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Chapter 3 Environmental History, Politics, and Economics

Chapter 3 Environmental History, Politics, and Economics. Jobs Or Owls?. Pacific Northwest Northern spotted owl Listed as threatened Some logging suspended Northwest Forest Plan Compromise Some habitat protected Some logging resumed Loggers retrained. Jobs Or Owls?. More changes

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Chapter 3 Environmental History, Politics, and Economics

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  1. Chapter 3 Environmental History, Politics, and Economics

  2. Jobs Or Owls? • Pacific Northwest • Northern spotted owl • Listed as threatened • Some logging suspended • Northwest Forest Plan • Compromise • Some habitat protected • Some logging resumed • Loggers retrained

  3. Jobs Or Owls? • More changes • Loggers got more access • Annual surveys required • Endangered species • Threatened species

  4. Conservation & Preservation • Conservation • Sensible management of resources • Sustainable use • Examples? • Preservation • Setting aside areas • Protection from humans • Examples?

  5. Environmental Views in the U.S.: 1700s-1800s • Widespread environmental destruction • Promote settlement • Frontier attitude • Resources appeared inexhaustible

  6. Early Environmental Movement • Resources quickly being depleted • John James Audubon • Wildlife artist • Aroused public interest

  7. Early Environmental Movement • Henry David Thoreau • Writer • Lived simply • George Perkins Marsh • Man and Nature • Humans as agents of change

  8. Protecting U.S. Forests • Deforestation happened quickly • American Forestry Association • Formed by citizens • Concerned about forests • Forest Reserve Act • 1891 • President can establish forest reserves • Reversed in 1907: why?

  9. Protecting U.S. Forests • Gifford Pinchot • First head of U.S. Forest Service • Appointed by T. Roosevelt • Viewed forests as useful to people • Manage them scientifically • National Forests today have many uses

  10. National Parks & Monuments • 1872: Yellowstone • 1890: Yosemite • John Muir • Biocentrist • Preservationist • Sierra Club

  11. National Parks & Monuments • National Parks created by act of Congress • National Monuments designated by the President • Today • 58 National Parks • 73 National Monuments

  12. Managing National Parks • Originally managed by U.S. Army • Hetch Hetchy Valley • Yosemite NP • 1913: dam built • Parks needed more protection • National Park Service: 1916

  13. Mid-20th Century Conservation • Great Depression: FDR • Civilian Conservation Corps • Soil Conservation Service • Aldo Leopold • Game Management • A Sand County Almanac • Developed a land ethic

  14. Mid-20th Century Conservation • Rachel Carson • Marine biologist • Silent Spring • Dangers of pesticides • Heightened public awareness • Paul Ehrlich • Ecologist • The Population Bomb

  15. The Environmental Movement • 1970: First Earth Day • Gaylord Nelson • Denis Hayes • Religious support • 1990: 141 nations celebrate Earth Day

  16. Important Dates In Environmental History • 1963: Clean Air Act • 1970: NEPA; EPA created • 1973: Endangered Species Act • 1974: Safe Drinking Water Act • 1977: Clean Water Act

  17. Important Dates In Environmental History • 1986: Chernobyl nuclear accident • 1987: Montreal Protocol drafted • 1989: Exxon Valdez oil spill • 1991: World’s worst oil spill • 1999: Human population reaches 6 billion

  18. Environmental Legislation • NEPA • Environmental Impact Statements • Required by federal government • Short- & long-term impacts • Public input • Council on Environmental Quality • Monitors EISs • Reports to president

  19. Environmental Impact Statements

  20. Environmental Regulations • Environmental problem recognized • Full cost accounting • Congressperson drafts legislation • Legislation is passed • EPA now translates law into regulations • Law enforced

  21. Legislative Success! • National Parks • Decreased soil erosion • Some endangered species improving • Decreased pollution • Improved water quality • Safer drinking water • Superfund Act

  22. Economics • Study of how we decide to use scarce resources to provide goods & services • Free market • Supply & demand determine price • U.S. economy

  23. How Are The Economy & Environment Related? • Environment is the source of materials • Environment serves as a sink for wastes • Sources & sinks contribute to natural capital • Resource degradation: overuse of sources • Pollution: overuse of sinks

  24. Economy & Environment

  25. National Income Accounts • Total income in a nation in one year • GDP & NDP provide estimates • Two problems with current system • Natural resource depletion • Cost & benefits of pollution control

  26. Natural Resource Depletion • Not figured in national income accounts • Oil • Value is part of GDP • Depletion not subtracted out

  27. Pollution Control • Currently, cost of polluting not deducted from GDP • Estimates of environmental damage should be subtracted from GDP

  28. External Costs • Harmful environmental or social cost • Those not directly involved in transaction • Not reflected in market price • Market increases pollution

  29. How Much Pollution Is Acceptable? • Pollution is inevitable • Marginal cost • Added cost of pollution • Must balance: • Cost of more pollution • Cost of giving up goods

  30. Marginal Cost Of Pollution • Added cost of pollution

  31. Marginal Cost Of Pollution Abatement • Added cost of reducing pollution

  32. Optimum Amount Of Pollution • Economically most desirable • Problems?

  33. Economic Strategies For Pollution Control • Command and control regulations • Limits and punishments • Some success • Problems? • Incentive-based regulations • Emission targets • Incentives to reduce emissions

  34. Case Study: Central & Eastern Europe • Late 1980s: fall of communist governments • Much environmental destruction • Governments supported heavy industry • Who suffered?

  35. Case Study: Central & Eastern Europe • Today, environment must be improved • Some areas improving • Some areas recovering slowly: why?

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