Page 178 - Environment: The Science Behind the Stories

Testing your Comprehension

1. What does the study of ethics encompass? Describe and 6. Describe the ways in which a nation’s attitude toward
differentiate instrumental value and intrinsic value. What environmental issues might be shaped by economics.
is environmental ethics? 7. Briefly, weigh the Cornucopian and Cassandran eco-
2. Compare and contrast anthropocentrism, biocentrism, nomic positions in relation to their environmental views.
and ecocentrism. Explain how individuals with each per- 8. Compare and contrast the views of neoclassical econo-
spective might evaluate the development of a shopping mists, environmental economists, and ecological econ-
mall atop a wetland in your town or city. omists, particularly regarding the issue of economic
3. Differentiate the preservation ethic from the conservation growth.
ethic. Explain the contributions of John Muir and Gifford 9. What is contingent valuation, and what is one of its weak-
Pinchot in the history of environmental ethics. nesses? Describe an alternative method that avoids this
4. Describe Aldo Leopold’s land ethic. How did Leopold weakness.
define the “community” to which ethical standards should 10. How can sustainable development be defined? What is
be applied? meant by the triple bottom line? Why is it important to
5. Define the concept of environmental justice. Give an pursue sustainable development?
example of an inequity relevant to environmental justice
that you believe exists in your city, state, or country.

Seeking Solutions

1. Describe your worldview as it pertains to your relation- all the types of information you would want to consider
ship with your environment. How do you think your cul- before making your decision. Now, describe what you
ture has influenced your worldview? How do you think think each of the following people would recommend to
your personal experience has affected it? How do you you if you were to go to them for advice:
think your worldview shapes your decisions? Do you feel • a preservationist
that you fit into any particular category discussed in this • a conservationist
chapter? Why or why not?
• a neoclassical economist
2. Visit the U.S. EPA’s online tool for assessing environ- • an ecological economist
mental justice concerns, at http://epamap14.epa.gov/
ejmap/entry.html, and enter your city, county, or zip code. 6. THInK IT THRoUGH A manufacturing facility on a river
On the map page, check the six types of “Sites reporting near your home provides jobs for 200 people in your
to EPA” in the list of features on the right, and let it plot community of 10,000 people, and it pays $2 million in
these on the map. Now click on “Demographics.” Apply taxes to the local government each year. Sales taxes from
various demographic layers one by one, including at least purchases made by plant employees and their families
“Per Capita Income,” “Below Poverty (%),” and “Minority contribute an additional $1 million to local government
(%).” The site will map these parameters and show how coffers. However, newspaper reports and recent peer- CHAPTER 6 • Ethi C s, E C ono mi C s, A nd s ustA in A bl E dE v E lopm E nt
the EPA-regulated facilities are located relative to them. reviewed studies in well-respected scientific journals
What patterns do you see? Where are most facilities reveal that the plant has been discharging large amounts
located, relative to wealth, race, and other factors? What of waste into the river, causing a 25% increase in cancer
do you think accounts for the patterns you find? Do you rates, a 30% reduction in riverfront property values, and a
perceive any problems revealed by these data? What 75% decrease in native fish populations.
could be done to alleviate such problems? The plant owner says the facility can stay in business
only because there are no regulations mandating expensive
3. Do you think that a steady-state economy is a practical treatment of waste from the plant. If such regulations were
alternative to our current approach that prioritizes eco- imposed, he says he would close the plant, lay off its employ-
nomic growth? Why or why not?
ees, and relocate to a more business-friendly community.
4. Do you think we should attempt to quantify and assign How would you recommend resolving this situation?
market values to ecosystem services and other entities What further information would you want to know before
that have only nonmarket values? Why or why not? making a recommendation? In arriving at your recom-
5. Suppose you are a Costa Rican farmer who needs to decide mendation, how did you weigh the costs and benefits
whether to clear a stand of forest or apply to receive pay- associated with each of the plant’s impacts?
ments to preserve it through the PSA program. Describe 177

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