This document provides an assignment overview asking students to write a 400-500 word mini-essay analyzing one of two provided articles about economic policies. Students are instructed to describe the article, discuss arguments for and against the proposed policy, and give their own opinion on the policy's usefulness. They are also provided a sample structure for the essay.

1. Assignment overview: write a 400-500 word (more than or less
than this will reduce your credit) mini-essay about one of the
following articles:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/19/us-usa-fed-house-
idUSKCN0T82HD20151119#RB87ux532GVmL2Ax.97
http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-
economics/21679251-government-tries-relieve-banks-non-
performing-loans-burden-sharing
We will go over the material related to the Reuters article
tomorrow. We have already covered the material related to the
Economist article.
Assignment: For whichever article you choose, write a 400-500
word essay that contains the following:
1) A description of the article and how it relates to material
taught in class
2) Either from the article or from what we learned in class, what
are some arguments in favor of the proposed policy?
3) Either from the article or from what we learned in class, what
are some arguments against the proposed policy?
4) What is your normative judgment (opinion) about the
usefulness or implementation of the policy? Why?
Hint: I suggest a 4 paragraph approach, as all parts need to be
clearly addressed. Do NOT make this too short or too long. 400-
500 words are firm limits.
A CLOSER LOOK 13.3
Reasons for Conserving Endangered Species—and All Life on
Earth
Important reasons for conserving endangered species are of two
types: those having to do with tangible qualities and those
dealing with intangible ones (see Chapter 3 for an explanation

2. of tangible and intangible qualities). The tangible ones are
utilitarian and ecological; the intangible are aesthetic, moral,
recreational, spiritual, inspirational, and cultural.a
Utilitarian Justification
Many of the arguments for conserving endangered species, and
for conserving biological diversity in general, have focused on
the utilitarian justification: that many wild species have proved
useful to us and many more may yet prove useful now or in the
future, and therefore we should protect every species from
extinction.
One example is the need to conserve wild strains of grains and
other crops because disease organisms that attack crops evolve
continually, and as new disease strains develop, crops become
vulnerable. Crops such as wheat and corn depend on the
continued introduction of fresh genetic characteristics from wild
strains to create new, disease-resistant genetic hybrids. Related
to this justification is the possibility of finding new crops
among the many species of plants (see Chapter 11).
Another utilitarian justification is that many important chemical
compounds come from wild organisms. Medicinal use of plants
has an ancient history, going back into human prehistory. For
example, a book titled Materia Medica, about the medicinal use
of plants, was written in the 6th century A.D. in Constantinople
by a man named Dioscorides (Figure 13.12).b To avoid scurvy,
Native Americans advised early European explorers to chew on
the bark of eastern hemlock trees (Tsuga canadensis); we know
today that this was a way to get a little vitamin C.
FIGURE 13.12Sowbread (Sow cyclamen), a small flowering
plant, was believed useful medically at least 1,500 years ago,
when this drawing of it appeared in a book published in
Constantinople. Whether or not it is medically useful, the plant
illustrates the ancient history of interest in medicinal plants.
Digitalis, an important drug for treating certain heart ailments,
comes from purple foxglove, and aspirin is a derivative of
willow bark. A more recent example was the discovery of a

3. cancer-fighting chemical, paclitaxel, in the Pacific yew tree
(genus name Taxus; hence the trade name Taxol). Well-known
medicines derived from tropical forests include anticancer drugs
from rosy periwinkles, steroids from Mexican yams,
antihypertensive drugs from serpentwood, and antibiotics from
tropical fungi.c Some 25% of prescriptions dispensed in the
United States today contain ingredients extracted from vascular
plants,c and these represent only a small fraction of the
estimated 500,000 existing plant species. Other plants and
organisms may produce useful medical compounds that are as
yet unknown.
Scientists are testing marine organisms for use in
pharmaceutical drugs. Coral reefs offer a promising area of
study for such compounds because many coral-reef species
produce toxins to defend themselves. According to the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “Creatures
found in coral ecosystems are important sources of new
medicines being developed to induce and ease labor; treat
cancer, arthritis, asthma, ulcers, human bacterial infections,
heart disease, viruses, and other diseases; as well as sources of
nutritional supplements, enzymes, and cosmetics.”d
Some species are also used directly in medical research. For
example, the armadillo, one of only two animal species (the
other is us) known to contract leprosy, is used to study cures for
that disease. Other animals, such as horseshoe crabs and
barnacles, are important because of physiologically active
compounds they make. Still others may have similar uses as yet
unknown to us.
Tourism provides yet another utilitarian justification.
Ecotourism is a growing source of income for many countries.
Ecotourists value nature, including its endangered species, for
aesthetic or spiritual reasons, but the result can be utilitarian.
Ecological Justification
When we reason that organisms are necessary to maintain the
functions of ecosystems and the biosphere, we are using an
ecological justification for conserving these organisms.

4. Individual species, entire ecosystems, and the biosphere provide
public-service functions essential or important to the
persistence of life, and as such they are indirectly necessary for
our survival. When bees pollinate flowers, for example, they
provide a benefit to us that would be costly to replace with
human labor. Trees remove certain pollutants from the air; and
some soil bacteria fix nitrogen, converting it from molecular
nitrogen in the atmosphere to nitrate and ammonia that can be
taken up by other living things. That some such functions
involve the entire biosphere reminds us of the global
perspective on conserving nature and specific species.
Aesthetic Justification
An aesthetic justification asserts that biological diversity
enhances the quality of our lives by providing some of the most
beautiful and appealing aspects of our existence. Biological
diversity is an important quality of landscape beauty. Many
organisms—birds, large land mammals, and flowering plants, as
well as many insects and ocean animals—are appreciated for
their beauty. This appreciation of nature is ancient. Whatever
other reasons Pleistocene people had for creating paintings in
caves in France and Spain, their paintings of wildlife, done
about 14,000 years ago, are beautiful. The paintings include
species that have since become extinct, such as mastodons.
Poetry, novels, plays, paintings, and sculpture often celebrate
the beauty of nature. It is a very human quality to appreciate
nature's beauty and is a strong reason for the conservation of
endangered species.
Moral Justification
Moral justification is based on the belief that species have a
right to exist, independent of our need for them; consequently,
in our role as global stewards, we are obligated to promote the
continued existence of species and to conserve biological
diversity. This right to exist was stated in the U.N. General
Assembly World Charter for Nature, 1982. The U.S. Endangered
Species Act also includes statements concerning the rights of
organisms to exist. Thus, a moral justification for the

5. conservation of endangered species is part of the intent of the
law.
Moral justification has deep roots within human culture,
religion, and society. Those who focus on cost-benefit analyses
tend to downplay moral justification, but although it may not
seem to have economic ramifications, in fact it does. As more
and more citizens of the world assert the validity of moral
justification, more actions that have economic effects are taken
to defend a moral position.
The moral justification has grown in popularity in recent
decades, as indicated by the increasing interest in the deep-
ecology movement. Arne Næss, one of its principal
philosophers, explains: “The right of all the forms [of life] to
live is a universal right which cannot be quantified. No single
species of living being has more of this particular right to live
and unfold than any other species.”e
Cultural Justification
Certain species, some threatened or endangered, are of great
importance to many indigenous peoples, who rely on these
species of vegetation and wildlife for food, shelter, tools, fuel,
materials for clothing, and medicine. Reduced biological
diversity can severely increase the poverty of these people. For
example, for poor indigenous people who depend on forests,
there may be no reasonable replacement except continual
outside assistance, which development projects are supposed to
eliminate. Urban residents, too, share in the cultural benefits of
biological diversity. (See Chapter 22)
Other Intangible Justifications: Recreational, Spiritual,
Inspirational
As any mountain biker, scuba diver, or surfer will tell you, the
outdoors is great for recreation, and the more natural, the better.
Beyond improving muscle tone and cardiovascular strength,
many people find a spiritual uplifting and a connectedness to
nature from the outdoors, especially where there is a lot of
diversity of living things. It has inspired poets, novelists,
painters, and even scientists.

6. Natural Resources Worksheet
SCI/256 Version 6
1
University of Phoenix Material
Natural Resources Worksheet
Complete the following table:
Fossil Fuel
Alternative Energy
Identify 3 types of both energy categories and what they are
most often used to power.
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.
Benefits to using these energy types
Environmental impacts of using these energy types
Are these energy types renewable? Explain.

7. Using the textbooks, the University Library, or other resources
answer each of the following questions in 150- to 300-words.
Be sure to provide references for the sources you use.
Question
Response
Explore water supply and management in your area using the
internet. What is the source of your municipality’s drinking
water? Describe any concerns related to the quantity and
quality of this water source. Explain one thing you can do in
your everyday activities to conserve water.
Visit this Fish and Wildlife Service website
(http://www.fws.gov/endangered/) and perform a search of
endangered species for your state. Select one species and
explain why it is endangered and what is being done to help it
recover.
What reason(s) for conserving life on Earth found in “A Closer
Look 13.3”, pages 299-301, do you find convincing? Explain.
Perform an internet search using the search term “agricultural
sustainability article.” Read one of the articles you find and
summarize it in 1-2 paragraphs. Based on this article and the
readings in the text do you think that current large-scale
industrial agricultural practices are sustainable? Why or why
not? Give an example of a more sustainable agricultural
practice.
References
· APA-formatted citation
· APA-formatted citation

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