Sustainable strategies on economy

Use a mix of regulations and market-based approaches to reward earth-sustaining behavior by businesses and consumers and discourage earth-degrading behavior.

Principles essential to building a sustainable economy

Goals:

- Reduce population growth.

- Reduce resource consumption and waste by reducing demand, increasing product durability, increasing efficiency.

- Recycle, reuse, and compost to the maximum extent possible.

- Develop a wide range of renewable energy resources.

- Protect and conserve renewable resources, such as farmland, fisheries, forest, grassland, air, and water.

- Improve renewable resource management to ensure sustainability.

- Repair past damage to natural resources by replanting forests and grasslands, reseeding roadsides, restoring streams, cleaning groundwater, and reducing overgrazing.

- Increase national and regional self-sufficiency by using renewable resources whenever possible.

- Support sustainable development projects in developing nations.

- Reduce poverty.

- Develop sustainable ethics and promote individual and corporate responsibility and action.

- Improve social conditions by promoting democracy, justice, and a more equitable distribution of wealth.

- Work for global peace and cooperation.

Some policy tools:

- Environmental education programs.

- Green taxes and full-cost pricing requirements for business

- Alternative measures (indicators) of progress, such as the NEW and ISEW, that look at a wide range of economic, social, and environmental conditions.

- Laws that harness market forces, including:

1) economic disincentives

2) economic incentives

3) tradeable and marketable permits

4) laws that eliminate market barriers that promote inefficient resources use

5) laws that remote subsidies of environmentally destructive activities.

The majority of Earth's population, located in China, India and other developing countries is reasonably claiming the rights for benefits of modern civilization. These people want to live in modern houses, have a better meals, cars and better health care. Economics globalization leads to creation of more works, construction of factories in any country with sufficiently qualified and unassuming workers. This means, that the use of natural resources and accompanying energy use will continue their increase even faster, than the increase in Earth's population. With population size doubling in size during 1990–2050, the income per capita will increase in 2,4 times based on estimations of UNO's experts, energy use – in 2,6 times, water use – in 1,5 times. The total product of the world should increase in 4,5 times during this period.

Key terms:

Questions for review:

1. Compare and contrast Natural, manufactured and human capitals.

2. Differ Economic growth and Sustainable development.

3. Describe the GNP/GDP and its strengths and weaknesses.

4. What are alternatives to measure life and environmental quality?

5. Define the term “externality” and describe how externalities can be internalized. What are the benefits of doing this?

6. What is the economically optimal level of pollution control?

7. Describe a sustainable economy. What are the main goals and some policy instruments?

Make a synopsis: Daniel D. Chiras, “Environmental Science: Creating Sustainable Future”

1. Make a précis (of 200 words) of any paragraph:

“Corporate reform: Greening the corporation” (p.634-635).

“Green products and green seals of approval” (p.635-636).

“Environmental protection versus jobs: problem or opportunity?” (p.638-640)

2. Draw the graphs: Figures 26-4 (p.618); 26-6 and 26-7 (p.626). Title them.

Critical thinking:

1. Analyze the following statement: “Economic growth is essential to a healthy economy”.

2. Analyze the following statement: “The GNP is a fundamentally sound economic measure and a good indicator of the well-being of a nation’s people because economic health means a higher standard of living for all”.

3. Analyze the following statement: “Cleaning up the environment will put thousands of people out of work. We simply can’t afford to do it”.

Date: 2014-12-21; view: 1256