Chapter Two: The Economy and the Environment

Economy

a collection of technological, legal and social arrangements through which individuals in society seek to increase their material and spiritual well-being

What are the two elementary economic functions pursued by society?

production and distribution

All those activities that determine the quantities of goods and services that are produced and the technological and managerial means by which this production is carried out are called…

production

the way in which goods and services are divided up, or distributed, among the individuals and groups that make up society is called…

distribution

The final utilization of good and services is called…

consumption

Left over waste products from production and consumption are called…

residuals

What field is the study of how nature provides raw materials through economic principles?

Natural Resource Economics

What field focuses on the flow of materials and energy residuals back into the natural environment and the resultant impacts on the natural world?

Environmental Economics

Natural Resource Economics vs Environmental Economics

Natural Resource Economics focuses more on how the economy obtains and uses the resources of nature, while Environmental Economics is focused on how the economy’s waste and residue flows back into nature plus the resultant impacts they have.

List as many Natural Resource Economic subdivision you can. (7)

—Mineral Economics

—Forest Economics

—Marine Economics

—Land Economics

—Energy Economics

—Water Economics

—Agricultural Economics

—living resources such as fisheries and timber

—grow in time according to biological processes

—includes some non-living, for example the sun

renewable resources

What are the aspects of nonrenewable resources?

—there is no process of replenishment

—once used they are gone forever

—examples include petroleum reservoirs and nonenergy mineral deposits.

—surprisingly, some ground water aquifers replenish so slow they are deemed unrenewable.

Sustainability

the connections between the rates of resource use in the present and the quantity of resources available to future generations.

True or False: Sustainability means a resource must remain untouched.

False; sustainability means that rates of use for a resource must be chosen so as to not jeopardize future generations.

What is the ability of the natural system to accept certain pollutants and render them benign or inoffensive.

Assimilative Capacity

What term refers to the quantity of pollutants in the environment?

Ambient Quality

What term broadly refers to the state of the natural environment?

Environmental Quality

Materials and energy left after a product has been produced are called…

production residuals

Materials and energy left after consumers have finished using a product are called…

consumption residuals

What erm describes the process of of returning some or all of the production or consumption residuals to be used again in production or consumption?

recycling duh

What is a pollutant?

A substance, energy form, or action that when introduced into the natural environment, results in damages from a lowering of the ambient quality level.

Effluent

sometimes used to specify water pollutants, but also used interchangeably with with emissions

What is the environmental medium?

Broad dimension of the natural world that collectively constitute the environment, usually classified as land water and air.

What term defines the location at which emissions occur, such as a factory, an automobile, or a leaking landfill?

Source

pollution prevention or source reduction

to reduce the amount of pollution per unit of output produced, especially by shifting to different fuels, and by continuing to reduce the quantities of energy required to produce a unit of final output.

What erm refers to the shift from a primarily manufacturing economy towards services.

Sectoral Shift

What term describes elements of the natural world that contribute to economic output and welfare?

natural capital

What is Green GDP?

Standard GDP minus the loss in natural capital that occurs year to year.

What makes up environmental media?

land, air and water

What is a noncumulative pollutant vs a cumulative pollutant

A pollutant the doesn’t accumulate over time, like noise, while a cumulative pollutant will accumulate in an environment for a long time, like radioactive waste or plastic.

When does a point-source pollutant occur?

when there is a single outfall from which all of the waste is discharged

What constitutes nonpoint-source pollutants?

No single pipe or stack responsible for pollution. Agricultural runoff is a good example.