BIOLOGY 1500 OUTLINE FOR CHAPTER 17
Environmental economics, politics and worldviews
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Resources (aka capital)
o Anything obtained from the living and nonliving environment to meet
human needs and wants
o Can be natural, human, or manufactured resources
Natural capital
o All the resources that nature provides that can be used to produce
goods and services (and to sustain life, which makes human capital
possible).
o Natural capital=natural resources + natural services
o Examples of natural resources: air, soil, ozone layer, biodiversity,
mountains, forests…etc
o Examples of natural services: air purification, gas balance in air,
nutrient cycling, water purification and catchment, control of soil
erosion, pest control, filtering of hazardous radiation…etc
Human capital
o All of the skills, education, and other abilities that humans use to make
a living-provide labor, innovation, culture, and organization
Manufactured capital
o All of the things people have made that contribute to the production of
goods and services, such as factories and money
In automobile industry, resources used are
o Natural resources
 Metal
 Energy (coal, petroleum)
 Water
 Glass and silicon (sand)
 Plastic (petroleum)
 Rubber
o Human resources
 Skilled labor
 Entrepreneurs
 Investors
Economic systems (supply and demand)
o Are means of
 Using capital
 Deciding which and how many goods and services are
produced
 Allocating goods and services
Economists belong to three schools
o Neoclassical: neglect resource depletion and pollution
o Ecological: primary focus is resource depletion and pollution
o Environmental: natural capital and sustainability are important
Sustainability; seven economic strategies to achieve it
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GDP versus GPI
Eight externalities computed in GPI
Poverty
o Is the inability to meet one’s economic needs
o It contributes to….etc
o Leads to conflicts and instabilities (riots vs food prices)
o Food as an economic system, has inputs and outputs for every step
from production to distribution to consumption
High- versus Low-throughput economy
o High-throughput: high economic growth leads to increased use of
natural resources. Neglects pollution. Some recycling and reuse of
high quality matter and energy
o Low-throughput: reduced inputs and wastes. More recycling and
reuse of low-quality and high-quality matter and energy
Political systems
o Politics is…
o Democracy is…
o Environmental policy…
Principles for environmental policy (list and understand)
o Humility
o Reversibility
o Precaution
o Polluter pays
o Integration
o Public participation
o Human rights
o Environmental justice
Environmental worldviews
o Atomistic (individual-centered)
 Biocentric, aka stewarship (life-centered)
 Resources are unlimited, but should not be wasted, we
should manage earth to support all forms of life
 Anthropocentric, aka planetary management (humancentered)
 Resources are unlimited, we are apart of nature, we
should manage nature for our needs and wants only
o Holistic, aka environmental wisdom (biosphere or ecosystemcentered)
 Resources are limited, should not be wasted. We are
part of nature and depend on it, nature is for all species
Environmental literacy
o Capacity of an individual to act successfully in daily life on a broad
understanding of how people and societies relate to each other and to
natural systems, and how to do it sustainably
o Requires: awareness, knowledge, skills, and attitudes
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o In order to:
 Incorporate appropriate environmental considerations into
daily decisions about consumption, lifestyle, career, and civics
 Engage in individual and collective action
Sustainability Dozen
o For Energy, Food, Water and generally the reduce reuse recycle
Sustainability Principles
o Science-based principles: (belongs under planet and implemented
through profit)
 solar energy
 chemical recycling
 biodiversity
o Social-science principles: (belongs under people and profit)
 Full-cost pricing (economic)
 Responsibility to future generations (ethics)
 Win-win results (politics)