Environment Philosophy and Economics

1. Environment Philosophy and Economics BE- Session-12-13

2. Issues • Philosophical and ethical challenge • Public policy and economics • Adequacy of scientific knowledge.

3. Waste Production • Nature as source of raw material. • Recipient of waste of production process. • Preventing and managing waste provide opportunity for earning. • People were aware as input provider but waste disposal is a recent phenomena Exhibit- 13.1 • Production and distribution both creates waste.

4. Continue • Wastes are two types; particulate matter those pollute air- hydrocarbons, carbon monoxides, sulfur dioxide and noise etc. • Solid wastes- fly ash, radio active waste . • Energy conversion and production create solid waste and air pollution. • Solid waste is used as land fill, incinerators and ash. • They end up in air water and soil. • Household consume product and discard garbage-back to nature. • Product changes shape, disorganize and go to environment.

5. Environment Philosophy • Public is becoming aware gradually 13.2. • Difference between old and new environmentalism. • Valdez principal- 13.3. Focus is on prudent resource use, reduce waste, safe product and owning responsibility for past harm.

6. Continue • Conservation versus environmentalism. • Conservationists adhere to technology as answer to scarcity, scientific management of nature’s riches. • Environmentalism focuses on unwanted effect of economic activities. Negative effect of human activities are greater than positive effects, like deforestation and draining of marshes and lakes. • Humans can not dictate nature and technology is not the answer. • They are anti technology and advise simplicity.

7. Continue • Science and environment. • Carson:- Toxicology, ecology and epidemiology and a mix of scientific, moral and political argument. • Barry:- expands the scope of ecology to include physical, biological ,social, political and economical and philosophical world. • Difference of opinion between scientists and environmentalists- Growth and limits to growth are two opinions. • Synthesis is that growth should be sustainable. • Difference between engineers and biologists- debate between technology and environment. • Costs are not considered when human interfaces with nature.

8. Continue • Economics and environment • Environmentalists- economist do not consider the unintended effect of growth. Trade off in business and environment Ex- 13.4 • Both benefit and cost of growth should be considered and onus of proof should be on proponents of technology. • Debate on cost benefit analysis while environmentalists are advocates of steady state economy. • Forms of growth may be chosen carefully where energy conservation and environment cleanup enhance profit.

9. Continue • Environmentally acceptable economy. • Like organic gardening, recycling, public transport, • Social harmony and growth. People should accept voluntary simplicity. • Radical Environmentalists:-No untouched land, every thing man made and artificial. Individual suffering are far less than suffering of species, ecosystems and planet. Human’s take nature harsh and dangerous rather than kind and gentle. • There are no longer personal solutions.

10. Continue • Warning of environmentalists. • Danger is coming in 20th century itself. • Earth can not tolerate additional contaminants. Civilization is running out of critical resources. • Technology, capital and human ingenuity are insufficient to prevent outcome drastic steps are needed. • They use law of entropy and laws of biology. • Their philosophy does not blend with optimist tenets and management theory. • Sum total of costs in an effluent society exceeds the benefits.

11. Public Policy and Economics • Limits to growth can be overcome by human ingenuity and that environment protection have cost. • Govts. Are likely to fail like markets do.

12. Continue • Overcoming the limits to growth • Traditional view:- Labor capital and tech are substitutes for natural resources. • Resource scarcity is reflected in price and tech substitute the resource. People turn to less scarce resources. • People respond to signal about scarcity not only in economic terms but, political sociological and psychological also. Govt express peoples sentiments. • Extrapolating past into future with out considering changing response would not be correct like Malthus’s population theory. • Policy analyst question environmentalist intentions? The idea of limit to growth only serves the effluent closing channel for developing nations. • Triad of effluent ; leisure class, intellectuals and professional may increase social tension.

13. CONTINUE • Balancing the costs and benefits • Environmentalist believe that total elimination of risk is possible but policy makers think that it would have cost. • Measuring risk is difficult and simple cause and effect statements are inadequate. It can be said in probability term. • Methods of reducing risk has cost and to be compared with benefit. • Economist try to find ways to balance cost benefit by giving values and how to achieve ways with less cost.

14. Continue • Qualitative judgment in cost-benefit analysis • Quantitative approach can eliminate qualitative judgment. • Equity issues:- Interpersonal and intergenerational can not be ignored. Future generation have no representative. How the costs and benefits are dispersed over groups and generations.

15. Continue • Market and government failures • In market deal is struck between two parties both may be benefited but what about the harm of third party by this deal? • In matter of nature property rights are not properly defined. • Degradation comes because of lack of property rights. Nature owners are collectivity that is hard to organize. Problem of free riders • Collectivity require govt. interventions. But like market failures there can be govt. failure. • Political decision making is effected by pressure groups.

16. Burden on Scientific Information • Insufficient scientific information. • Political decision need full information. • Society need to know extent of resource limitation, estimate risk, strength and weakness of govt. based solutions etc. • Catalytic converter controversy? • Acid Emissions:- Catalytic converter controversy and ford motor. • Unknown is put under “residual risk” • Uncertainties are enormous and difficult to measure.