Eus Midterm

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Abiotic

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A non living component of an ecosystem, e.g., sunlight

devoid of life, sterile

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Agenda 21

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Action program for the 21st century, adopted at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit by 182 States. It aims to bring together the various components of balanced development within a triple objective: economic development, social equity and resource conservation. It can be applied at the global or local level, to a private company or a local authority, generally under the impetus of a local elected official, drawn up and implemented after consultation with the parties concerned: citizens, associations, economic stakeholders, etc.

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Anthropogenic

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Produced by human activity

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Anthropocentrism

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A way of thinking of the natural world as a resource to be exploited for human purposes; the fate of the environment as separate from the fate of humans; humans as rational while the environment is viewed as wield and in need of being brought under rational control—or replaced by an artificial environment created by scientific and technological experts; a key feature of Western thinking that can be traced back to the Book of Genesis.

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Biodiversity responsibility

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The amount of biologically productive area a nation would need to set aside in order for global biodiversity to be maintained. A figure of 12% is generally accepted as the minimum requirement.

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Biodiversity

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The variety of life in all its forms, levels and combinations. Includes ecosystem diversity, species diversity, and genetic diversity (World Conservation Union according to Rees et al 1996). Biodiversity is vital to the integrity of the global ecosystem, which is humanity’s life support system.

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Biofuel

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A fuel produced from dry organic matter or combustible oils produced by plants. Examples of biofuel include alcohol (from fermented sugar), bio diesel from vegetable oil and wood.

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Biological capacity

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The total annual biological production capacity of a given biologically productive area.

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Biological productivity

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: A measurement of biological production of a given area over a given time period. A typical indicator of biological productivity is the annual biomass accumulation of an ecosystem.

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Biologically productive area:

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The land and water area that is biologically productive

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Biomass

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The total mass of all living organisms within a biological community.

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Biosphere

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The part of the earth and its atmosphere in which living organisms exist or that is capable of supporting life

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Biotic

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The living components of an ecosystem

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Cap and Trade

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: A flexible environmental regulation mechanism that sets an overall limit on the emission of a certain pollutant, but allows companies that can easily reduce emissions to sell credits to other companies for which such reduction would be difficult. The cap ensures that emissions will not exceed a desired amount. (Daly& Farley 2004)

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Carbon dioxide

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(CO2) A greenhouse gas produced through respiration and the decomposition of organic substances. Combustion of fossil fuels is primarily responsible for increased atmospheric concentrations of this gas.

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Carbon footprint

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A representation of the effect human activities have on the climate in terms of the total amount of greenhouse gases produced (measured in units of carbon dioxide)

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Carbon sequestration

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Refers to the process by which atmospheric carbon is absorbed in to carbon sinks such as the oceans, forests and soil

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Carrying capacity

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The total population an area is able to support given the quality of the natural environment and the prevailing technology available

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Commons

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The commons are resources that are collectively owned. See Tragedy of the Commons.

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Consumption

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All the goods and services used by households

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Cultural capital

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efers to the extent to which individuals have absorbed the dominant culture. Associated with Pierre Bourdieu, who claimed that the greater degree of cultural capital individuals possessed (the more absorbed they were in the dominant culture), the more successful they would be in the educational system. (Bilton 1996)

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Ecological deficit

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The amount by which the ecological footprint of a country or region exceeds the biological capacity of the space available

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Ecological economics

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The union of economics and ecology, with the economy conceived as a subsystem of the earth ecosystem that is sustained by a metabolic flow or “throughput” from and back to the larger system. See “throughput.” (Daly& Farley 2004). Steady-state economy is the core facet of ecological economics.

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Ecological footprint

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A concept developed by Wackernagel and Rees (Reader, p. 279), is based on the idea of carrying capacity, and looks at the area of land and water required to support a defined economy or human population at a specified standard of living. It grapples with the question of the “global commons.” The commons are resources that are collectively owned, and are often referred to in policy-making as “Public Goods.”

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Economics

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The branch of social science that deals with the production and distribution and consumption of goods and services and their management (Princeton University ftp://clarity.princeton.edu/pub/wordnet/wn1.6unix.tar.gz). Eco in both ecology and economics is derived from the Greek word for house.

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Ecosystem

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The system of interactions between living organisms and their environment

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Ecosystem services

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The multifold ways the natural environment contributes to the human economy. These include air and water purification, agricultural pollination, nutrient cycling, soil enrichment, climate stabilization, medicinal products and drought mitigation; collectively, their global value has been estimated at $33 trillion per year. See http://www.uvm.edu/giee/publications/Nature_Paper.pdf for more information. Local examples are pollination by insects, and water purification and flood prevention by woods and wetlands. A global example of ecosystem services is vegetation for oxygen production and for controlling the planet’s climate. (Daly& Farley 2004). These benefits of natural resources as systems are distinct from extracted resources such as copper, lumber, oil and water.

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Environmental Economics

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The branch of neoclassical economics that addresses environmental problems such as pollution, negative externalities, and valuation of nonmarket environmental services. In general, environmental economics focuses almost exclusively on efficient allocation and accepts the assumption of neoclassical economics that the economic system is the whole and not a subsystem of the global ecosystem (Daly& Farley 2004).

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Environmental Justice

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The United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Environmental Justice defines EJ as follows: “Environmental Justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. EPA has this goal for all communities and persons across this Nation. It will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.’

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Externalities

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The costs (negative externalities) and benefits (positive externalities) external to the transacting parties. According to one source, "a technological externality is the indirect effect of a consumption activity or a production activity on the consumption or production possibilities available to some other consumer or producer" (http://www.sfb504.uni-mannheim.de/glossary/). For environmental purposes, an externality is a cost inflicted on the environment-and indirectly on those who use or depend on the environment-not borne by those who inflict the cost. (Daly& Farley 2004). Typically when an ecosystem service is damaged from economic activity such costs are passed on or externalized to outside parties (a negative externality). These parties include individuals, communities and any future generations. Negative externalities mean different things to different types of economists. It would not be unusual for a traditional neoclassical economist to promote a project’s benefits (internal and external), while overlooking and downplaying the various negative externalities. On the other hand, ecological economists are careful to consider negative externalities (real and possible) in the scope of their work.

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Fossil fuel

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A naturally occurring fuel rich in carbon and hydrogen formed by the decomposition of pre historic organisms. Fossil fuels include coal, natural gas and fuels made from crude oil such as petrol and diesel

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Genuine Progress Indicators

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Redefining Progress, an Oakland-based public policy organization, in 1995 created a more accurate measure of progress than GDP, called the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI). It starts with the same accounting framework as the GDP, but then makes some crucial distinctions: It adds in the economic contributions of household and volunteer work, but subtracts factors such as crime, pollution, and family breakdown. They update the GPI on a yearly basis, and the past and current Genuine Progress Indicator reports are available online. (See the Indicators powerpoint from October 6th now posted on the Moodle site for more about GPI.)

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Greenhouse gases

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Those gases present in the atmosphere that trap heat from the sun and warm the earth. Such gases include carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour, nitrous oxide, ozone and halocarbons.

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Gross National Product (GNP)

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“An estimate of the total money value of all the final goods and services produced in a given one-year period by the factors of production owned by a particular country's residents” (http://www.babylon.com/dictionary/4202/Environmental-Economics-Glossary/G/1). Many ecological economists believe that GNP is a simplistic measure that fails to account for environmental goods and services (Daly& Farley 2004). According to Earth Economics: “The gross national product (GNP) is the market value of the aggregate production of goods and services in a country during a year. GNP is a measure of economic growth and is often interpreted as an indicator of welfare. For instance, it is often assumed that a society is becoming better off if its GNP is growing.” However, as ecological economists point out, the GNP does not distinguish between economic transactions that increase welfare and those that make us worse off. If the groundwater is polluted leading people [to] buy bottled water, the GNP goes up even though we are all poorer because water is no longer as cheap as it used to be. If people get cancer from exposure to toxic chemicals and have to pay hospital costs, the GNP goes up while welfare decreases. Ecological economists instead argue for measures of economic activity that distinguish costs from benefits. In addition, ecological economists are also looking at more sophisticated assessments of human welfare, such as measures that consider factors other than consumption (Central Concepts of Ecological Economics http://www.eartheconomics.org/ ecolecon/ee_ centralconcepts.html). Such assessments of costs and benefits are distinct from the cost-benefit analyses used to justify unsustainable governmental and commercial policies. Many scientists and environmental activists are wary of such assessments. Compare to Genuine Progress Indicators.

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Growth

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Economic growth is an increase in the production and consumption of goods and services. It entails increasing population, per capita consumption, or both. Economic growth leaves a larger ecological footprint, causing civil strife and bringing nations into conflict (http://www.steadystate.org/FAQ.html).

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Human Development Index and Human Development Report

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The work of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been central in the paradigm change of placing people and social equity at the center of the sustainable development discourse. The Human Development Index is an example of an indicator. “This index has become an important alternative to the traditional unidimensional measure of development (i.e. the gross domestic product). Although the index still fails to include any ecological considerations, it has broadened the discussion surrounding the evaluation of development” (Sagar and Najam 1998).

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Intergenerational Equity

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A key part of the sustainability concept, intergenerational equity refers – in environmental terms – to the use of resources that considers the needs of future generations. How should the welfare of future generations be considered in relation to the welfare present generations? How do we take responsibility for damage by past generations and take actions for the future? Economists, starting with James Tobin, specialize in this area. Tobin’s work “Is Growth Obsolete?” introduced the Measure of Economic Welfare, the first model for economic sustainability assessment, the precursor to Genuine Progress Indicators (see Indicators powerpoint now up on Moodle).

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Kyoto Treaty

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An agreement among the industrialized nations of the world to reduce emissions of six greenhouse gases through 2012. More than 170 nations initially signed the treaty, including the U.S., the European Union, Canada, and Japan. Although the U.S. Congress refused to ratify the Kyoto Treaty, it came into effect when Russia approved it in 2005. (Daly& Farley 2004). The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (December 2009) is the next opportunity for a new agreement to be developed. (See http://en.cop15.dk/)

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Landfill

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Essentially a cavity in the ground in to which refuse is disposed of. Once full this is covered over and landscaped so as to appear as part of the surrounding area. (www.esd.rgs.org)

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Mixed-use development

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Jane Jacobs argued, in The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961), that a mixture of uses is vital and necessary for healthy urban areas. Land-use planning and zoning laws have, for the past century, emphasized the opposite. The resulting segregation of uses (i.e., business, residential and other enclaves) has increasingly isolated communities in the United States and has proven to be environmentally and socially “unsustainable.” On the other hand, mixed-use development is seen as risky by developers because it is more complex to build and depends on a variety of different viable uses, which, in turn, results in difficulty financing such projects. A more successful approach to mixed use is organic and can be seen in “Main Street” revitalization programs (over 2000 so far nationwide, see www.preservationnation.org/main-street), which emphasize grass-roots organizing and a more holistic approach to place creation, community development, and so forth

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Methane

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(CH4) A colorless, odorless gas formed when organic matter anaerobically decomposes. Methane is about 20 times more effective than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. Major sources include fermentation in ruminant animals, decay of organic material in rice paddies and landfill.(www.esd.rgs.org)

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Natural capital

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The infrastructure of life on Earth. Stocks or funds provided by nature that yield a valuable flow into the future of either natural resources or ecological services. (www.eartheconomics.org)

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Neoclassical economics

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As discussed by Professor Feder, the dominant school of economics, characterized by its marginal utility theory of value, its devotion to the general equilibrium model stated mathematically, its individualism and reliance on free markets and the invisible hand as the best means of allocating resources, with a consequent downplaying of the role of government (Daly& Farley 2004).

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Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution

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(from EPA, http://epa.gov/owow/nps/qa.html) unlike pollution from industrial and sewage treatment plants, comes from many diffuse sources. NPS pollution is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters, and even our underground sources of drinking water. These pollutants include:
• Excess fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides from agricultural lands and residential areas;
• Oil, grease, and toxic chemicals from urban runoff and energy production;
• Sediment from improperly managed construction sites, crop and forest lands, and eroding streambanks;
• Salt from irrigation practices and acid drainage from abandoned mines;
• Bacteria and nutrients from livestock, pet wastes, and faulty septicsystems;

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Non-renewable resource

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A resource that is not replaced or only replaced very slowly by natural processes

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Precautionary principle

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The point where human consumption and waste production exceed nature’s capacity to create new resources and absorb waste

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Public goods

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An important concept raised by Professor Feder, public goods have two aspects: nonexcludability and nonrivalrous consumption. Nonexcludability means that no one can be effectively excluded from using the good. Air is probably the most obvious example of this. Nonrivalry means that the use by one individual does not prevent simultaneous use by others. In class, we discussed a few examples of the commons (and Tragedy of the Commons): 1) The case of a communal pasture area where all individuals are free to graze their livestock. The `tragedy' arises because these ‘commons’ were typically heavily over grazed. All the farmers lose in this scenario. 2) The example of the beauty of the Parthenon in Athens. It can be enjoyed by all who see it or even know of its existence. Although the pursuit of self-interest threatens the availability of a public good, there may not be a market mechanism to pay for it. This is referred to by economists as “market failure.” When the cost outweighs the benefits (according to some measure of public interest), government intervention is considered justified. In our readings from Cities and Nature, industrial cities (Chapter 3) reached a point, from around the end of the 19th century onward, where science, technology, the increase of waste and unlivable conditions reached a point where the public pressure for reform brought about large-scale water and sanitation infrastructure.

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Renewable resource

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A natural resource that can be replaced.

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Resource

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A new or reserve supply that can be drawn upon when needed

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Sink

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That part of the environment that receives the waste flow of the throughput and may, if not overwhelmed, be able to regenerate the waste through biogeochemical cycles back to usable sources. (Daly& Farley 2004).

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Smart Growth

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Anti-sprawl development that is environmentally, fiscally, and economically smart and includes land-use planning, mixed-use development, and transportation efficiency’ (www.smartgrowth.org).

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Social capital

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Social capital is the underpinning and core fabric of social communities. Left intact, social capital has a stream of benefits, including safety and security, friendship and community, a sense of civic identity, etc. (www.eartheconomics.org). In class, we discussed how social capital is a concept that has been used in sustainable development to understand how interrelations in communities have a value (economic and intangible). Micro-lending programs in developing countries (such as the Grameen Bank, started in Bangladesh) are based on using social capital in lending based on borrowers’ shared responsibility for repayment, which has resulted in mutual support and very low default rates on the loans.

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Sprawl

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The term often appears without clear definition. Peter Calthorpe (p. 87-96 of your Reader) describes the phenomenon of the “American Dream” and the resulting isolation, “communities fracturing into enclaves,” and explains some of the key ideas by urban designers and planners for addressing this. “Smart Growth” is an approach that is dedicated to reversing sprawl. (See smart growth).

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Steady State Economy

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A theoretical state in which the human economy has ceased to grow, but remains at a healthy, sustainable level. The economy viewed as a subsystem in dynamic equilibrium with the parent ecosystem/biosphere that sustains it. In a steady state economy “quantitative growth is replaced by qualitative development or improvement as the basic goal.” (Daly& Farley 2004)

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Sustainability

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: A level of human consumption and population that is in balance with the earth’s carrying capacity. Sustainability is effectively the goal of sustainable development. It is the ideal end state which we must aspire. (www.esd.rgs.org). Sustainability requires that our emphasis shift from ‘managing resources’ to managing ourselves, that we learn to live as a part of nature. Economics at last becomes human ecology (Ress et al 1996). Some major goals to achieve sustainability in ecological economics are 1. a steady-state economy, 2. just distribution of resources with the poor, future generations and the diverse species, and 3. well-functioning markets within the context of the previous two goals.

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Sustainable Development

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A concept defined by the seminal Brundtland Declaration of 1987 (See your Reader, p. 59-63),: "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Implicit here is the idea that the natural environment faces stress and overexploitation and will not be able to indefinitely meet escalating human demands (Daly& Farley 2004). Sustainable development means economic activity that improves human well-being without economic growth in physical scale. Sustainable development should, in Daly’s terms, support a steady-state economy and should not exceed the Earth’s carrying capacity.

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Sustainable Growth

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: The notion that the human economy can continue to grow while keeping environmental damage to a level at which the environment can regenerate itself and sustain future human development. (Daly& Farley 2004). Sustainable growth and typical “smart growth” are problematic because it is biologically and physically impossible for the Earth to sustain infinite growth. Moreover, the Earth’s carrying capacity is full. At best typical smart growth in wealthy nations might slow economic growth, but typical smart growth does not solve the problem. “For many nations with widespread poverty, increasing per capita consumption (or, alternatively, more equitable distributions of wealth) remains an appropriate goal for the time being” (www.steadystate.org/PositiononEG.html, #9).

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Throughput

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In your Reader, Daly refers to throughput on page 56 without defining it. In his Ecological Economics textbook, it is defined as “The flow of raw materials and energy from the global ecosystem's sources of low entropy (mines, wells, fisheries, croplands), through the economy, and back to the global ecosystem's sinks for high entropy wastes (atmosphere, oceans, dumps)” (Daly& Farley 2004). Refer to the Indicators powerpoint now posted on Moodle for the diagram that shows “minimizing throughput.”

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Tragedy of the Commons (or Problem of the Commons)

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A concept derived from "the case of a communal pasture area where all individuals are free to graze their livestock. The `tragedy' arises because these `commons' were typically heavily over grazed." (http://coe.mse.ac.in/glossdisp.asp?id=t). The principle is easily extended to common environmental resources, such as air or water, which, absent regulation, individuals and businesses have little incentive not to pollute. (Daly& Farley 2004)

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Watershed

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A watershed is the area of land where all of the water that is under it or drains off of it goes into the same place. John Wesley Powell, scientist geographer, put it best when he said that a watershed is: “that area of land, a bounded hydrologic system, within which all living things are inextricably linked by their common water course and where, as humans settled, simple logic demanded that they become part of a community.” (http://www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/whatis.html). As part of our visit to the Ashokan Reservoir, we have looked at the New York City Watershed and its role in the history of growth in the region.