Environmental Laws, Economics, and Ethics

1
Environmental Laws, Economics, and Ethics
Chapter 2
2
Environmental History of U.S.
1800
1700
1900
1600
3
Environmental History of U.S.
1800
1900
1750
Some conservationists were influential in raising
environmental concerns later in this period.
4
Environmental History of U.S.
1900
1950
1850
Several presidents, particularly Theodore
Roosevelt, used this Act to establish 43 million
acres of forest reserves.
5
Environmental History of U.S.
1900
1950
1850
Different worldviews
6
Environmental History of U.S.
1950
2000
1900
7
Environmental History of U.S.
1950
2000
1900
8
Environmental History of U.S.
1950
2000
1900
9
U.S. Environmental Legislation

• National Environmental Policy Act 1969
• dictates ALL federally proposed actions draft an
  environmental impact statement.

10
U.S. Environmental Legislation

• Addressing New Environmental Problems with
  Government Policies

Problem identified
Regulations implemented / enforced by states
(usually)
11
U.S. Environmental Legislation

• Many environmental laws have been passed
• Clean Air Act (1970) (Amended in 1990)
• Clean Water Act (1972)
• Marine Mammal Protection Act (1972)
• Endangered Species Act (1973)
• Energy Policy and Conservation Act (1975)
• Federal Land Policy and Management Act (1976)
• National Forest Management Act (1976)
• Toxic Substances Control Act (1976)
• Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act (1977)
• Medical Waste Tracking Act
• Food Quality Protection Act (1996)
• Farm Security and Rural Investment Act (2002)

12
U.S. Environmental Legislation

• What has been their effect since 1970?

• 8 National Parks, National Wilderness
  Preservation System

• Substantial soil erosion reduction

• Many endangered species fairing better

• Emissions of many pollutants reduced

13
Economics and the Environment
White environment, Pink economy
14
Economics and the Environment

• National Income Accounts total income of a
  nation for a given year
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
• Net Domestic Product (NDP)
• NDP GDP - (depreciation capital expenses)

15
Economics and the Environment

• National Income Accounts
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
• Net Domestic Product (NDP)
• NDP GDP - depreciation / capital expenses

External costs rarely considered
16
External and Internal costs

• Internal cost cost of producing the goods or
  services (raw materials, labor, etc.)
• External cost additional cost due to
  environmental degradation, effects on public
  health, loss of biodiversity, etc.
• Marginal cost additional cost associated with
  one or more unit of something.

17
Economics and the Environment
An Economists perspective

• Marginal cost of pollution (what pollution adds
  to the cost of a unit)

18
Economics and the Environment

• Marginal cost of pollution abatement

19
Economics and the Environment

• Cost-Benefit Analysis

20
Economics and the Environment

• Cost-Benefit Analysis note it is easier to
  partially clean up a heavily polluted area than
  to clean up a lightly polluted area more
  completely

21
Economics and the Environment

• Common problems with economic analyses
• 1) Reduction in quality of life and natural
  beauty difficult to assess. What price can you
  put on clean air? Clean water?
  Biodiversity?Public health?

2) Fails to consider unexpected catastrophic
environmental damage. With global warming, human
footprints exceeding capacity of earth, many
species fished out in the ocean, this may be a
concern in the very near future
22
Economics and the Environment

• Economic strategies for pollution control

1) Command and control regulations central
government controls pollutions emissions. Gets
the job done, but may sometimes be expensive.
(Catalytic converters on cars, unleaded gasoline)
2) Incentive-based regulation market strategy
whereby companies/individuals rewarded for
reducing pollution. May take a long time, but
can be effective if not seen as a tax on
something formerly free. Example green
taxes to impose fines on companies polluting the
air.
23
Environmental Ethics, Values, and Worldviews

• Environmental Ethics
• List your moral values concerning the
  stewardship of natural resources.
• Where would you place yourself along this
  spectrum of worldviews?