An Economic View of Environmental ProtectioneAmbiente
Robert N. Stavins
Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Conference on Sustainability in Manufacturing
Assoreca and the Green Economy Network
Assolombarda Auditorium, Milano
November 20, 2014
Today, EPA is all but a wholly owned subsidiary of liberal activist groups. The takeover of EPA and all of its activities
by liberal activists was slow and methodical over the past 30 years. Today, EPA is all but a wholly owned subsidiary of liberal activist groups. Its rules account for about half of the nearly $2 trillion a year cost of complying with all national regulations in the U.S.2 Barack Obama is using it to circumvent Congress to impose regulations on the energy sector that will cause prices to “skyrocket.” It is a rogue agency!
This presentation introduces "The New Sustainable Frontier: Principles of Sustainable Development,” a new guide to sustainable development will help you move beyond existing "green" and "high-performance" strategies that provide incremental improvements, to ones that will sustain the our operations within the scale of the Earth’s closed system. The "Guide" and its four-section "Appendix" include concepts, tools and strategies for operationalizing sustainability that will simplify every-day decision-making and provide guidance for achieving long-term goals. See www.gsa.gov/sustainabledevelopment
We examine climate justice as the explicit framing of climate change as an ethical and political issue. We first look at justice broadly, then environmental justice, and then climate justice. We conclude with a question about justice as degrowth or green growth.
An Economic View of Environmental ProtectioneAmbiente
Robert N. Stavins
Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Conference on Sustainability in Manufacturing
Assoreca and the Green Economy Network
Assolombarda Auditorium, Milano
November 20, 2014
Today, EPA is all but a wholly owned subsidiary of liberal activist groups. The takeover of EPA and all of its activities
by liberal activists was slow and methodical over the past 30 years. Today, EPA is all but a wholly owned subsidiary of liberal activist groups. Its rules account for about half of the nearly $2 trillion a year cost of complying with all national regulations in the U.S.2 Barack Obama is using it to circumvent Congress to impose regulations on the energy sector that will cause prices to “skyrocket.” It is a rogue agency!
This presentation introduces "The New Sustainable Frontier: Principles of Sustainable Development,” a new guide to sustainable development will help you move beyond existing "green" and "high-performance" strategies that provide incremental improvements, to ones that will sustain the our operations within the scale of the Earth’s closed system. The "Guide" and its four-section "Appendix" include concepts, tools and strategies for operationalizing sustainability that will simplify every-day decision-making and provide guidance for achieving long-term goals. See www.gsa.gov/sustainabledevelopment
We examine climate justice as the explicit framing of climate change as an ethical and political issue. We first look at justice broadly, then environmental justice, and then climate justice. We conclude with a question about justice as degrowth or green growth.
28. Climate Change: Ethics and Collective Action ProblemsAdam Briggle
We explore climate ethics through the lens of collective action problems. We discuss Garret Hardin's "The Tragedy of the Commons" and two critiques of that seminal essay. We then wrap up by looking at Project Drawdown.
What purpose do the economy, energy, or environment serve?Anupam Saraph
Address to the Pune International Centre Conference on:
Energy, Environment and Economic Growth: Emerging Challenges on 22-23 January 2021
Are we addicted to the economy? Have we forgotten it is the environment that gives life, not the economy? Do we recognize that energy, green or otherwise, will not protect the planet, or create reverence for the sacred, or care and respect for the community of life?
Socio-ecological systems: Moving beyond the Human Exemptionalist ParadigmMadhusudan Katti
A talk given by Dr. Andrew Jones on Sep 24, 2010, in the Biology Colloquium at California State University, Fresno. He presents a historical overview of how Sociology came to discover its place within a broader ecological context and began addressing the metabolic rift resulting from human activities on this planet. He also presents the conecptual framework for analysis being developed under the new Urban Long-Term Research Area - Fresno And Clovis Ecosocial Study (ULTRA-FACES) project.
Ecology Against Capitalism by Christopher PickeringRatbag Media
Crisis NOT caused by: human nature, modernity, industrialism, economic development
Problem = social relations of CAPITALISM
Environmental problems can be overcome without abandoning prospect of human progress
Fundamental social change to make sustainable relations to environment possible
Sustainability Reading: Natural Capital and Ecosystem RightsSam Bleiberg
A short powerpoint on the carbon cycle, natural capital, and rights for ecosystems based on readings for the Pratt Sustainable Design Foundations Course.
The following presentation is based off a book titled 'Imperfect Health: The Medicalization of Architecture'. Healing by Design examines impacts on human health at various levels from micro to macro, and reveals the role of design in solving some of these problems.
These excerpts from "The State of Working America 2012" by the Economic Policy Institute tell the story of a "lost decade" economically for middle- and low-income Americans, as they have failed to share in the fruits of economic growth by a set of conservative policies that have accelerated income inequality. Go to OurFuture.org for continuing analysis and commentary on the economic plight of working people and the case for progressive policy solutions.
Can humanity achieve a sustainable balance within our closed ecosystem, or have we reached the point where that vision is just another example of the hubris of human exceptionalism? Is it time to switch our focus from sustainability to one of resilience in the face of societal collapse and industrial decline?
Slides of talk presented at various forums on occasion of the 40th anniversary of the launching of Limits to Growth, the first report to the Club of Rome published in 1972. This book was one of the earliest scholarly works to recognize that the world was fast approaching its sustainable limits. Forty years later, the planet continues to face many of the same economic, social, and environmental challenges as when the book was first published.
The City Sustains ItselfEnvironmental StudiesWe have.docxmehek4
The City Sustains Itself
Environmental Studies
We have to care about the natural environment. It impacts our well-being as a species. We cannot exist without:
Air
Water
Land
Each place is composed of a different collection of natural assets, so each place requires a different set of solutions.
There may be resulting best practices though that demonstrate successful approaches.
The Urban Environment
The components of the physical environment are man-made structures and natural features.
The resulting quality of life is a result of interaction between these components.
What are some of Cleveland’s natural assets?
What are they worth to us?
Urban Outdoors
Air pollution is of special significance for cities.
Point sources of urban pollutants:
Motor vehicles
Industrial smokestacks
Landfills
Construction sites
Regulation has been the primary way to address air quality.
The availability of open spaces offers natural filter systems.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. EPA was established on December 2, 1970 as a consolidation of federal research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection.
The agency was created to oversee implementation of The Clean Air Act of 1970. The Clean Air Act (CAA) is the comprehensive federal law that regulates air emissions.
This law authorizes EPA to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public health and public welfare and to regulate emissions of hazardous air pollutants.
Urban Indoors
Household contaminants include lead and radon.
Lead is found in deteriorating urban infrastructure: water pipes (pre-1978) and paint (pre-1986).
Health risks for lead are particularly acute for children aged 6 and under. Impairs physical and mental development.
Radon is a colorless, odorless radioactive gas which comes from the natural breakdown (radioactive decay) of radium, which is itself a decay product of uranium. Uranium and radium are both common elements in the soil.
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, causing thousands of deaths each year in the United States. It is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers.
Where are concentrations of older homes?
Urban Service Systems
Transportation, waste management, and utilities.
Utilities include:
Electricity,
Natural gas/oil for heating,
Water.
Service systems involve complex technologies that are costly to implement, operate and maintain.
Because of the high cost, maintenance is often deferred until a crisis occurs.
Sustainable
Solution
s
The Future of Energy
Global Environmental Issues
In some cases, pollution created in one place affects another (transfrontier pollution).
Acid rain
Chemical fires
Discharge of pollutants into natural waters
Hole in the ozone.
Global (and local) climate change.
Wicked Problems
Urban environmental problems are “wicked problems”.
A wicked problem is a social or cultural problem that is difficult or i ...
28. Climate Change: Ethics and Collective Action ProblemsAdam Briggle
We explore climate ethics through the lens of collective action problems. We discuss Garret Hardin's "The Tragedy of the Commons" and two critiques of that seminal essay. We then wrap up by looking at Project Drawdown.
What purpose do the economy, energy, or environment serve?Anupam Saraph
Address to the Pune International Centre Conference on:
Energy, Environment and Economic Growth: Emerging Challenges on 22-23 January 2021
Are we addicted to the economy? Have we forgotten it is the environment that gives life, not the economy? Do we recognize that energy, green or otherwise, will not protect the planet, or create reverence for the sacred, or care and respect for the community of life?
Socio-ecological systems: Moving beyond the Human Exemptionalist ParadigmMadhusudan Katti
A talk given by Dr. Andrew Jones on Sep 24, 2010, in the Biology Colloquium at California State University, Fresno. He presents a historical overview of how Sociology came to discover its place within a broader ecological context and began addressing the metabolic rift resulting from human activities on this planet. He also presents the conecptual framework for analysis being developed under the new Urban Long-Term Research Area - Fresno And Clovis Ecosocial Study (ULTRA-FACES) project.
Ecology Against Capitalism by Christopher PickeringRatbag Media
Crisis NOT caused by: human nature, modernity, industrialism, economic development
Problem = social relations of CAPITALISM
Environmental problems can be overcome without abandoning prospect of human progress
Fundamental social change to make sustainable relations to environment possible
Sustainability Reading: Natural Capital and Ecosystem RightsSam Bleiberg
A short powerpoint on the carbon cycle, natural capital, and rights for ecosystems based on readings for the Pratt Sustainable Design Foundations Course.
The following presentation is based off a book titled 'Imperfect Health: The Medicalization of Architecture'. Healing by Design examines impacts on human health at various levels from micro to macro, and reveals the role of design in solving some of these problems.
These excerpts from "The State of Working America 2012" by the Economic Policy Institute tell the story of a "lost decade" economically for middle- and low-income Americans, as they have failed to share in the fruits of economic growth by a set of conservative policies that have accelerated income inequality. Go to OurFuture.org for continuing analysis and commentary on the economic plight of working people and the case for progressive policy solutions.
Can humanity achieve a sustainable balance within our closed ecosystem, or have we reached the point where that vision is just another example of the hubris of human exceptionalism? Is it time to switch our focus from sustainability to one of resilience in the face of societal collapse and industrial decline?
Slides of talk presented at various forums on occasion of the 40th anniversary of the launching of Limits to Growth, the first report to the Club of Rome published in 1972. This book was one of the earliest scholarly works to recognize that the world was fast approaching its sustainable limits. Forty years later, the planet continues to face many of the same economic, social, and environmental challenges as when the book was first published.
The City Sustains ItselfEnvironmental StudiesWe have.docxmehek4
The City Sustains Itself
Environmental Studies
We have to care about the natural environment. It impacts our well-being as a species. We cannot exist without:
Air
Water
Land
Each place is composed of a different collection of natural assets, so each place requires a different set of solutions.
There may be resulting best practices though that demonstrate successful approaches.
The Urban Environment
The components of the physical environment are man-made structures and natural features.
The resulting quality of life is a result of interaction between these components.
What are some of Cleveland’s natural assets?
What are they worth to us?
Urban Outdoors
Air pollution is of special significance for cities.
Point sources of urban pollutants:
Motor vehicles
Industrial smokestacks
Landfills
Construction sites
Regulation has been the primary way to address air quality.
The availability of open spaces offers natural filter systems.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. EPA was established on December 2, 1970 as a consolidation of federal research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection.
The agency was created to oversee implementation of The Clean Air Act of 1970. The Clean Air Act (CAA) is the comprehensive federal law that regulates air emissions.
This law authorizes EPA to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public health and public welfare and to regulate emissions of hazardous air pollutants.
Urban Indoors
Household contaminants include lead and radon.
Lead is found in deteriorating urban infrastructure: water pipes (pre-1978) and paint (pre-1986).
Health risks for lead are particularly acute for children aged 6 and under. Impairs physical and mental development.
Radon is a colorless, odorless radioactive gas which comes from the natural breakdown (radioactive decay) of radium, which is itself a decay product of uranium. Uranium and radium are both common elements in the soil.
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, causing thousands of deaths each year in the United States. It is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers.
Where are concentrations of older homes?
Urban Service Systems
Transportation, waste management, and utilities.
Utilities include:
Electricity,
Natural gas/oil for heating,
Water.
Service systems involve complex technologies that are costly to implement, operate and maintain.
Because of the high cost, maintenance is often deferred until a crisis occurs.
Sustainable
Solution
s
The Future of Energy
Global Environmental Issues
In some cases, pollution created in one place affects another (transfrontier pollution).
Acid rain
Chemical fires
Discharge of pollutants into natural waters
Hole in the ozone.
Global (and local) climate change.
Wicked Problems
Urban environmental problems are “wicked problems”.
A wicked problem is a social or cultural problem that is difficult or i ...
American naturalists such as John Muir (1838–1914), Aldo Leopold (.docxnettletondevon
American naturalists such as John Muir (1838–1914), Aldo Leopold (1887–1948), and Edward Abbey (1927–1989) have long pointed to theimportance of protecting the environment. However, genuine issues arise between those who wish to leave the environment as it is, and thosewho wish to utilize it for other purposes, such as drilling, development, or mining. These issues have become much more common topics ofdebate in recent decades, with increased energy and other demands placing stress on the environment. With the first "Earth Day" in 1970,various environmental groups began to develop more effective political organizations, and the environmental movement began to play asignificant role in American politics. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was begun, also in 1970, during the administration of PresidentRichard Nixon, in order to protect both human health and the environment by developing laws and reviewing regulations.
In this chapter, we will explore some of the questions that arise within the context of environmental ethics, the study of the moral relationshipbetween human beings and their surroundings, including nonhuman components found within those surroundings. Throughout, we will examinedifficult issues, such as how to balance the economic benefits of development with the benefits (economic and otherwise) of a wilderness orbeach or forest. Do we have a right to clean water and to clean air? If so, how are those rights enforced, and how do we maintain those rightswithout inhibiting important economic gains? And do we have an obligation to leave a sustainable environment to the generations that willfollow us?
Why Care About the Environment?
Often in discussions of environmental ethics, it is assumed by all involved that we should respect the environment, and seek toprevent its degradation, specifically if various forms of pollutions harm others. In a sense, this assumption is pretty safe: After all, ifsomeone does something to harm an innocent person, we generally regard that as wrong. So if I dump lead into a river thatincreases the lead content of water that children are exposed to, and harmed by, that seems to just be a specific case of my actionharming an innocent person, and thus is wrong.
But should we care about the environment at all? Many people, regardless of the positions they adopt relative to specificenvironmental policies, would agree with many of the following reasons to do so:
· More efficient use of energy saves money.
· A cleaner environment is healthier.
· Some natural scenery is unique and irreplaceable.
· Biodiversity is valuable in itself, and if not itself valuable, can be utilized to help create drugs, foods, and other things thatimprove life.
· If we have any obligations to future generations, leaving them a planet that is inhabitable—or even flourishing—would seem tobe a fundamental obligation.
· It's an ill bird that fouls its own nest: It doesn't make sense to ruin the place where you live.
· Various relig.
Chamber of Commerce report that asks and answers the important question: What would happen if the hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas was banned in the U.S.? According to research it would lead to the loss of 15 million jobs and an average increase in the price of electricity and gas doubling.
Answer ThisState of the AirThus far in this course we ha.docxYASHU40
Answer This
State of the Air
Thus far in this course we have been discussing, learning, and exploring the ideas of environmental problems, human values, politics, and economics. This week we turn to take a closer look at a particular type of pollution: air pollution. Have you ever visited or lived in a town that had air quality warnings? For the last 16 years, the American Lung Association has used air quality data to publish a report on air quality called State of the Air. In this forum, we will explore some of the most polluted cities in the United States and focus on solutions.
Part I. Questions:
Since this is not a writing assignment but a discussion, you will not need to formally reference your work but need to attribute it to the source you found it, something likely you do in everyday conversation. For example, "Yesterday I was reading in the Washington Post that . . " or, "I found this interesting video on YouTube."
Choose one of most polluted cities from the
State of the Air report
that has not been selected already by another classmate (check what has been posted already)*. Research the city you chose and share your research with the class here are some topics to consider:
· What are the causes of this city's pollution? Why is air pollution a problem?
· What are some possible solutions to this city's pollution?
· What is your opinion about the role of scientists, government, and citizens in air pollution solutions?
· What is your personal experience? Have you been to this city, or another that your perceived as having air pollution? How did you know? How did it affect you?
· End your response by
posing an open-ended question
to the class that you have thought of based on your research and study (it can be anything related to air quality and air pollution).
*Place the name of the city you chose in the title of your initial post.
THE PLACE I PICKED IS *****
Missoula, MT
*****
***The initial post should be no longer than 1-2 short paragraphs. ***
Reply To Each Post 50 words min. There are 7 different ones
1. What are the causes of this city's pollution? Why is air pollution a problem?
One of the many reasons there is such bad pollution in Bakersfield is that it is a valley that lies in a bowl created by the Sierra Nevada mountain range. What this does is it creates a literal bowl where heavier air that is saturated with particulates can linger, especially with the weather getting hotter with global warming. This is one of the most densely populated areas in the San Fernando valley so a lot of people contributing to the pollution with their vehicle emissions and other pollutants caused from day to day living.
What are some possible solutions to this city's pollution?
Some things the city could do is require more frequent emissions testing with stricter penalties. There was a clunker buy out program many years ago that helped people upgrade to newer vehicles with more efficient emissions systems. T.
2. There
is
a
Kansas
character,
and
its
roots
are
found
in
the
midwestern rural
traditions
of
hard
work,
struggle
in
the
face
of
adversity,
frugality,
practicality,
individualism,
democracy,
and
environmental irresponsibility.
Leo
E.
Olivia,
‘Kansas:
A
Hard
Land
in
the
Heartland”
(1988)
3. “The
Environment”
AS
OPPOSED
TO…
“The
Economy”?
“Humanity”?
“Technology”?
“The
Built
Environment”?
“Energy”?
“Agriculture”?
“Public
Health”?
RELATIVE
TO…
“political
possibility”?
“political
history”?
“the
financial
cost”?
“the
identifiable
need”?
“the
impacts”?
“doing
nothing”?
“business
as
usual”?
6. Center
for
American
Progress
Jan.
9,
2013
https://www.americanprogress.
org/issues/green/report/2013/0
1/09/49187/president-‐obamas-‐
clean-‐energy-‐progress-‐how-‐the-‐
top-‐10-‐energy-‐priorities-‐fared-‐
during-‐his-‐first-‐term/
7. Center
for
American
Progress
Jan.
17,
2013
https://www.americanprogress.
org/issues/green/report/2013/0
1/17/49979/building-‐on-‐
president-‐obamas-‐clean-‐energy-‐
successes/
8. Other
sample
sources:
DAILY
KOS
11/23/13
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/11/23/12
57892/-‐Obama-‐accomplishments
LIBERALS
UNITE
7/19/12
http://samuel-‐warde.com/2012/07/obamas-‐
conservation-‐and-‐green-‐energy-‐
accomplishments/
9. Coral
Davenport
recently
observed
in
the
New
York
Times
that
Obama
will
likely
"leave
office
with
the
most
aggressive,
far-‐reaching
environmental
legacy
of
any
occupant
of
the
White
House"
even
though
"it
is
very
possible
that
not
a
single
major
environmental
law
will
have
passed
during
his
two
terms
in
Washington."
The
Clean
Air
Act
of
1970
simply
turns
out
to
be
a
very
powerful
tool
crafted
by
very
ambitious
legislators,
who
wanted
to
make
sure
future
administrations
would
be
able
to
address
not-‐
yet-‐foreseen
environmental
problems.
He's
used
that
law
to
issue
a
"series
of
landmark
regulations
on
air
pollution,
from
soot
to
smog,
to
mercury
and
planet-‐warming
carbon
dioxide."
The
New
York
Times,
11/26/14,
Obama
Builds
Environmental
Legacy
with
1970
Law
by
Coral
Davenport
12. “The
Obama
Strategy?”
Reflects
how
Federal
environmental
policy
was
intended
to
be
developed
and
deployed.
Reflects
what
is
political
possible
in
the
current
cultural
and
political
reality.
Perhaps
reflects
Obama’s
priorities
and/or
focus
for
policy
and
political
authority,
his
leadership
style
and
core
competency,
and/or
his
political
sensibility.
Perhaps
the
difficult
reality
is
that
the
energy
and
environmental
challenges
we
face
are
essentially
unprecedented
in
scope,
intensity,
convergence,
and
integration
– all
policies
to
date
have
been
insufficient
as
measured
against
the
challenges
they
are
meant
to
address.
Perhaps
this
is
not
an
“Obama”
problem
or
an
“Obama”
shortcoming,
but
a
“human”
and
“industrial”
problem.
13. And
let
us
not
forget
the
opposition…
Groundhog
Days:Utilities Wrong
Again
About
Pollution
Safeguard
Costs
By
Daniel
J.
Weiss
and
Miranda
Peterson
March
19,
2014,
Center
for
American
Progress.
Government
Regulation:
Costs
Lower,
Benefits
Greater
Than
Industry
Estimates,
May
26,
2015
Clean
Energy
Initiative
Fact
Sheet,
PEW
Charitable
Trusts.
15. …the
actual
results…
Benefits
and
Costs
of
the
Clean
Air
Act:
Second
Prospective
Study,
1990-‐2020,
US
EPA,
updated
April
2011.
Six
Principal
Pollutants:
The
Latest
Findings
on
Air
Quality,
US
EPA,
2008.
16. …or
what’s
at
stake.
2014
On
Track
to
be
the
Hottest
Year
on
Record
by
Andrea
Thompson,
Climate
Central,
9/18/14.
An
Excellent
Return
on
Investment:
Protecting
Human
Health
Through
the
Clean
Air
Act,
Russell
Meyer,
Center
for
Climate
and
Energy
Solutions,
3/3/11.
17. The
Assault
on
EPA
Current
economic
and
political
climate
are
being
used
as
cover
for
an
unprecedented
assault
upon
public
health
and
environmental
protections
EPA
and
implementation
of
the
Clean
Air
and
Clean
Water
Acts
coincide
with
extraordinary
growth
in
U.S.
GDP
and
economic
growth,
as
well
as
quality
of
life
Opposition
to
carbon
&
climate
change
regs
=
Trojan
horse
to
roll
back
40
years
of
health
and
enviro
protections
“Obama
regulations”
misleading
-‐ decades
of
bi-‐partisan
development
Without
EPA
regulatory
authority,
U.S.
transition
to
a
clean
energy
economy
is
impossible,
certainly
in
time
to
prevent
incalculable
climate,
health,
and
environmental
damage
Slide
from
a
November
2011
presentation
deck.