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Chapter 10 - The Environment and Development

Terms in this set (22)

Absorptive capacity
The environments ability to absorb emissions, pollutants, and just general human-caused destruction
Biodiversity
Gets destroyed by human activity and its kinda irreplaceable
Biomass fuels
Organic matter used as fuel, including wood and animal dung. Produces more CO2 emissions than coal and can have very negative health impacts. Used a lot by poorer people in development countries. Classified as a renewable resource by the UN
Climate change
a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels

Impacts:
prolonged droughts, expanded desertification
increased severity of storms with heavy flooding and erosion
longer and more severe heat waves
reduced summer river flow and water shortages
decreased grain yields
climate-induced spreading ranges of pests and disease
lost and contaminated groundwater
deteriorated freshwater lakes, coastal fisheries, mangroves, coral reefs
coastal flooding
loss of essential species such as pollinators and soil organisms,
forest and crop fires
Common property resource
A good to which everybody has access, can lead to a Tragedy of the Commons situation where it becomes overused and degraded if not regulated properly
Internalization
process whereby external environmental or other costs are borne by the producers or consumers who generate them, usually through pollution/consumption taxes

Hard to know which prices to change, also very hard to charge fees
Consumer surplus
The area below supply but above the price, representing the gains consumers get for paying a lower price than their willingness-to-pay
Debt-for-nature swap
financial transactions in which a portion of a developing nation's foreign debt is forgiven in exchange for local investments in environmental conservation measures.
Deforestation
Negative effect of development, leads to massive losses for biodiversity and absorptive capacity
Desertification
transformation of a region into dry, barren land w/ little or no capacity to sustain life without an artificial sources of water

In a lot of rural places, poorer people have to use resources in a way to survive but with a negative long-term impact - soil erosion and deforestation
Environmental accounting
incorporation of environmental benefits/costs into the quantitative analysis of economic activities
Environmental capital
This that measure the quality of the environment, like forests, soil quality, etc. that affect environmental accounting
Environmental Kuznets curve
pollution and environmental degradation first increases then falls with higher income

There is also an inequality one of these, but this one here has a bit more empirical evidence behind it
Externality
an unintended effect of something
Free-rider problem
If one country makes an effort to improve something, another can get the benefits without taking the action themselves
Global warming
Its getting hot in here
Pollution tax
Tax designed to help limit emissions, can be part of a cap-and-trade program
Producer surplus
Area above the supply curve and below the price level where producers are selling for more or at their willingness-to-sell
Scarcity rent
premium or additional rent charged for the use of a resource or good that is in fixed or limited supply

Private markets will allocate resources most efficiently - but need perfect property rights 1) universality 2) exclusivity 3) transferability 4) enforceability
Soil erosion
When you degrade the soil
Sustainable development
requires that overall capital assets (physical, human, environmental) not be decreasing
Sustainable net national income (NNI*)
NNI** = GNI - Dm - Dn - R - A => Dm = depreciation of manufactured capital, Dn = environmental capital depreciation, R = expenditure to restore environment, A = expenditure required to avert destruction of environmental capital
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