Environmental Economics and Urban Sustainability Notes

Vocabulary flashcards covering environmental economics, emissions calculations, waste management, agriculture, and urban pollution from the lecture notes.

Economic Efficiency

The total gain when all parties are grouped together, evaluated by where the overall gain is the biggest.

Coase Theorem

A theorem stating that a side payment changes who makes or offers the payment but does not change the final outcome; it is considered impractical because of transaction costs and does not go against the free market.

NPME

An emissions-related formula where $N$ stands for City Population, $P$ stands for Probability of a civilian owning a car, $M$ stands for Miles driven per vehicle owner, and $E$ stands for Emissions per mile.

Urban Sprawl

The expansion of cities into urban areas.

Greenhouse Effect

An atmospheric process that reduces the amount of heat able to escape from our atmosphere.

Intrinsic

The true worth of an asset.

Instrumental

How an asset helps you achieve something in the end.

Aquaponics

A food production method that involves growing plants and fish together.

Cultural Pollution

A concept associated with mass media and globalization that is debated as to whether it should be classified as pollution.

Vertical Farming Pros

Advantages of vertical farming, including being unaffected by weather, saving land, and producing fewer emissions by removing the need to drive out of the city to farms.

Vertical Farming Con

The high cost of energy required from using LED light.

Sweden's Waste Allocation

$50\%$ of Sweden's waste is recycled, the other half is converted to energy, and only $1\%$ ends up in landfills (with England paying Sweden to take its waste).

Pre-sorted Garbage Energy Value

The energy equivalence where $3\text{ tons}$ of waste yields $\frac{1}{3}\text{ ton}$ of oil.

Bad Traditional Agriculture

Conventional farming practices that cause environmental harm such as deforestation, erosion, high water use, water pollution, and methane (greenhouse gases).

Drivers of Nuclear Energy Fear

Public apprehension regarding nuclear power caused by incidents such as Chernobyl and the hazards of radioactive waste.

China's Coal-Related Urban Pollution

Pollution in some of the world's most polluted cities driven by rapid coal production, global demand, and illegal mining, worsened because city architecture prevents air dispersal, and managed by shutting down and relocating factories.