Chapter 2

Chapter Overview

  • Ethics, Economics, and Policy - Importance of values in decision-making.

  • Author: Dr. Megan Hill, University of Connecticut, EVST 1000.

Chapter Outline

  • 2.1 How Does Ethics Influence Our Decisions?

  • 2.2 How Are the Environment and Economy Connected?

  • 2.3 How Can Economics Help Us Understand Environmental Problems?

  • 2.4 Why Do We Have Environmental Policy?

  • 2.5 What Can I Do?

Chapter Objectives

  • Define ethics and its application.

  • Understand supply and demand in economics.

  • Describe the relationship between efficiency and consumption.

  • Recognize market failures in accounting for environmental costs/benefits.

  • Explore the impact of policies on behavior and environmental effects.

  • Identify daily decisions influenced by ethics, economics, and policies.

Environmental Decision-Making (Page 4)

  • Address complexity in environmental protection recommendations.

  • Consideration of ethics, economics, and policy at local and global levels.

  • Need to identify affected parties and responsible entities in environmental issues.

  • Global pollution complicates decision-making due to varying capacities.

Case Study: Deepwater Horizon (Page 5)

  • British Petroleum's gross negligence leading to the oil spill in 2010.

  • Resulted in significant costs: loss of life, economic fallout, government moratorium on offshore drilling.

Ethics Influence in Decisions (Page 6)

  • Personal Ethics: Guidelines for distinguishing right from wrong.

  • Ethical judgments based on personal beliefs/values.

  • Example: FDA's BPA report sparked consumer shifts towards BPA-free products leading to a ban.

Duties and Rights (Page 7)

  • Parental responsibility to care for children vs. children’s rights to care.

  • Deontological Ethics: Focus on duties and rights as a basis for ethical decisions.

  • Intrinsic Value: Worth of something is inherent and guides ethical evaluations.

Global Ethical Frameworks (Page 8)

  • Earth Charter (2000) by the UN emphasizes global environmental responsibilities.

  • Framework for protecting Earth's ecological systems.

Utilitarianism and Ethical Decision Making (Page 9-10)

  • Governments face dilemmas in decisions, such as impacts of hydroelectric dams.

  • Utilitarianism: Measures the rightness of actions based on outcomes for the majority.

  • Importance of calculating benefits vs. harms for affected populations.

Ethical Boundaries in Environmental Concerns (Page 11-12)

  • Anthropocentrism: Ethical focus solely on human interests.

  • Biocentrism: Ethics that include interests of all living things (advocated by animal rights groups).

  • Ecocentrism: Comprehensive approach considering all elements of ecosystems (supported by Aldo Leopold).

Connection between Environment and Economy (Page 13-14)

  • Economic transactions create a connection to resources and labor involved in production.

  • Supply and Demand: Key economic concepts influencing market dynamics.

  • Oil prices affected by varying levels of supply and consumer demand.

Market Dynamics (Page 15)

  • Market: The system for the exchange of goods between buyers and sellers.

  • Adam Smith's 'invisible hand' illustrates the ideal functioning of markets.

  • Scarcity leading to rising prices in a market economy.

Jevons Paradox (Page 16)

  • Efficiency Gains: Can lead to increased consumption due to lower costs of resources.

  • Recognizes complexity of resource management influenced by production efficiency.

Economics and Environmental Problems (Page 17)

  • Economists may overlook externalities in assessing goods/services costs.

  • An example includes health costs from pollution linked to coal extraction.

Tragedy of the Commons (Page 18)

  • Overexploitation of common resources due to individual short-term interests.

  • Long-term degradation results from lack of coordinated user action.

Government Responses to Externalities (Page 19)

  • Regulatory measures like limits, taxes can address negative externalities.

  • Implementation of pollution control devices in coal power plants (1990s).

  • Cap and Trade System: Establishes limits on emissions allowing trade among companies.

Ecosystem Services and Positive Externalities (Page 20-21)

  • Ecosystems provide benefits like clean air/water, often underproduced in markets.

  • Public Goods: Non-excludable resources provided by government (e.g., parks).

Environmental Policy Importance (Page 22)

  • Government policies influence personal transportation choices affecting environment.

  • Policies have overarching impacts on citizen behavior (e.g., safety standards).

Policy Definition and Process (Page 23)

  • Policy: Authoritative decisions guiding behavior in areas such as environmental protection.

  • Political processes influence the creation and enforcement of policies governing behavior.

Historical Context of Environmental Policy in the US (Page 24-25)

  • Policies target pollution regulation and natural resource management, rooted in conservation history.

  • Formation of agencies like the National Park Service established to protect public lands.

State and Local Policies (Page 26)

  • States enforce federal environmental standards but often have stricter regulations.

  • High impact of state/local elections on environmental outcomes.

Global Environmental Challenges (Page 27-28)

  • Cross-border environmental issues, collaboration via IGOs (e.g., UN).

  • Restoring global cooperation to tackle environmental crises.

Individual Action for Environmental Health (Page 29-30)

  • Exercise economic power by choosing environmentally friendly products.

  • Engage in advocacy: boycotts, supporting policies, running for office.

  • Use resources like Good-Guide to inform purchasing decisions and legislative advocacy.