or restore a resource. In another approach, they measure the money, time, or effort people expend to travel to parks for recSreation. Economists also compare housing prices for similar homes in different environmental settings to infer the dollar Mvalue of landscapes, views, and peace and quiet. They may also I measure the cost required to restore natural systems that have been damaged, to replace those systems’ functions with techTnology, or to reduce harm from pollution. H , J O S H U A (a) Use value FIGURE 5.6  Accounting for nonmarket values such as those shown here may help us to make better environmental and economic decisions. See Table 5.1 for details. (b) Existence value 6 8 9 0 B U 94 (c) Option value (d) Aesthetic value (e) Scientific value (f) Educational value (g) Cultural value Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 94 8/7/11 5:47 PM In a follow-up study in 2002, Costanza joined Andrew Balmford and 17 other colleagues to compare the benefits and costs of preserving natural systems versus converting wild lands for agriculture, logging, or fish farming. After reviewing many studies, they reported in the journal Science that a global network of nature reserves covering 15% of Earth’s land surface and 30% of the ocean would be worth between $4.4 and $5.2 trillion. This amount is 100 times greater than the value of those areas were they to be converted for direct exploitative human use—demonstrating, in their words, that “conservation in reserves represents a strikingly good bargain.” TABLE 5.1 Values That Modern Market Economies Generally Do Not Address Use value that we use directly Existence value simply because they exist, even though we may never experience them directly (e.g., an endangered species in a far-off place) Option value that we do not use now but might use later Aesthetic value for their beauty or emotional appeal Scientific value that may be the subject of scientific research Educational value that teach us about ourselves or the world Cultural value that sustain or help define our culture Businesses are responding to sustainability concerns In 1997, a research team headed by environmental economist Robert Costanza set out to calculate the total economic value of all the services that oceans, forests, wetlands, and other ecosystems provide across the world. Costanza’s team combed the scientific literature and evaluated over 100 studies that used various methods to estimate dollar values for 17 major ecosystem services such as water purification, climate regulation, plant pollination, and pollution cleanup (FIGURE 5.7). To improve the accuracy of estimates, the researchers reevaluated the data using multiple techniques. They then multiplied average estimates for each ecosystem by the global area occupied by each. Their analysis, reported in the journal Nature, calculated that Earth’s biosphere in total provides at least $33 trillion ($46 trillion in 2011 dollars) worth of ecosystem services each year—more than the GDP of all nations combined! A 6 8 9 0 B U Soil formation Genetic resources Pollination Habitat provision Biological control Type of ecosystem service As economists rethink old assumptions and as more consumers and investors express preferences for sustainable products and S services, many industries, businesses, and corporations are finding that they can make money by “greening” their operations. M Some companies have cultivated an eco-conscious image I from the start, such as Ben & Jerry’s (ice cream), Patagonia (outdoor apparel), Seventh Generation (household products), T and Credo (formerly Working Assets; phone service). In recent H years, however, corporate sustainability has gone mainstream, some of the world’s largest corporations have joined in, in, and cluding Ford Motor Company, Toyota, McDonald’s, Starbucks, IKEA, Dow, Dupont, BASF, Intel, and Wal-Mart (FIGURE 5.8). runs programs to reuse and recycle used tonJ Hewlett-Packard er cartridges, electronics, and plastics. Nike, Inc., collects milO lions of used sneakers each year and recycles their materials to S create surfaces for basketball courts, tennis courts, and running tracks. The Gap, Inc., built a sustainably designed headquarH ters building, cut energy use in its stores and distribution centU ers, and promotes alternative transportation for its employees. Today many corporations are finding ways to increase energy Erosion control Climate regulation Raw materials Environmental Economics and Environmental Policy Is the worth we ascribe to things . . . CHAPTER 5 Nonmarket value 95 Recreation Water regulation Gas regulation Food provision For more on ecosystem services, see Figure 2.17 in Chapter 2. Water supply Disturbance regulation Waste treatment Cultural uses Nutrient cycling 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 Total global value per year (trillions of dollars) 17.0 FIGURE 5.7  Environmental economists in 1997 estimated the value of the world’s ecosystem services at more than $33 trillion ($46 trillion in 2011 dollars). Shown are subtotals for each major type of ecosystem service. The $33 trillion figure is an underestimate because it does not include values from ecosystems for which adequate data were unavailable. Data from Costanza, R., et al., 1997. The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387: 253–260. Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 95 8/7/11 5:47 PM contributions to economies (such as ecosystem services) or when they do not reflect the negative impacts of economic activity on the environment or on people (external costs). Traditionally, market failure has been countered by government intervention. Governments can restrain corporate behavior through laws and regulations. They can tax environmentally harmful activities. Or, they can design economic incentives that use market mechanisms to promote fairness, resource conservation, and economic sustainability. We will now examine these approaches in our discussion of environmental policy. ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY: AN OVERVIEW Economic analysis and scientific research can help us deter- FIGURE 5.8  A Wal-Mart cashier bags compact fluorescent bulbs in reusable canvas bags for a customer. Wal-Mart provides the most celebrated recent example of corporate greening efforts. The world’s largest retailer has launched a program to sell organic and sustainable products, reduce packaging and use recycled materials, enhance fuel efficiency in its truck fleet, reduce energy use in its stores, power itself with renewable energy, cut carbon dioxide emissions, and preserve one acre of natural land for every acre developed. It is also developing a “sustainability index” to rate its products and inform consumers. Although many remain skeptical of Wal-Mart’s commitment to sustainability, the corporation’s vast reach and its ability to persuade suppliers to alter their practices in order to retain its business mean that any change Wal-Mart enacts could have far-reaching impacts. 96 efficiency, reduce toxic substances, increase the use of recycled materials, and minimize greenhouse gas emissions. In doing so, they often find that they reduce costs and increase profit. Of course, corporations exist to make money for their shareholders, so they cannot be expected to pursue goals that do not turn a profit. Moreover, many corporate greening efforts are more rhetoric than reality, and corporate greenwashing may mislead consumers into thinking a company is acting more sustainably than it is. For instance, the bottled water industry advertises its products with words such as “pure” and “natural.” Images of forests and alpine springs lead us to believe that bottled water is cleaner and healthier for us to drink—when in reality the water is often less safe, the plastic bottles are a major source of waste, oil is used to manufacture and transport the bottles, and the industry depletes aquifers in local communities (pp. 268–269). In the end, corporate actions hinge on consumer behavior. It is up to all of us in our roles as consumers to encourage trends in sustainability by rewarding those businesses that truly promote sustainable solutions. Markets can fail When they do not reflect the full costs and benefits of actions, markets are said to fail. Market failure occurs when markets do not take into account the environment’s positive Smine when resources are being depleted, ecosystem services being degraded, or people’s quality of life is declining. Mare Once a society reaches broad agreement that such a problem I exists, it may persuade its leaders to try to resolve the probTlem through the making of policy. Policy consists of a formal set of general plans and principles intended to address probHlems and guide decision making in specific instances. Public , policy is policy made by governments, including those at the local, state, federal, and international levels. Public policy consists of laws, regulations, orders, incentives, and pracJtices intended to advance societal well-being. Environmental policy is policy that pertains to human interactions with the Oenvironment. It generally aims to regulate resource use or Sreduce pollution in order to promote human welfare and/or protect natural systems. H Forging effective environmental policy requires input Ufrom science, ethics, and economics. Science provides inforand analysis needed to identify and understand probAmation lems and devise solutions. Ethics and economics offer criteria to assess problems and to help clarify how society might like address them. Government interacts with citizens, organi6to zations, and the private sector in various ways to formulate 8policy (FIGURE 5.9). 9 0Environmental policy addresses issues Bof fairness and resource use capitalism is driven by incentives for short-term ecoUMarket nomic gain rather than long-term social and environmental stability. It provides little motivation for businesses or individuals to behave in ways that minimize environmental impact or that equalize costs and benefits among parties. As we noted, such market failure has traditionally been viewed as justification for government intervention. Environmental policy aims to protect environmental quality and the natural resources people use, and also to promote equity or fairness in people’s use of resources. The tragedy of the commons Policy to protect resources held and used in common by the public is intended to safeguard them from depletion or degradation. As environmental scientist Garrett Hardin explained in his 1968 Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 96 8/7/11 5:47 PM Personal actions and consumer choices Citizenry Votes, lobbying, campaign funding, legal action Private sector Lobbying, campaign funding, legal action Policy Government Solutions to environmental problems Information and analysis S Improvements in efficiency M and technology I T FIGURE 5.9  Policy plays a central role in how we as a society address environmental problems. Voters, the private sector, and lobbying groups representing various interestsH influence government representatives. Scientific research also informs government decisions. Governmental representatives and agencies formulate , policy that aims to address problems. Public policy—along with improvements in technology and efficiency essay “The Tragedy of the Commons” (pp. 3–4), a resource held in common that is accessible to all will eventually become overused and degraded. Therefore, he argued, it is in our best interest to develop guidelines for the use of such resources. In Hardin’s example of a common pasture, guidelines might limit the number of animals each individual can graze or might require pasture users to pay to restore and manage the shared resource. These two concepts—restriction of use and active management—are central to environmental policy today. Free riders A second reason to develop policy for publicly held resources is the free rider predicament. Let’s say a community on a river suffers from water pollution that emanates from 10 different factories. The problem could in theory be solved if every factory voluntarily agreed to reduce its own pollution. However, once they all begin reducing their pollution, it becomes tempting for any one of them to stop doing so. Such a factory, by avoiding the sacrifices others are making, would in essence get a “free ride.” If enough factories take a free ride, the whole effort will collapse. Because of the free rider problem, private voluntary efforts are generally less effective than efforts mandated by public policy, which help ensure that all parties sacrifice equitably. External costs Environmental policy also aims to promote fairness by eliminating external costs, ensuring that some parties do not use resources in ways that harm J O S others. For example, a factory may reap greater profits by H discharging waste freely into a river and avoiding paying for waste disposal or recycling. Its actions, however, imU pose external costs (water pollution, decreased fish populaA tions, aesthetic degradation, health risks) on downstream 6 8 9 0 B U users of the river. U.S.-owned maquiladoras in the Tijuana River watershed dump waste that affects Mexican families downstream (see Figure 5.4). Likewise, wastewater from the growing number of people living in the watershed further pollutes the river, imposing external costs on families farther downstream and beachgoers in Mexico and California. CHAPTER 5 and personal actions and consumer purchasing choices—can produce lasting solutions to environmental problems. Environmental Economics and Environmental Policy Science 97 Do We Really Need Environmental Policy? Many free-market advocates contend that environmental laws and regulations are an undesirable government intrusion into private affairs. Adam Smith (p. 90) argued that individuals benefit society by pursuing their own self-interest. Do you agree? Can you describe a situation in which an individual acting in self-interest either (a) benefits society by addressing an environmental problem, or (b) harms society by causing an environmental problem? How might policy help in either situation? What are some advantages and disadvantages of environmental laws and regulations? Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 97 8/7/11 5:47 PM U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY 98 The United States provides a good focus for understanding environmental policy in constitutional democracies worldwide, for several reasons. First, the United States has pioneered innovative environmental policy. Second, U.S. policies have served as models—of both success and failure—for other nations and international government bodies. Third, the United States exerts a great deal of influence on the affairs of other nations. Finally, understanding U.S. environmental policy at the federal level helps us understand it at local, state, and international levels. The three branches of the U.S. federal government— legislative, executive, and judicial—are each involved in aspects of environmental policy. Once legislation, or statutory law, is passed by Congress and signed into law by the president, its implementation and enforcement is assigned to an administrative agency within the executive branch. Administrative agencies are the source of a great deal of policy, in the form of regulations, specific rules intended to help achieve the objectives of the more broadly written statutory law. Besides issuing regulations, administrative agencies monitor compliance with laws and regulations and enforce them when they are violated. The judicial branch interprets law as needed in response to suits in the courts. The structure of the federal government is mirrored at the state level with governors, legislatures, judiciaries, and agencies. State laws cannot violate principles of the U.S. Constitution, and if state and federal laws conflict, federal laws take precedence. Many states with dense urban populations, such as California, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, have strong environmental laws and well-funded environmental agencies. Citizens of such states put more emphasis on safeguarding environmental quality because they have witnessed extensive environmental degradation in the past. To safeguard public health in locations such as San Diego’s beaches, California’s state legislators have required state environmental health officials to set standards and test waters for bacterial contamination. Officials issue an advisory, or warning, when bacterial concentrations in nearshore waters exceed health limits established by California law. As we proceed through our discussion of federal policy, keep in mind that important environmental policy is also created at the state and local levels. Early U.S. environmental policy promoted development The laws that comprise U.S. environmental policy were created largely in three periods. Laws enacted during the first period, from the 1780s to the late 1800s, accompanied the westward expansion of the nation and were intended mainly to promote settlement and the use of the continent’s abundant natural resources (FIGURE 5.10). Among these early laws were the General Land Ordinances of 1785 and 1787, which gave the federal government the right to manage unsettled lands and created a grid system for surveying them and readying them for private ownership. Between 1785 and the 1870s, the federal government promoted settlement on lands it had expropriated from Native Americans, and it doled out these lands to its citizens. Western settlement provided these citizens with means to achieve prosperity while relieving crowding in Eastern cities. It expanded the geographical reach of the United States at a time when the young nation was still jostling with European powers for control of the continent. It also wholly displaced the millions of Native Americans who had long inhabited these lands. U.S. environmental policy of this era reflected the public perception that Western lands were practically infinite and inexhaustible in natural resources. Laws encouraged settlers, entrepreneurs, and land speculators to move west, and this hastened the closing of the frontier. S MThe second wave of U.S. environmental I policy encouraged conservation TIn the late 1800s, as the continent became more populated and its resources were increasingly exploited, public perHception and government policy toward natural resources , began to shift. Laws of this period aimed to alleviate some of the environmental impacts associated with westward expansion. J In 1872, Congress designated Yellowstone as the world’s national park. In 1891, Congress passed a law authorizing Ofirst the president to create “forest reserves” in order to prevent Soverharvesting and protect forested watersheds. In 1903, PresTheodore Roosevelt created the first national wildlife Hident refuge. These acts enabled the creation of a national park sysUtem, national forest system, and national wildlife refuge sysAtem that still stand as global models (pp. 193, 200). These developments reflected a new understanding that the continent’s resources were exhaustible and required legal protection. 6 Land management policies continued through the 20th century, addressing soil conservation in the Dust Bowl years 8(p. 141) and wilderness preservation through the Wilderness 9Act of 1964 (p. 200), which sought to preserve pristine lands “untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who 0does not remain.” B UThe third wave responded to pollution Further social changes in the 20th century gave rise to the third major period of U.S. environmental policy. In a more densely populated nation driven by technology, heavy industry, and intensive resource consumption, Americans found themselves better off economically but living with dirtier air, dirtier water, and more waste and toxic chemicals. During the 1960s and 1970s, several events triggered increased awareness of environmental problems and brought about a shift in public policy. A landmark event was the 1962 publication of Silent Spring, a book by American scientist and writer Rachel Carson (FIGURE 5.11). Silent Spring awakened the public to the nega- Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 98 8/7/11 5:47 PM FIGURE 5.10  The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed settlers (a) to claim, for a $16 fee, 65 ha (160 acres) of public land by living there for five years and cultivating the land or building a home. The General Mining Act of 1872 legalized and promoted mining (b) by private individuals on public land for just $5 per acre, subject to local customs, with no government oversight. Although the Timber Culture Act of 1873 promoted tree planting on settled lands, elsewhere the timber industry was allowed to clear-cut the nation’s ancient trees (c) with little government policy to limit logging or encourage replanting or conservation. Environmental Economics and Environmental Policy S M I T H , J O S H U A 6 (c) Loggers felling an old-growth tree, Washington 8 tive ecological and health effects of pesticides and industrial 9 chemicals (p. 210). The book’s title refers to Carson’s warning pesticides might kill so many birds that few would be left 0 that to sing in springtime. B Ohio’s Cuyahoga River (FIGURE 5.12) also drew attention pollution hazards. The Cuyahoga was so polluted with oil U to and industrial waste that the river actually caught fire near (b) Nineteenth-century mining operation, Lynx Creek, Alaska CHAPTER 5 (a) Settlers in Custer County, Nebraska, circa 1860 99 Cleveland a number of times in the 1950s and 1960s. This spectacle, coupled with an oil spill offshore from Santa Barbara, California, in 1969, moved the public to urge Congress and the president to do more to protect the environment. The first Earth Day in 1970 helped to galvanize public support for action to address pollution problems. Today, largely because of environmental policies enacted since the 1960s, public health is better protected and the nation’s air and water are considerably cleaner. All of us alive today owe a great deal to the dedicated people who designed policy to tackle pollution problems during this period. Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 99 8/7/11 5:47 PM report of results from studies that assess the potential environmental impacts that would likely result from development projects undertaken or funded by the federal government. NEPA’s effects have been far-reaching. The EIS process forces government agencies and businesses that contract with them to evaluate environmental impacts before proceeding with a new dam, highway, or construction project. Although the EIS process generally does not halt such projects, it can serve as an incentive to minimize environmental damage. NEPA also grants ordinary citizens input in the policy process by requiring that EISs be made publicly available and that policymakers solicit and consider public comment on them. Creation of the EPA marked a shift in environmental policy FIGURE 5.11  Scientist and writer Rachel Carson illuminated the problem of pollution from DDT and other pesticides in her 1962 book, Silent Spring. NEPA gives citizens input into policy decisions 100 Besides Earth Day, two federal actions marked 1970 as the dawn of the modern era of environmental policy in the United States. On January 1, 1970, President Richard Nixon signed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) into law. NEPA created an agency called the Council on Environmental Quality and required that an environmental impact statement (EIS) be prepared for any major federal action that might significantly affect environmental quality. An EIS is a FIGURE 5.12  In a spectacular display of the need for better control over water pollution, Ohio’s Cuyahoga River caught fire multiple times in the 1950s and 1960s. The Cuyahoga was so polluted with oil and industrial waste that the river would burn for days at a time. Six months after signing NEPA into law, Nixon issued an executive order calling for a new integrated approach to enSvironmental policy. “The Government’s environmentally Mrelated activities have grown up piecemeal over the years,” order stated. “The time has come to organize them raI the tionally and systematically.” Nixon’s order moved elements Tof agencies regulating water quality, air pollution, solid waste, and other issues into the newly created EnvironmenHtal Protection Agency (EPA). The order charged the EPA , with conducting and evaluating research, monitoring environmental quality, setting and enforcing standards for pollution levels, assisting the states in meeting standards and Jgoals, and educating the public. O S H U A 6 8 9 0 B U FAQ Q A : Isn’t the EPA an advocate for the environment? : Like all administrative agencies, the EPA is part of the executive branch and operates in line with the policies of the presidential administration in power at the time. As such, the EPA under a conservative president may function very differently from the EPA under a liberal one. Indeed, sometimes the agency may impede environmental regulations! The EPA employs many career scientists who carry out careful scientific research and make scientifically informed policy recommendations. They advise administrators appointed by the president, however, and policy decisions are ultimately made by these politically appointed administrators. Other prominent laws followed Ongoing public demand for a cleaner environment during this period resulted in a number of key laws that remain fundamental to U.S. environmental policy (FIGURE 5.13). For river pollution problems like those of the Tijuana River, a crucial law has been the Clean Water Act of 1977. Prior to passage of federal laws such as the Clean Water Act, pollution problems were left largely to local and state governments or Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 100 8/7/11 5:47 PM Clean Air Act 1964 Wilderness Act 1965 Federal Water Pollution Control Act, Solid Waste Disposal Act 1966 1967 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act 1969 National Environmental Policy Act 1970 1971 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act, Federal Pesticide Act 1973 Endangered Species Act 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act 1975 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act 1977 Clean Water Act, Soil and Water Conservation Act 1978 1979 CERCLA (“Superfund”) 1980 FIGURE 5.13  Many of the most influential laws in modern U.S. environmental policy were enacted in the 1960s and 1970s. were addressed through lawsuits. The flaming waters of the Cuyahoga, however, indicated to many people that tough legislation was needed. Thanks to restrictions on pollutants by the Federal Water Pollution Control Acts of 1965 and 1972, and then the Clean Water Act, U.S. waterways finally began to recover. These laws regulated the discharge of wastes, especially from industry, into rivers and streams. The Clean Water Act also aimed to protect wildlife and establish a system for granting permits for the discharge of pollutants. Today thousands of federal, state, and local laws and regulations help protect health and environmental quality in the United States and abroad. The social context for policy evolves over time 6 FIGURE 5.14  College students and activists at the 2009 Power 8 Shift event in Washington, D.C., urge U.S. leaders to enact policies 9 to help bring the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide concentration back down to 350 parts per million. This was one of several major events 0 in recent years that expressed grassroots support for addressing B global climate change through the political process. U Environmental Economics and Environmental Policy 1963 By the 1990s, the political climate in the United States had changed. Although public support for the goals of environmental protection remained high, many citizens and policy experts began to feel that the legislative and regulatory means used to achieve these goals often imposed economic burdens on businesses or individuals. Increasingly, attempts were made to roll back or weaken environmental laws, culminating in an array of efforts by the George W. Bush administration and the Republican-controlled Congresses in power from 1994 through 2006. As advocates of environmental protection watched their hard-won gains eroding, many began to propose new perspectives and strategies. In a provocative 2004 essay titled “The Death of Environmentalism,” political consultants Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus argued that environmental advocates needed to stop simply offering technical policy fixes and instead needed to appeal to people’s core values and articS ulate a positive, inspiring vision for the future. These suggestions opened a spirited discussion, and in 2008 Barack Obama Membraced a similar approach in his presidential campaign. As the United States’ international leadership in enviI ronmental policy has waned in recent decades, other nations T have enhanced their attention to environmental issues. The H 1992 Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannes, burg, South Africa, were the largest diplomatic conferences ever held, unifying leaders from 200 nations around the idea sustainable development (pp. 17, 414). Internationally, we J of are embarking on a new wave of environmental policy, one O focused on sustainability and sustainable development. This aims to safeguard natural systems while raising livS approach ing standards for the world’s people. Moreover, the pressH ing issue of global climate change (Chapter 14) has come to U dominate much of the world’s discussion over environmental policy (FIGURE 5.14). As we continue to feel the social, ecoA nomic, and ecological effects of environmental degradation, CHAPTER 5 Key Environmental Protection Laws, 1963–1980 101 Historians suggest that major advances in environmental policy occurred in the 1960s and 1970s because (1) evidence of environmental problems became widely and readily apparent, (2) people could visualize policies to deal with the problems, and (3) the political climate was ripe, with a supportive public and leaders who were willing to act. In addition, photographs from the space program allowed humanity to see, for the first time ever, images of the Earth from space (see photos on pp. 1 and 418). It is hard for us today to comprehend the power of those images at the time, but they revolutionized many people’s worldviews by making us aware of the finite nature of our planet. Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 101 8/7/11 5:47 PM environmental policy and the search for sustainable solutions will become central parts of governance and everyday life for all of us in the years ahead. INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY Environmental systems pay no heed to political boundaries. For instance, most of the world’s major rivers cross international borders. As a result, environmental problems like those along the Tijuana River are frequently international in scope. Because U.S. law has no authority in Mexico or any other nation outside the United States, international law is vital to solving transboundary problems. International law includes customary law and conventional law International law known as customary law arises from longstanding practices, or customs, held in common by most cultures. International law known as conventional law arises from conventions, or treaties, into which nations enter. One example is the Montreal Protocol, a 1987 accord among more than 160 nations to reduce the emission of airborne chemicals that thin the ozone layer (pp. 290–291). Another example is the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change (pp. 318–319). TABLE 5.2 shows a selection of major environmental treaties. The South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant that treats wastewater from the Tijuana River watershed was built as a result of a 1990 treaty between Mexico and the United States. Many social, economic, and environmental issues along the U.S.–Mexican border are influenced by the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (see THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE STORY, pp. 106–107). 102 Several organizations shape international environmental policy A number of international organizations act to influence the policy and behavior of nations by providing funding, applying political or economic pressure, and/or directing media attention. The United Nations Founded in 1945 and including representatives from all nations of the world, the United Nations (U.N.) seeks “to maintain international peace and security; to develop friendly relations among nations; to cooperate in solving international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems and in promoting respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in attaining these ends.” S Headquartered in New York City, the U.N. plays an active role in international environmental policy by sponsoring Mconferences, coordinating treaties, and publishing research. I An agency within it, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), promotes sustainability with research and Toutreach activities that provide information to policymakers Hand scientists throughout the world. , The World Bank Established in 1944 and based in Washington, D.C., the World Bank is one of the largest sourcJes of funding for economic development. This institution shapes environmental policy through its funding of dams, Oirrigation infrastructure, and other major projects. In fiscal Syear 2010, the World Bank provided $59 billion in loans and support for projects designed to benefit the poorest people in Hthe poorest countries. U Despite its admirable mission, the World Bank has frequently been criticized for funding projects that cause more Aenvironmental problems than they solve, such as dams that 6 8 TABLE 5.2 Some Major International Environmental Treaties Convention or Protocol Year it came into force 9 Convention on International Trade in 1975 0 Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) (p. 177) B Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of Inter1975 U national Importance Nations that have ratified it U.S. status 175 Ratified 159 Ratified Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol), of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (pp. 290–291) 1989 196 Ratified Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (pp. 15, 394) 1992 172 Signed but has not ratified Convention on Biological Diversity (p. 177) 1993 168 Signed but has not ratified Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (p. 223) 2004 152 Signed but has not ratified Kyoto Protocol, of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (pp. 318–319) 2005 184 Signed but has not ratified Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 102 8/7/11 5:47 PM waste dump in their neighborhood. Not all such courtroom challenges succeed, but NAFTA’s Chapter 11 cases have discouraged states and nations from passing new environmental protection laws. flood valuable forests and farmlands in order to provide electricity. Providing for the needs of growing populations in poor nations while minimizing damage to the environmental systems on which people depend can be a tough balancing act. Environmental scientists today agree that sustainable development must be the guiding principle for such efforts. national in scope and exert influence over international environmental policy. Some, such as the Nature Conservancy, focus on accomplishing conservation objectives on the ground (in its case, purchasing and managing land and habitat for rare species) without becoming politically involved. Other groups, such as Conservation International, the World Wide Fund for Nature, Greenpeace, and Population Connection, attempt to shape policy through research, education, lobbying, or protest. S M I T H , Trade Barriers and Environmental Protection If Nation A has stricter laws for Environmental Economics and Environmental Policy The World Trade Organization Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Trade Organization (WTO) represents multinational corporations and promotes free trade by reducing obstacles to international commerce and enforcing fairness among nations in trading practices. Whereas the United Nations and the European Union have limited influence over nations’ internal affairs, the WTO has authority to impose financial penalties on nations that do not comply with its directives. These penalties can affect environmental policy. Like the EU, the WTO has interpreted some national environmental laws as unfair barriers to trade. For instance, in 1995 the U.S. EPA issued regulations requiring cleanerburning gasoline in U.S. cities, following Congress’s amendments of the Clean Air Act. Brazil and Venezuela filed a complaint with the WTO, saying the new rules discriminated against the petroleum they exported to the United States, which did not burn as cleanly. The WTO agreed, ruling that even though the South American gasoline posed a threat to human health in the United States, the EPA rules were an illegal trade barrier. The ruling forced the United States to weaken its regulations. Not surprisingly, critics have frequently charged that the WTO aggravates environmental problems. International treaties to promote commerce allow industries and corporations to weaken environmental protection laws if they view them as barriers to trade. Chapter 11 of NAFTA allows an investor in one country to sue another country if its laws hinder the investor’s ability to make profits. Canada’s cattle industry demanded $300 million from U.S. taxpayers for banning Canadian beef after mad cow disease was found in it. A Canadian producer of a chemical in MTBE, a gasoline additive that California banned to protect public health, sued California for $1 billion in lost profits. A U.S. company forced Mexico to pay it $16 million after local residents refused to let it reopen a toxic A number of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have become inter- environmental protection than Nation B, and if these laws restrict the ability of Nation B to export its goods to Nation A, then by the policy of the WTO and the EU, Nation A’s environmental protection laws can be overruled in the name of free trade. Do you think this is right? What if Nation A is a wealthy industrialized country and Nation B is a poor developing country that needs every economic boost it can get? J O S H SCIENCE AND THE U ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY A PROCESS In constitutional democracies such as the United States, every person has a political voice and can make a difference. However, money wields influence, and some people and organizations are far more influential than others. We will explore some of these dynamics as we examine the main steps of the policymaking process and the role that science plays in policy. 6 8 9 0 B Policy results from a stepwise process U Environmental policy involves a multiple-step process that CHAPTER 5 The European Union The European Union (EU) seeks to promote Europe’s unity and its economic and social progress (including environmental protection) and to “assert Europe’s role in the world.” The EU can sign binding treaties on behalf of its 27 member nations and can enact regulations that have the same authority as national laws. The EU’s European Environment Agency addresses waste management, noise pollution, water pollution, air pollution, habitat degradation, and natural hazards. The EU also seeks to remove trade barriers among member nations. It has classified some nations’ environmental regulations as barriers to trade, arguing that the stricter environmental laws of some northern European nations limit the import and sale of environmentally harmful products from other member nations. Nongovernmental organizations 103 requires initiative, dedication, and the support of many people (FIGURE 5.15). ➊ Identify a problem The first step in the policy process is to identify an environmental problem. This requires curiosity, observation, record keeping, and an awareness of our relationship with the environment—so scientific inquiry and data collection play key roles. For example, assessing the contamination of San Diego- and Tijuanaarea beaches required detecting the contamination, recognizing the ecological and health impacts of untreated wastewater, and understanding water flow dynamics among the beaches, the Pacific Ocean, and the Tijuana River watershed. Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 103 8/7/11 5:47 PM ➋ 1 Identify a problem 2 Pinpoint causes of the problem 3 Envision solution 4 Get organized ➌ S M I T➍ H , J O S H U A 5 Cultivate access and influence 104 6 Shepherd the solution into law 7 Implement, assess, and interpret policy FIGURE 5.15  Understanding the steps of the policy process is helpful in solving environmental problems. 6 8 ➎ 9 0 B U Pinpoint causes of the problem The next step in the policy process is to discover specific causes of the problem, and this often requires scientific research. A person seeking causes for the Tijuana River’s pollution might notice that pollution intensified once U.S.-based companies began opening maquiladoras on the Mexican side of the border. Advocates of the maquiladora system argue that these factories provide much-needed jobs while keeping companies’ costs down by paying Mexican workers low wages. Critics argue that the factories are waste-generating, water-guzzling polluters whose transboundary nature makes them difficult to regulate. Envision a solution The better one can pinpoint causes of a problem, the more effectively one can envision solutions to it. Science plays a vital role here too, although solutions often rely on social or political action. In San Diego, citizen activists wanted Tijuana to enforce its own pollution laws more effectively—something that, once visualized, began to happen when San Diego city employees started training and working with their Mexican counterparts to keep hazardous waste out of the sewage treatment system. Get organized When it comes to influencing policy, organizations are generally more effective than individuals. Yet small coalitions and even individual citizens who are motivated, informed, and organized can solve environmental problems. San Diego-area resident Lori Saldaña provides an example. Concerned about the Tijuana River’s pollution, Saldaña reviewed plans for the international wastewater treatment plant that the U.S. government proposed to build. She concluded that it would merely shift pollution from the river to the ocean, where sewage would be released 5.6 km (3.5 mi) offshore. Working with her local Sierra Club chapter, Saldaña protested the plant’s design and participated in the lawsuit that forced the EPA to conduct further studies and eventually implement design changes. After a decade of activism and work on a commission on border issues, Saldaña ran for the California State Assembly in 2004 and won, becoming the representative from California’s 76th district. Cultivate access and influence The next step in the policy process entails gaining access to policymakers who have the clout to enact change. People gain access and influence through lobbying and campaign contributions. Anyone can spend time or money trying to change an elected official’s mind, but this is much more difficult for an ordinary citizen than for the professional lobbyists employed by businesses and organizations seeking a voice in politics. Supporting a candidate’s reelection efforts with money is another way to make one’s voice heard, and any individual can donate money to political campaigns. Both of these methods were employed by a privatesector consortium seeking to contract with the U.S. government to build a wastewater treatment plant to supplement the existing international plant. Backers of this effort, the Bajagua Project, lobbied government officials and gave campaign contributions to California congressional representatives, whom they hoped would support their cause. Following years of such efforts, in 2006 the International Boundary and Water Commission agreed Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 104 8/7/11 5:47 PM House of Representatives Senate Member of House introduces bill Senator introduces bill If appropriate, bill is referred to House committee and subcommittee If appropriate, bill is referred to Senate committee and subcommittee Subcommittee marks changes and votes on bill Subcommittee marks changes and votes on bill Full committee marks changes and votes on bill Full committee marks changes and votes on bill Bill is voted on by the full House, in a House floor vote Bill is voted on by the full Senate, in a Senate floor vote A conference committee made up of both House and Senate committees that worked on the bill works out any differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill House approves final bill Senate approves final bill The White House The final bill is sent to the President, who either signs or vetoes it. (If the bill is vetoed, a 2/3 majority of the House and Senate can overturn the veto.) FIGURE 5.16  Before a bill becomes U.S. law, it must clear hurdles in both legislative bodies. If the bill passes the House and Senate, a conference committee works out differences between House and Senate versions before the bill is sent to the president. The president may then sign or veto the bill. Science plays a role in policy but can be misused A nation’s strength depends on its commitment to science, and this is why governments devote a portion of our taxes to fund scientific research. The more information a policymaker can glean from scientific research, the better policy he or she will be able to craft. S Unfortunately, sometimes policymakers allow ideology Malone to determine policy on scientific matters. In 2004, the nonpartisan Union of Concerned Scientists released a stateI ment that faulted the George W. Bush administration for T ignoring scientific advice; manipulating scientific information for political ends; censoring, suppressing, and editing H reports from government scientists; placing people who were , unqualified or had clear conflicts of interest in positions of power; and misleading the public by misrepresenting scientific knowledge. More than 12,000 American scientists signed J on to this statement. Many government scientists working on sensitive issues such as climate change or endanO politically gered species protection said they had found their work supS pressed or discredited and their jobs threatened. Many chose H self-censorship. For these reasons, most American scientists greeted the elecU tion of Barack Obama with relief, as Obama spoke of “restoring A scientific integrity to government” and ensuring “that scientific data [are] never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda.” Of course, either political party can politicize science, and 6 as of 2011, the Union of Concerned Scientists was faulting the Obama administration for failing to fully live up to its promises. 8 Whenever taxpayer-funded science is suppressed or distorted for political ends—by the right or the left—we all lose. 9 Abuses of power generally come to light only when brave 0 government scientists risk their careers to alert the public and B when journalists work hard to uncover and publicize these isWe cannot simply take for granted that science will play U sues. a role in policy. Scientifically literate citizens of a democracy need to stay vigilant and help make sure our government representatives are making proper use of the tremendous scientific assets we have at our disposal. Environmental Economics and Environmental Policy ➐ EPA) implement regulations. Policymakers evaluate the policy’s successes and failures and may revise the policy as necessary. Moreover, courts interpret law in response to lawsuits, and much environmental policy has lived or died by judicial interpretation. As societal and environmental conditions change, the policy process may circle back to its first step as fresh problems are identified, and the process may begin anew. CHAPTER 5 ➏ to support the Bajagua Project—although the commission changed its mind two years later. Shepherd the solution into law The next step is to prepare a bill, or draft law, that embodies the desired solutions. Anyone can draft a bill, but members of the House and Senate must introduce the bill and shepherd it from subcommittee through full committee and on to passage by the full Congress (FIGURE 5.16). If it passes through all of these steps and gains the president’s signature, the bill becomes law, but it can die in countless fashions along the way. Implement, assess, and interpret policy Following a law’s enactment, administrative agencies (such as the 105 APPROACHES TO ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY When most people think of environmental policy, what comes to mind are major laws, such as the Clean Water Act, or government regulations, such as those specifying what a factory can and cannot dump into a river. However, environmental policy is far more diverse. Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 105 8/7/11 5:47 PM THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE STORY 106 THE SCIEN CE B EHIND THE S TORY Workers assemble television circuit boards for Panasonic in a maquiladora in Tijuana, Mexico. A Assessing the Environmental Impacts of NAFTA number of international treaties address environmental issues (see Table 5.2). But treaties not aimed specifically at environmental concerns may still have major environmental consequences. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is one such treaty. Mexico, the United States, and Canada signed NAFTA to promote free trade among them. NAFTA, which came into force in 1994, eliminated trade barriers such as tariffs on imports and exports. Nations erect tariffs in order to raise prices on foreign goods so that foreign industries won’t drive domestic industries out of business— but if nations can agree to mutually eliminate tariffs, it makes goods cheaper for everyone. Many people worried that NAFTA threatened to undermine protections for workers and the environment. For instance, if a nation’s regulations to protect environmental quality or worker safety are viewed as a barrier to trade or investment, under NAFTA those regulations can potentially be overturned. Moreover, many people felt that industries, motivated to decrease costs and increase profits, would move their factories (and jobs) to the nation with the weakest regulations. S This could create “pollution havens.” MMexico would Many people thought be overrun by maquiladoras seeking I to profit from lax regulation and that T suffer intensive Mexico would thereby pollution (see figure). HPeople predicted that once such a migration began, , to the botthis could lead to a “race tom” whereby all three nations would begin gutting their regulations in an J attempt to lure business. This was part of the reason that O NAFTA caused so many blue-collar U.S. workers to S fear that their jobs would migrate to H Mexico. In response to these fears, two U side agreements for labor and environAnegotiated. The mental concerns were environmental agreement, the North We follow three types of policy approaches Today’s environmental policy can follow a variety of strategies within three major approaches (FIGURE 5.17). Lawsuits in the courts Prior to the legislative push of recent decades, most environmental policy questions in the United States were addressed with lawsuits in the courts. Individuals suffering external costs from pollution would sue polluters, one case at a time. The courts sometimes punished polluters by ordering them to stop their operations or pay damages to the affected individuals. However, as industrialization proceeded and population grew denser, pollution became harder to avoid, and judges were reluctant to hinder industry. People began to view legislation and regulation as more effective means of protecting public health and safety. Command-and-control policy Most environmental laws of recent decades, and most regulations enforced by agencies today, use a command-and-control approach. In the American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, set up a tri-national Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC). The CEC has monitored NAFTA’s effects on the environment over the years, testing hypotheses about the impacts that NAFTA was predicted to have. The CEC has held four symposia, for which dozens of researchers have published over 50 research papers analyzing different aspects of the topic. This research suggests that for the most part, the feared consequences have not occurred or have not been due to NAFTA. Researchers testing for a “race to the bottom” did not find evidence for it. Instead, they found that several measures of environmental quality improved during the 1990s and that NAFTA did not seem to influence these measures. Researchers also have not found strong evidence for creation of a “pollution haven” in Mexico. One reason is that businesses have many factors to weigh when considering whether to 6 8command-and-control approach, an agency prohibits certain or sets rules, standards, or limits, and threatens pun9actions, ishment for violations. This simple and direct approach to 0policymaking has brought citizens of the United States and other nations cleaner air, cleaner water, safer workBmany places, healthier neighborhoods, and many other improveUments in quality of life. The relatively safe, healthy, comfortable lives most of us enjoy today owe much to the commandand-control environmental policy of the past few decades. Economic policy tools Despite the successes of command-and-control policy, many people have grown disenchanted with the top-down, sometimes heavy-handed, nature of an approach that dictates particular solutions to problems. As a result, political scientists, economists, and policymakers today are exploring alternative approaches that aim to channel the innovation and economic efficiency of market capitalism in directions that benefit the public. Such economic policy tools use financial incentives to promote desired outcomes, discourage undesired outcomes, and encourage Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 106 8/7/11 5:47 PM H CEC-sponsored researchers also tested hypotheses,that NAFTA might enhance sustainability by facilitating the spread of environmentally J superior technology, products, and approaches amongO nations. Researchers found plenty of examples. Canada S began using the EPA’s Energy Star H banned the program (p. 344). Mexico pesticide DDT. Chemical manufacturU ers set up a transnational program A And the three for reducing hazards. nations began conferring on how private entities competing in a marketplace to innovate and produce new or better solutions at lower cost. Each of these three major approaches has strengths and weaknesses, and each is best suited to different conditions. The approaches may also be used together. For instance, government regulation is often needed to frame market-based efforts, and citizens can use the courts to ensure that regulations are enforced. Let’s now explore several types of economic policy tools. Green taxes discourage unsustainable activities In taxation, money passes from private parties to the government, which reapportions it in services to benefit the public. Taxing undesirable activities helps to “internalize” external costs by making them part of the cost of doing business. Taxes on environmentally harmful activities and products are called green taxes. When a business pays a green tax, it is essentially reimbursing the public for environmental damage it causes. 6 8 Under green taxation, a firm owning a factory that pollutes a waterway would pay taxes on the amount of pollution 9 it discharges—the more pollution the higher the tax payment. 0 This gives firms a financial incentive to reduce pollution while B allowing them the freedom to decide how to do so. One polmight choose to invest in technologies to reduce its polU luter lution if doing so is less costly than paying the taxes. Another Environmental Economics and Environmental Policy relocate, and environmental regulations are merely one of these. Ironically, the one clear case of a pollution haven occurred not in Mexico, but in Canada! Exports of hazardous waste (mostly from steel and chemical factories) from the United States to Canada more than quadrupled soon after NAFTA went into effect. Disposal was cheaper in Canada, with fewer regulations and liability concerns. Canada responded by tightening its regulations. CHAPTER 5 S Maquiladoras in the border areas of Mexico flourished in theM years after NAFTA, employing many people but creating substantial pollution. Perhaps the worst pollution occurred at the site shown here. At this Iabandoned lead recycling plant, Metales y Derivados, the U.S. owner left 6,600 T tons of hazardous waste amid a working-class Tijuana neighborhood. to protect threatened species and habitats. Moreover, consumer demand in the United States and Canada for sustainably produced products helped encourage improvement in Mexico. Many Mexican coffee farmers converted to sustainable plantations, and researchers found that maquiladoras selling products north of the border made more environmental improvements than those selling only in Mexico. However, despite all this, environmental impacts in Mexico grew worse after NAFTA. For instance, air and water pollution from maquiladoras in border areas such as Tijuana increased greatly. Yet, researchers determined that this was due not to a pollution haven or race to the bottom, but to accelerated economic growth in Mexico. Consumption and pollution from economic growth simply outpaced the country’s ability to enhance regulation and environmental protection. Overall, CEC-sponsored research in the years since NAFTA has shown that trade liberalization can lead to environmental improvements, but only if policymakers pay close attention to trends and are ready to make adjustments. Opportunities for creating win-win policies that benefit both trade and environmental quality exist, researchers say, and are ready to be seized. 107 polluter might choose to pay the taxes instead—funds the government might then apply toward mitigating pollution in some other way. Green taxes have yet to gain widespread support in the United States, although similar “sin taxes” on cigarettes and alcohol are tools of U.S. social policy. Taxes on pollution have been widely instituted in Europe, where many nations have adopted the polluter-pays principle, which specifies that the party that pollutes should be held responsible for covering the costs of its impacts. Today there is debate about whether we should implement carbon taxes—taxes on gasoline, coalbased electricity, and fossil-fuel-intensive products—in order to fight climate change (p. 321). Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 107 8/7/11 5:47 PM PROBLEM: Pollution from factory harms people’s health SOLUTIONS: Three policy approaches 1 Sue factory in court seeking damages and/or injunction. FIGURE 5.17  For any given environmental problem, such as pollution from a factory, we may consider three major types of policy approaches: seeking compensation through lawsuits, limiting pollution through command-and-control legislation and regulation, and reducing pollution through market-based or other economic strategies. ➋ ➊ ➌ Green taxation provides incentive for industry to lower emissions not merely to a level specified in a regulation, but to still lower levels. However, green taxes do have drawbacks. One is that businesses will most likely pass on their tax expenses to consumers. Subsidies promote certain activities 108 Another type of economic policy tool is the subsidy, a government giveaway of money or resources that is intended to encourage a particular industry or activity. Subsidies take many forms, and one is the tax break. Relieving the tax burden on an industry, firm, or individual assists it by reducing its expenses. Subsidies can be used to promote environmentally sustainable activities, but all too often they are used to prop up unsustainable ones. In the United States, subsidies for timber extraction (pp. 193–194), grazing (p. 144), and mineral extraction (pp. 241–242) on public lands all benefit private parties while often degrading publicly held resources. Fossil fuel industries have benefited as well. From 2002 to 2008, the U.S. government gave $72 billion of its citizens’ money—$240 per person—to fossil fuel corporations, while spending only $29 billion on renewable energy efforts. About $54 billion of the fossil fuel subsidies were in the form of tax breaks. In total, the world’s governments spend roughly $1.45 trillion each year on subsidies judged to be harmful to the environment and to the economy, according to environmental scientists Norman Myers and Jennifer Kent—an amount larger than the economies of all but five nations. The average U.S. taxpayer pays $2,000 per year in environmentally harmful subsidies, plus $2,000 more through increased prices for goods and through degradation of ecosystem services, Myers and Kent estimate. S M I T H , J O S H U A EPA 2 Government regulation restricts emissions allowed. 3 Market-based approaches: factories that pollute less outcompete polluting factory through permit-trading, avoiding green taxes, collecting subsidies, or selling ecolabeled products. Polluting factory must find ways to cut emissions to survive in marketplace. 6Permit trading can save money 8and produce results 9In the innovative market-based approach known as permit trading, the government creates a market in permits for an 0environmentally harmful activity, and companies, utiliBties, or industries are allowed to buy, sell, or trade rights to the activity. For instance, to decrease emissions of Uconduct air pollutants, a government might grant emissions permits and set up an emissions trading system. In a cap-and-trade emissions trading system, the government first determines the overall amount of pollution it will accept (i.e., it caps the total amount of pollution allowed) and then issues permits to polluters that allow them each to emit a certain fraction of that amount. Polluters may exchange these permits with other polluters, and each year the government may reduce the amount of overall emissions allowed (Figure 14.23, p. 321). Suppose, for example, you are a plant owner with permits to release 10 units of pollution, but you find that you can become more efficient and release only 5 units instead. You then have a surplus of permits, which might be very valuable to some other plant owner who is having trouble reducing pollu- Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition, by Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata. Published by Benjamin Cummings. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. M05_WITH2901_04_SE_C05.indd 108 8/7/11 5:47 PM advocates oppose emissions trading because they view it as giving polluters “a license to pollute.” How do you feel about emissions trading as a means of reducing air pollution? Would you favor command-and-control regulation instead? What advantages and disadvantages do you see in each approach? 16 SO2 emissions (million tons) 14 Emissions after first year of cap-and-trade program Allowances allocated to recent years 12 market failure allows consumers to play the key role. When manufacturers designate on their labels how their products J were grown, harvested, or manufactured, this approach— O called ecolabeling—tells consumers which brands use environmentally benign processes (FIGURE 5.19). By preferentially S buying ecolabeled products, consumers provide businesses a H powerful incentive to switch to more sustainable processes. early example of this was labeling cans of tuna as “dolU One phin-safe,” indicating that the methods used to catch the tuna A avoid the accidental capture of dolphins. Other common examples include labeling recycled paper (p. 387), organic foods (pp. 154–157), and lumber harvested through sustainable for6 estry (pp. 197–199). 8 Market incentives also operate 9 at the local level 0 You may have already taken part in transactions involving fiB nancial incentives as policy tools. Many municipalities charge for waste disposal according to the amount of waste U residents they generate. Other cities place taxes or disposal fees on items 10 8 6 4 2 19 90 19 9 19 5 9 19 6 9 19 7 9 19 8 9 20 9 0 20 0 0 20 1 0 20 2 0 20 3 0 20 4 0 20 5 0 20 6 0 20 7 0 20 8 09 0 Year FIGURE 5.18  Emissions of sulfur dioxide from sources participating in the emissions trading program mandated by the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments have fallen 64% since 1990. As of 2009, emissions throughout the United States had dropped well below the amount allocated in permits (black line). Data from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental Economics and Environmental Policy A License to Pollute? Some environmental S FIGURE 5.19  Ecolabeling gives consumers information on products with low environmental impact and enables consumers to M encourage more sustainable business practices through their purI chasing decisions. Organic juices are just one example of ecolabeled products that have become widely available in the marketplace. T H Ecolabeling empowers consumers , Another strategy that uses the marketplace to counteract CHAPTER 5 tion or who wants to expand production. In such a case, you can sell your extra permits. Doing so generates income for you and meets the needs of the other plant, while the total amount of pollution does not increase. By providing companies an economic incentive to find ways to reduce emissions, permit trading can reduce expenses for both industry and the public relative to a conventional regulatory system. A cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide has been in place in the United States since 1995, established by amendments to the Clean Air Act (p. 283) that mandated lower emissions of this air pollutant, which contributes to acid deposition (pp. 291–294). Since then, sulfur dioxide emissions from sources in the program have declined by 64% (FIGURE 5.18), sulfate deposition has been reduced, and air quality and visibility have improved. The cuts were attained at much less cost than was predicted, with no apparent effect on electricity supply or economic growth. Savings from the permit trading system are estimated at billions of dollars per year, and the EPA calculates that the program’s benefits outweigh its costs by about 40 to 1. Currently, European nations are operating a market in carbon emissions in an effort to address climate change (p. 321). Some U.S. industries take part in carbon trading through the Chicago Climate Exchange, and emissions trading programs are being established by coalitions of U.S. states (p. 321). 109 whose safe disposal is costly, such as tires and motor oil. Still others give rebates to residents who buy water-efficient appliances, because the rebates cost the city less than upgrading its wastewater treatment system. Likewise, power companies sometimes offer discounts to customers who buy high-efficiency lightbulbs and appliances, because doing so is cheaper for the utilities than expanding the generating capacity of their plants. The creative use of economic policy tools is growing at all levels, while command-and-control regulation and legal action in the courts continue to play vital roles in environmental policymaking. As a result, we have a variety of effective policy strategies we can consider as we seek sustainable solutions to our society’s challenges. Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition...
Purchase answer to see full attachment
User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool's honor code & terms of service.

Explanation & Answer

Hello, student! Here you go. Let me know if you need anything else. I didn't include an outline because they are separate questions, but let me know if by any chance you need one. :D

1. Describe the primary differences between subsistence, capitalistic, and centrally planned
economies. Explain how capitalistic and centrally planned economic societies tend to have greater
effects
on
the
environment
than
subsistence
economies.
Subsistence economies focus on the acquisition of goods through an individual's means, be it by
gathering from nature or harvesting on their own. In capitalist economies, goods will be produced
and distributed based on the preferences of the consumers. In centrally planned economies, the
government decides where and how these resources will be used. In both of these models, the
economies are "subsets of the environment and depend crucially upon it for natural resources and
ecosystem services" (Brennan & Withgott, 90). This dependency of the environment will
undoubtedly lead to an incursion into its balance and well-being; these activities come at a cost.
Though, the impact of economic practices will depend on the way that the exploitation is handled.

2. Define renewable and nonrenewable resources in your own words. Give two examples of each
in
your
answer.
Renewable resources are those that can be replenished, like water and trees, which are necessary
resources for the production of various goods that humans consume. Though renewable resources
can be replenished, we often make the mistake of assuming that they can never be exhausted.
However, depending on the rate of exploitation, renewable resources could be completely
depleted; particularly, when they are used up before they have the chance of making up for their
losses. Non-renewable resource are those that cannot be replenished, like fo...


Anonymous
I was having a hard time with this subject, and this was a great help.

Studypool
4.7
Trustpilot
4.5
Sitejabber
4.4

Related Tags