Chapter 2 Environmental Laws, Economics and Ethics

Overview of Chapter 2 Brief US Environmental History US Environmental Legislation Economics and the Environment Environmental Problems in Central and Eastern Europe Environmental Ethics, Values and Worldviews

Environmental History of the US 1600 1700 1800 1900 Dominated by Frontier Attitude Establishment of Jamestown, VA 1600s - early 1800s = Frontier Attitude Natural Resources (land, timber soil, water) seemed inexhaustible Widespread Environmental Destruction

Environmental History of US 1750 1800 1850 1900 John James Audobon (1785-1851) Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882) 19th century- US Naturalists voiced concerns about natural resources Audobon- painting increased interest in environment Thoreau- naturalist author on simplifying life Marsh- wrote Man and Nature

Environmental History of US 1875 American Forestry Assoc. Formed 1850 1875 1900 1891 General Revision Act 1890 Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks Established General Revision Act (1891) Gave President Authority to establish forest reserves Presidents Harrison, Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt put 17.4 million hectares into reserve Theodore Roosevelt reserved additional 6.5 million hectares by designating 21 new national forests before signing bill preventing further forest reservation put forth by angry congressmen!

Environmental History of US Utilitarian Conservationist Value natural resources (esp. forests) for their usefulness to mankind Theodore Roosevelt Biocentric Preservationist Protect nature because all life deserves respect John Muir (founded Sierra Club) Fought for National Parks

Establishing and Protecting National Parks Congress established the first national park in 1872…YELLOWSTONE A group of explorers reported on it’s geysers, and the beautiful canyon and falls of Yellowstone River John Muir’s naturalist writings helped establish support for Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks in California By 1916, congress voted to establish the National Park Service to allow for better management of our National Parks

Environmental History of US 1925 1950 1900 1935 Creation of Soil Conservation Service 1906 Antiquities Act 1916 National Park Service Created Antiquities Act Allows president to set aside sites of scientific or historical importance (monuments) American Dust Bowl (1930s droughts) Basis for Soil Conservation Service, created by Franklin Roosevelt

Environmental History of US 1900 1925 1950 1975 Aldo Leopold (1886-1948) Wallace Stegner (1909-1993) Rachel Carson (1907-1964) 20th Century Naturalists Leopold- Author (A Sand County Almanac) Stegner- Author (“Wilderness Essay”) see p. 27! Rachel Carson- Author (Silent Spring - 1962) Heightened awareness of DDT and pesticides

Environmental History of US 1900 1925 1950 1975 Aldo Leopold (1886-1948) Wallace Stegner (1909-1993) Rachel Carson (1907-1964) Paul Ehrlich wrote “The Population Bomb” in 1968 describing the unavoidable environmental damage necessary for Earth to support such a huge population…raising public awareness of population issues!

US Environmental Legislation (since 1970) First Earth Day in 1970…millions gather in U.S. in response to growing environmental disasters! Awakened U.S. population to issues of population growth, overuse of resources, pollution, and overall degradation of Earth’s resources! Est. 20 million people demonstrated by planting trees, cleaning roadsides & riverbanks, marching in parades, etc. Since the first Earth Day, MANY environmental laws have been passed and much has been done to clean our air, water, and land!

US Environmental Legislation (since 1970) Environmental Protection Agency Est. 1970 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Cornerstone of Environmental Law Requires Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) for any proposed federal action Ex: highway or dam construction EIS must answer many questions (next slide) Revolutionized environmental protection in US

Environmental Impact Statements

US Environmental Legislation Numerous laws passed since 1970 They address: Clean water Clean air Energy conservation Hazardous waste Pesticides Federal regulation of pollution

Benefits of U.S. Environmental Legislation Since 1970: 23 national parks have been established Soil erosion has been reduced by up to 60% from farmland that has been removed from production Many endangered species are better off now than in 1970 Some have been removed from the endangered species list, such as the California gray whale, bald eagle, American alligator The fate of other species has gotten worse (ivory-billed woodpecker (extinct?), Kemp’s sea turtle)

Effects of Environmental Legislation (According to EPA’s Draft Report on the Environment 2003) Since 1970, 6 air pollutants have dropped by 25% Since 1990 wet sulfate levels decreased 20-30% In 2002 94% of US had healthy drinking water (up from 79% in 1993) As of 2002 846 of 1498 Superfund Sites are cleaned up Fewer streams violate water standards

Drawbacks to Environmental Legislation: Industry has found loopholes in many laws The cost for cleanup far exceeds our willingness and/or ability to pay for it, and industry often finds it cheaper to sue the EPA and fight cleanup Not all environmental trends are positive! Some urban areas like Los Angeles and Houston have seen air quality deteriorate substantially as more cars are put into service!

Economics and the Environment Economics- study of how people use limited resources to satisfy unlimited wants Analytical tools include models

Precepts to study Economics Economics is utilitarian Goods and services have value that can be converted to currency Rational Actor Model Assumes all individuals spend limited resources to maximize individual utilities Ideal economy Resources are allocated efficiently

Economists view of Environmental Problems To an economist, environmental problems arise simply due to inefficiency or externalities Externality = the effect that occurs when the producer of a good or service (the company) does NOT have to pay for all the costs associated with it’s production. Examples: Do you or Poland Spring Water pay for the air pollution associated with the production of the bottle used for your bottle of water? (NO!) Do those who drive pay those who do NOT drive for the toxic air emissions EVERYONE must breathe in as a result? (NO!)

Economists view of Environmental Problems Economists attempt to address externalities by relying upon the idea that we can identify the “optimal amount of pollution”, which is the level of pollution for any process where the cost of having less pollution is offset by the benefits to society of the activity creating the pollution.

Optimum Level of Pollution Economists attempt to address externalities by relying upon the idea that we can identify the “optimal amount of pollution”, which is the level of pollution for any process where the cost of having less pollution is offset by the benefits to society of the activity creating the pollution. To determine the Optimum Level of Pollution, we must identify: Marginal Cost of Pollution- Cost of small additional amount of pollution Marginal Cost of Abatement- Cost of reducing small amount of pollution

Economic Optimum Level of Pollution

Private vs Social Cost of Pollution

Strategies for Pollution Control To deal with the fact that pollution levels are often much higher than what is optimal as a society, several strategies have been developed from an economic standpoint to help lower pollution. Command and Control Solutions Government agency requires limitations to emissions or pollutants, which are often challenged by industry! Sometimes discourages development of low-cost alternatives, may result in job losses, economic “hardships” for certain industries, etc., so economists dislike this

Strategies for Pollution Control Incentive-based approaches Environmental Taxes/ Tradable Permits If taxes are set at correct level private marginal cost of pollution = social cost of pollution Economists like this better Example of incentive-based approach: Cap & Trade of Carbon Emissions Govt. sets “allowable” level of carbon dioxide emissions, those companies who are under can sell the right to pollute up to the allowable level to another company that is over. Benefits of Cap & Trade: eventually may encourage companies to stop paying for pollution and develop better alternatives Drawbacks of Cap & Trade: sometimes allows for status-quo…cap is not set strictly enough to force alternatives, “global corporations” are essentially trading with themselves through all of their subsidiaries!

Effect of Tax on Optimum Pollution

Critiques of Environmental Economics Difficult to assess true costs of environmental pollution and abatement Impacts of pollution on people and nature is uncertain Ecosystem services have no known value Utilitarian economics may not be appropriate Dynamic changes and time are not considered Based only on monetary value – what is monetary value of clean earth?

National Income Accounts National income accounts represent the total income of a nation for a given year, so they are really estimates of national economic performance and are often used in policy decision-making by governments Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Net Domestic Product (NDP) Environment may be overexploited to yield a higher GDP in developing countries EPI (Environmental Performance Index) Assesses a country’s commitment to environmental and resource management

Case Study- Environmental Problems in Eastern Europe Fall of Communist governments revealed large environmental destruction Soil and water poisoned Unidentified leaks in dumping sites Industry with air pollutants causing acid rain Children with chronic asthma, bronchitis, and heart problems

Case Study- Environmental Problems in Eastern Europe Meeting industrial quotas took precedence over environmental concerns Switch from communism to market economies- need to improve environment Will take decades to clean up polluting economics of communism Success varies by country Romania- EPI = 90th Czech Republic- EPI = 4th

Environmental Ethics Field of ethics that considers the moral basis of environmental responsibility Western Worldview Human superiority and dominance over nature Deep Ecology Worldview All species have an equal worth to humans Most people’s ethics fall somewhere in between