GEOG 101: Day 22
Environmental Ethics and Economics: Values and
Choices (read Chapter 21 – very important!)
Housekeeping Items
 We’re going to have to go light on
environmental policy this week in order to
cover environmental ethics and social change
adequately, but read both Chapters 21 and
22.
 I’ll give a few assignments back today.
Remember that the environmental education
reflection pieces are due on April 9th at the
latest.
 Apparently, Earth Hour was
year – down from kilowatts
and saved in 2013. The top
were Whistler, ….. Nanaimo
a flop in BC this
saved in 2012
five communities
was
Upon successfully completing this chapter
(21), you will be able to
 Characterize the influences of culture and world
view on the choices people make
 Outline the nature, evolution, and expansion of
environmental ethics in Western cultures
 Describe some basic precepts of economic theory
and summarize their implications for the
environment
 Compare the concepts of economic growth,
economic health, and sustainability
 Explain the fundamentals of environmental
economics,
ecological economics, and natural
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accounting
Culture, World View, And The Environment
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Culture, world view, and the
environment
• Environmental issues often highlight trade-offs
between conflicting economic benefits and
social or ethical concerns
• Both disciplines – ecology and economics –
deal with what we value
• Our values affect our environmental decisions
and actions
• In our culture, economic objectives usually
trump ecological or social objectives. Any
examples or counter-examples? First Nations?
Africa?
Gibson’s Landing?
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Culture and world view influence our
perception of the environment
Our relationship with the environment depends on
assessments of costs and benefits, some of which
in turn can be influenced by denial, resistance,
discounting, fear, and cognitive dissonance.
Culture and worldview also affects this relationship
 Culture = knowledge, beliefs, values, and
learned ways of life shared by a group of people
(examples?)
 World view = a person’s or group’s beliefs about
the meaning, purpose, operation, and essence of
the world
Culture and worldview affect our perception of the
environment and environmental problems. Examples?
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Many factors shape our world views and
perception of the environment
(examples?)
Religion
Communities
Political ideology
Economics
Individual interests
Vested interest = an individual with
strong interests in the outcome of a
decision that results in gain or loss for
that individual
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What examples come out in your media
analyses and what conflicting values are
at play?
 I did a paper with a friend of mine who has been
active in securing protection for Echo Heights in
Chemainus (91% has now been protected). The
focus was the different lenses through which people
see land:
 Commodity
 Resource
 Environment
 Ecosystem
 Heritage/ homeland
 Bioregion
weighing
issues
the
Mining in Mecca…?
Suppose a mining company discovered uranium
near the Sacred Mosque at Mecca—or the site
in Bethlehem believed to be the birthplace of
Jesus or the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.
 What do you think would happen if the
company announced plans to develop a mine
close to one of these sacred locations, assuring
the public that environmental impacts would be
minimal and that the mine would create jobs
and stimulate economic growth?
 Also: why, in contrast with Europe and other
parts of the world, is beauty valued so little in
relation to commercial values in North
America? Why are ecosystems valued so little?
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Take Your Pick…
There are many ways to understand
the environment
 Scientific knowledge
 Traditional or indigenous ecological
knowledge = the intimate knowledge of a
particular environment possessed and passed
along by those who have inhabited an area for
many generations (e.g. Mirrar Clan in
Australia vs. a second uranium mine)
 Medicinal properties of local plants
 Migration habits of local animals
 Geographic and microclimatic variations
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For more information, see The Earth’s Blanket by Nancy Turner.
Environmental Ethics
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Environmental ethics
 Ethics = the study of good and bad, right and
wrong
 Relativists = ethics varies with (social) context
 Universalists = right and wrong remains the
same across cultures and situations
 What would be an example of each perspective?
 Ethical standards = criteria that help
differentiate right from wrong
 The golden rule
 Utilitarian principle = something is right that
produces the most benefits for the most
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people (Jeremy Bentham)
weighing
issues
the
The Atlantic seal hunt
No environmental issue identified with Canada is
more emotionally charged than the Atlantic seal
hunt. Each year environmentalists and animal
activists mobilize to try to stop the hunt, arguing
that too many seals are killed and that the
methods used are inhumane.
The hunters and supporters counter that they are
continuing a way of life that has been practiced
by Aboriginal people for at least 4000 years (and
also Newfoundlanders and others), that it is their
right to practice their traditional ways, and that
the hunt is vital for the economic well-being and
survival of their communities.
 What do you think?
 Who should decide which of these sets of
values—animal rights or Aboriginal selfdetermination—should take precedence in this
case?
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Tanya Tagaq’s controversial “sealfie”
Environmental ethics pertains to humans
and the environment
 Environmental ethics = application of ethical standards to
relationships between human and non-human entities
Should we conserve
resources for future
generations?
Is is OK to destroy a
forest to create jobs
for people?
Are humans justified
in driving other
species to extinction?
Is it OK for some communities to
be exposed to excess pollution?
Only two nations have enshrined the rights of ecosystems
21-16 their legal systems: Bolivia and Ecuador.
into
We have started to extend ethical consideration to non-human entities (examples?)
 Why have we expanded our ethical concerns?
 Economic prosperity: more leisure time, less
anxieties
 Science: interconnection of all organisms
 Non-western cultures often have broader ethical
domains (e.g. First Nations, Hindus, Jains, and
Buddhists, etc.)
 Three perspectives in Western ethics
 Anthropocentrism = only humans have rights
 Biocentrism = certain living things also have value
 Ecocentrism = whole ecological systems have
value
What are some of the sources of anthropocentrism?
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Environmental ethics has ancient roots
People have questioned our relationship with
the environment for centuries
• Environment as sacred:
• Aboriginal oral traditions
• Jain Dharma (Compassion for all life)
• Anthropocentric view or stewardship over
nature?
• Christianity, Judaism, and Islam
• The Industrial Revolution intensified debate
about our relationship with the environment,
with the Romantic Revolution seeking to reestablish the value of nature. It was felt that
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contact with nature refreshed and ennobled
people.
•
The Industrial Revolution inspired
environmental philosophers and other
commentators
•
As long ago as George Perkins Marsh (author
of Man and Nature, 1864), authors began to
write about the environmental crisis.
•
Transcendentalism = viewed nature as a
direct manifestation of the divine
-
Ralph Waldo Emerson
-
Henry Thoreau
-
Walt Whitman
-
John Muir, and others
 Modern environmentalism, at least some
strands, has built on these traditions.
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Conservation and preservation arose at
the start of the twentieth century
 John Muir (right,
with President
Roosevelt at
Yosemite National
Park) had an ecocentric viewpoint
and founded the
Sierra Club.
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Conservation and preservation arose at the
start of the twentieth century (cont’d)
 Preservation ethic = holds that we should
protect the natural environment in a pristine,
unaltered state
 James Bernard Harkin was the first
commissioner of Dominion Parks
(eventually Parks Canada)
 Conservation ethic = holds that humans
should put natural resources to use but also
that we have a responsibility to manage them
wisely
 Clifford Sifton was the first chairman of the
Commission for the Conservation of
21-22 Natural Resources
The land ethic and deep ecology enlarged
the boundaries of the ethical community
• Aldo Leopold – “The Land Ethic” in 1949
 humans should view themselves and “the
land” as members of the same community
 People are obligated to treat the land in an
ethical manner based on mutual respect
• Deep ecology = humans are inseparable from
nature

Since all living things have equal value, they
should be protected
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Ecofeminism recognizes connections between
the oppression of nature and women
• Ecofeminism = the patriarchal structure of society is
the root cause of both social and environmental
problems
-
A world view traditionally associated with women
(interrelationships and cooperation) is more
compatible with nature than that associated with men
(hierarchies and competition)
Ecofeminists note that women have also been
traditionally associated with nature (e.g. Mother
Nature, and the naming of hurricanes until relatively
recently). God has, in the Abrahamic tradition, always
21-24been seen as male.
-
Ecofeminists in Practice
Chipko or ‘treehugger’ movement in India
Waangari Mathhai, founder of the ‘Green
Belt’ movement in Kenya
Environmental justice seeks equitable
access to resources and protection from
environmental degradation
• Environmental justice = based on the principle that all
people have the right:
-
To live and work in a clean, healthy environment
To receive protection from the risks and impacts of
environmental degradation
-
To be compensated for having suffered such impacts
-
To have equitable access to environmental resources
-
A good example is the campaign, led by Majora Carter, to
create a “Sustainable South Bronx” – see
http://www.ted.com/talks/majora_carter_s_tale_of_urban
_renewal?language=en
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Majora Carter
Regarding
environmental
racism, see:
http://www.toler
ance.org/sites/de
fault/files/genera
l/air%20pollution
%20map.pdf
Economics: Approaches and environmental
implications
•
Conflict between ethical and economic motivations is a recurrent theme in environmental issues
•
Environmental protection is seen as working in
opposition to economic progress, hence Harper’s
neutering of environmental protection legislation
•
Arguments are made that environmental
protection costs too much money, interferes with
growth, and leads to job loss (short-term view)
•
Environmental protection can be good for the
economy both in terms of creating ‘green’ jobs,
and in preserving needed resources (long-term
view). As the organization Earth First! used to
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say, “there are no jobs on a dead planet!”
Economics studies the allocation of
scarce resources
•
Economics = the study of how people
decide to use scarce resources to provide
goods and services in the face of demand
for them
•
Most environmental and economic issues
are linked, including through the process
you have studied with the LCAs –
throughput: the transformation of raw
materials into products, waste, and
pollution.
•
Root “oikos” (household) gave rise to both
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ecology and economics
Environment and economy are intricately
linked
 Economies receive inputs from
the environment, process them
in complex ways
 Open system = economies are
open systems integrated with
the larger environmental
system of which they are part
of
 Closed system = earth is a
closed system, the material
inputs Earth can provide are
finite and so is the wasteabsorbing capacity
biosphere
economy
biosphere
“Over-full
world”
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i.e. cyclical not linear
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but “throughput” is linear
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Environment and economy are intricately
linked (cont’d)
o Ecosystem services = essential services support the life
that makes economic activities possible and yet we put no
price on them
 Soil formation
 Pollination
 Water purification
 Nutrient cycling
 Climate regulation
 Waste treatment
o These services have only recently become widely
recognized, and still don’t have dollar values put on them.
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Aspects of neoclassical economics have
profound implications for the environment
 Assumptions of neoclassical economics:
Resources are infinite or substitutable
Costs and benefits are internal to the
production and consumption process
(not!) – producers and consumers don’t
pay for many of these “externalities”
Long-term effects are discounted – i.e. “a
bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
Growth is good and necessary!
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Aspects of neoclassical economics have
profound implications for the environment
(cont’d)
 Assumption: Resources are infinite
 Economic models treat resources as
substitutable and interchangeable
 A replacement resource will be found
But, Earth’s resources are limited
Nonrenewable resources, by definition,
are depleted
Renewable resources can also be depleted
if not managed properly
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Moreover, some ‘resources,’ such as
biodiversity, clean air and water, and a
stable climate cannot be substituted for.
Aspects of neoclassical economics have
profound implications for the environment
(cont’d)
 Assumptions: Long-term effects should be discounted
 A future event counts less than a present one
 Discounting = short-term costs and benefits
are more important than long-term costs and
benefits
 Policymakers ignore long term consequences
of our actions
Economic growth is necessary to maintain
employment and social order
Promoting economic growth creates
opportunities for poor to become wealthier
Progress is measured by economic growth
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Aspects of neoclassical economics have
profound implications for the
environment (cont’d)
 Assumption: Costs and benefits are internal
 Costs and benefits are experienced by the buyer and seller
alone
 Do not affect other members of the society or other
species or ecosystems
 Pricing ignores social, environmental or economic costs
 Externalities = costs or benefits involving people other
than the buyer or seller
 External costs = cost borne by someone not involved in a
transaction
 Human health problems
 Resource depletion
 Hard to account for and eliminate
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Is the growth paradigm good for us?
 More and bigger is better
 The dramatic rise in per-person consumption
has severe environmental consequences
 Critics fear that economic growth will destroy
the ecological system on which we all depend
ECOSPHERE
ECONOMY
21-38
As Ban Ki-moon says,
“There is no Plan B
because there is no
Planet B.”
Economists disagree on whether
economic growth is sustainable
 Are endless improvements in technology
possible?
 Ecological economists argue that
civilizations do not overcome their
environmental limitations in the long run
 Could we continue this activity forever
and be happy with the outcome?
 Environmental economists argue that
economies are unsustainable if population
growth is not reduced and resource use is
not made more efficient
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Economists disagree on whether
economic growth is sustainable (cont’d)
• Steady-state economy = economies that
do not grow and do not shrink but rather
are stable and mirror natural ecological
systems
• Will not evolve on its own from a capitalist
market system
• Critics assume that an end to growth
means an end to a rising quality of life; is
this necessarily true?
• Requires reforms
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We can measure economic progress
differently
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) = total
monetary value of final goods and
services produced



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Does not account for non-market
values
Not necessarily measure desirable
economic activity
A large oil spill would increase GDP, as
would people dying of cancer from
smoking or poor diets.
We can measure economic progress
differently (cont’d)
GPI: An alternative to the GDP
Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) =
differentiates between desirable and
undesirable economic activity
Positive contributions (i.e. volunteer
work) not paid for with money are
added to economic activity
Negative impacts (crime, pollution)
are subtracted
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21-43
Although GDP of Alberta has increased, GPI shows a decline
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Other Alternatives to GDP
 The Kingdom of Bhutan a number of years
ago adopted what they called “Gross
National Happiness,” in which every national
decision was supposed to be based on
making people better off.
 The New Economics Foundation has created
the “Happy Planet Index” to measure how
happy people in different countries relative
to their ecological footprint.
 The UN also has the Gender Empowerment
Index (GEI) and the Human Development
Index, based on life expectancy, education
levels, and gross national income per
capita.
We can give ecosystem goods and
services monetary values
 Economies receive from the environment vital
resources and ecosystem services
 Ecosystem services are said to have nonmarket
values, values not usually included in the price of
a good or service
 Existence values
 Option values
 Aesthetic values
 Scientific values
 Educational values
 Cultural values
 Use values
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Markets can fail
 Market failure occurs when markets do not
account for:
 the environment’s positive effects on economies
 the negative effects of economic activity on the
environment or people
 Government intervention counters market failure
 Laws and regulations
 Green taxes = penalize harmful activities
 Economic incentives to promote conservation
and sustainability
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Corporations are responding to
sustinability concerns
 Industries, businesses, and
corporations can make
money by “greening” their
operations
 Corporate sustainability has
gone mainstream
 Be careful of greenwashing, where consumers
are misled into thinking
companies are acting
sustainably
 Examples
from the LCAs?
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Conclusion
 Corporate responsibility, alternative ways of
measuring growth, and the valuation of
ecosystem goods and services offer different, but
potentially complementary, economic approaches
to environmental protection
 Environmental ethics has expanded people’s
ethical consideration
 Distributional equity = equal treatment for all
 True income is sustainable income
 If economic welfare can be enhanced in the
absence of growth, economies and
environmental
quality can benefit from one
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another