Upgrade to remove ads
Only $2.99/month

Sust Chap 2

Terms in this set (76)

Northwest Forest Plan
Federal program that provided federal aid to retrain timber workers for other careers
frontier attitude
a desire to conquer and exploit nature as quickly as possible held by most Americans in the 1700s and early 1800s
John James Audubon
US naturalist whose paintings inspired widespread public interest in the wildlife of North America
Henry David Thoreau
US naturalist whose writings discussed how people could economize and simplify their lives to live in harmony with nature
George Perkins Marsh
US naturalist whose book 'Man and Nature' recognized the interrelatedness of human and environmental systems
Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt
US Presidents who established forest reserves to protect 17.4 million hectares of forest from logging
Gifford Pinchot
First head of the US Forest Service appointed by President Roosevelt
utilitarian conservationists
a person who values natural resources because of their usefulness for practical purposes but uses them sensibly and carefully; examples are T Roosevelt and G Pinchot
John Muir
US naturalist and writer who founded the Sierra Club, a national conservation organization
biocentric preservationist
a person who believes in protecting nature because all forms of life deserve respect and consideration; example is Muir
Antiquities Act
a law passed by Congress in 1906 which authorized the president to set aside certain sites that had scientific, historical or prehistoric importance as national monuments
Franklin Roosevelt
US President who established the Civilian Conservation Corps which employed 1750,000 men to plant trees, make roads/paths in national parks, etc to protect natural resources
Aldo Leopold
wildlife biologist & environmental visionary who was influential in the conservation movement in the mid to late 20th century (mid to late 1900s)
Wallace Stegner
US writer whose 'Wilderness Essay' created support for passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964
Rachel Carson
Marine biologist who wrote about the interrelationships among living organisms; her writings highlighted the dangers of the use of pesticides
Paul Ehrlich
Ecologist who published 'The Population Bomb' which described the unavoidable environmental damage for the Earth to support a huge population and raised public awareness to the dangers of overpopulation
environmentalist
a person who is concerned with or advocates the protection of the environment
Gaylord Nelson
Wisconsin Senator who inspired Denis Hayes
Denis Hayes
organized the first nationally celebrated Earth Day in 1970 which awakened US environmental consciousness
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
an independent federal agency, created in 1970, that sets and enforces rules and standards that protect the environment and control pollution
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
law that promotes the enhancement of the environment; a key provision requires the federal government to consider the environmental impact of any proposed federal action
environmental impact statement (EIS)
a document that summarizes potential and expected adverse impacts on the environment associated with a project as well as alternatives to the proposed project; typically mandated by law for public and/or private projects
Council on Environmental Quality
Established by NEPA to monitor the required EISs an report directly to the President
Ann Gorsuch
Appointed by Reagan to head the EPA she was
pro-business and not pro-environment
William Rucklehaus
Replaced Gorsuch as head of EPA; he was also the first head of EPA and was pro-environment
Clean Air Act (CAA)
federal law designed to control air pollution on a national level.
cost-benefit anlaysis
examines the economic impact of a regulation; some regulations proposed by EPA require this analysis while others are barred from considering the economic impact
Oliver Houck
believes environmental laws have compliance rates of 50%
economics
study of how people use their limited resources to try to satisfy unlimited wants
Amartya Sen
economist who studied the interactions among the environment, society, health and well-being
rational actor model
in economics, the assumption that all individuals spend their limited resources in a fashion that maximizes their individual utilities
utility
an economic term referring to the benefit that an individual gets from some good or service. Rational actors try to maximize utility
efficiency
in economics, a term to describe multiple individuals getting the greatest amount of goods and services from a limited set of resources
externality
in economics, the effects (usually negative) of a firm that does not have to pay all the costs associated with its production
optimal amount of pollution
the amount of pollution produced by a firm such that the cost of having less pollution is offset by the benefits to society of the activity creating the pollution; when the marginal cost of pollution equals the marginal cost of abatement and the economic system is efficient
marginal cost of pollution
the cost of a small additional amount of pollution
ecosystem services
the benefits provided by ecosystems that contribute to making human life both possible and worth living; examples are clean water and fresh air
marginal cost of abatement
the cost associated with reducing (abating) a small additional amount of pollution
command and control pollution solution
when a government agency requires a particular solution to pollution (vs a market-based solution)
Incentive-based regulations
favored by economists (vs a command and control solution) because they lead to an economically optimum solution
emission charge
an Incentive-based approach for regulating pollution which involves imposing a tax on pollution; if the tax is set correctly, then the private marginal cost of pollution will be equivalent to the societal cost of pollution
tradable permits
also known as marketable waste-discharge permits; allows the holder of a permit to emit a specified amount of pollution; the number of permits is determined by government based on the optimum amount of pollution deemed appropriate and a permit-holder can either generate the permitted amount of pollution or sell the permit
cost-effectiveness analysis
analysis comparing the cost and the outcomes of the alternative means of accomplishing an objective, in order to select the one with the highest effectiveness relative to its cost.
national income accounts
represents the total income of a nation for a year (GDP and NDP); currently they don't include the use and misuse of natural resources and the environment
natural capital
the Earth's resources and processes that sustain living organisms
Environmental Performance Index (EPI)
assesses a country's commitment to environmental and resource management; a method of quantifying and numerically marking the environmental performance of a country's policies.
environmental justice
the right of every citizen, regardless of age, race, gender, social class, or other factor, to adequate protection from environmental hazards
Bazel Convention
treaty developed by the United Nations to restrict the international transport of hazardous waste
Bill McKibben
scholar who described climate change not only as an environmental justice issue but as the greatest social justice issue; argues that climate change has the most inequitable distribution of benefits and risks
ethics
branch of philosophy that is derived through the logical application of human values; helps us determine which forms of conduct are morally acceptable or unacceptable, right or wrong
values
the principles that an individual or society considers important or worthwhile
environmental ethics
a field of applied ethics that considers the moral basis of environmental responsibility and the appropriate extent of this responsibility
worldview
a commonly shared perspective based on a collection of our basic values that helps us make sense of the world, understand our place and purpose in it, and determine right and wrong behaviors
environmental worldview
a worldview that helps us make sense of how the environment works, our place in the environment, and right and wrong environmental behaviors
Western worldview
an understanding of the place in the world based on human superiority and dominance over nature, the unrestricted use of natural resources, and increased economic growth to manage an expanding industrial base; emphasizes the importance of humans
deep ecology worldview
an understanding of our place in the world based on harmony with nature, a spiritual respect for life, and the belief that humans and all other species have an equal worth; views humans as one species among others
Arne Naess
his work formed the basis for the deep ecology worldview
Ted Perry
screenwriter who embraced the deep ecology worldview
Chief Sealth
chief of the Suquamish tribe who refused to embrace President Pierce's offer to buy their land and provide them with a reservation because the Earth does not belong to man (deep ecology worldview)
biocentric
life centered; the deep ecology worldview is biocentric
describe the environmental contributions of George Perkins Marsh
George Perkins Marsh wrote about humans as agents of global environmental change
describe the environmental contributions of Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot
Theodore Roosevelt appointed Gifford Pinchot as the first head of the US Forest Service. Pinchot supported expanding the nation's forest reserves and managing forests scientifically.
describe the environmental contributions of John Muir
The Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks were established, largely in response to the efforts of naturalist John Muir
describe the environmental contributions of Aldo Leopold
In 'A Sand County Almanac' Aldo Leopold wrote about humanity's relationship with nature
describe the environmental contributions of Wallace Stegner
Wallace Stegner helped create support for passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964
describe the environmental contributions of Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson published 'Silent Spring' alerting the public to the dangers of uncontrolled pesticide use
describe the environmental contributions of Paul Ehrlich
Paul Ehrlich wrote 'The Population Bomb' which raised the public's awareness of the dangers of overpopulation
Distinguish between utilitarian conservationists and biocentric preservationists
A utilitarian conservationist is a person who values natural resources because of their usefulness for practical purposes but uses them sensibly and carefully.
A biocentric preservationist is a person who believes in protecting nature because all forms of life deserve respect and consideration
Explain why the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is the cornerstone of US environmental law
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), passed in 1970, stated that the federal government must consider the environmental impact of a proposed federal action, such as financing a highway or constructing a dam. NEPA established the Council on Environmental Quality to monitor required environmental impact statements (EISs) and report directly to the President.
Explain how environmental impact statements (EISs) provide powerful protection of the environment
By requiring EISs that are open to public scrutiny, NEPA initiated serious environmental protection in the US. NEPA allows citizen suits, in which private citizens take violators, whether they are private industries or government-owned facilities, to court for noncompliance.
Explain why economists prefer efficient solutions to environmental problems
Economists assume that individuals behave as rational actors who seek to maximize utility. Groups of individuals behaving according to these assumptions result in economic efficiency, the greatest possible societal benefit. Solutions that are inefficient will spend more on abatement than the pollution costs or will spend less on abatement than pollution reductions are worth
Describe command and control regulation, incentive-based regulation, and cost-effectiveness analysis.
Governments often used command and control regulations, which are pollution-control laws that require specific technologies. Incentive-based regulations are pollution-control laws that work by establishing emission targets and providing industries with incentives to reduce emissions. Cost-effectiveness analysis is an economic tool used to estimate costs associated with achieving some goal, such as saving a life
Give two reasons why the national income accounts are incomplete estimates of national economic performance
National income accounts are a measure of the total income of a nation's goods and services for a given year. An externality is a harmful environmental or social cost that is borne by people not directly involved in buying or selling a product. Currently, national income accounting does not include estimates of externalities such as depletion of natural capital and the environmental cost of economic activities
Define environmental justice and explain why climate change is an environmental justice issue
Environmental justice is the right of every citizen, regardless of age, race, gender, social class, or other factor, to adequate protection from environmental hazards. The primary benefit associated with climate change is energy from fossil fuels, which are available to the world's wealthier people, while the risks of climate change are spread across a much larger group of much poorer people
Define environmental ethics
Environmental ethics is a field of applied ethics that considers the moral basis of environmental responsibility and the appropriate extent of this responsibility. Environmental ethicists consider how humans should relate to the natural environment
Define environmental worldview and discuss distinguishing aspects of the Western and deep ecology worldviews
An environmental worldview is a worldview that helps us make sense of how the environment works, our place in the environment, and right and wrong environmental behaviors. The Western worldview is an understanding of our place in the world based on human superiority and dominance over nature, the unrestricted use of natural resources, and increased economic growth to manage an expanding industrial base. The deep ecology worldview is an understanding of our place in the world based on harmony with nature, a spiritual respect for life, and the belief that humans and all other species have an equal worth.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE...