CHAPTER 5: ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS AND CONSUMPTION ...
CHAPTER 5: ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS AND CONSUMPTION SUSTAINABLE: capable of being continued without degrading the environment ECONOMICS: the social science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services -its important to recycle and to maximize energy efficiency – in this way, nature is an ecological model that can inspire economic models that enhance sustainability ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: essential ecological processes that make life on Earth possible -Canada has the 8th largest per capita ecological footprint -if everyone on Earth lived like Canada, we would need 3.5 Earths -if everyone on Earth lived like Kenya, we would have enough land and resources to spare BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS IMPACT THE ENVIRONMENT WITH THEIR ECONOMIC DECISIONS ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT: the land area needed to provide the resources for, and assimilate the waste of a person or population -humans currently use 50% more resources than is ultimate sustainable NATURAL CAPITAL: the wealth of resources on Earth NATURAL INTEREST: readily produced resources that we could use and still leave enough natural capital behind to replace what we took BIOCAPACITY: the ability of land or aquatic ecosystems to produce resources and assimilate our waste IPAT MODEL: an equation (I = P x A x T) that measures human impact (I), based on three factors: population (P), affluence (A), and technology (T) -as population increases, so does the impact -when technologies reduce the environmental impact rather than increase it, the equation used to describe their impact changes to: I = (P x A) / T MAINSTREAM ECONOMICS SUPPORTS SOME ACTIONS THAT ARE NOT SUSTAINABLE -one of the limitations of mainstream economics is that it doesn’t take into account all potential costs INTERNAL COSTS: those costs, such as raw materials, manufacturing costs, labor, taxes, utilities, insurance and rent – that are accounted for when a product or service is evaluated for pricing EXTERNAL COSTS: costs that are associated with a product or service, but are not taken into account when a price is assigned to that product or service TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE: the environmental, social, and economic impacts of our choices TRUE COST: the sum of both external and internal costs of a good or service -mainstream economics also assumes that natural and human resources are either infinite or that substitutes can be found if needed -another assumption of mainstream economic theory is that economic growth can go on forever -we have to work within the limits of available resources in ways that allow essential ecosystem services to continue CLOSED LOOP SYSTEM: a production system in which the product is returned to the resource stream when consumers are finished with it, or is disposed of in such a way that nature can decompose it CRADLE-TO-CRADLE: management of a resource that considers the impact of its use at every stage from raw material extraction to final disposal or recycling DISCOUNTING FUTURE VALUE: giving more weight to short-term benefits and cost than to longterm ones ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS: branch of economics that considers the long-term impact of our
choices on people and the environment THERE ARE TACTICS OF ACHIEVING SUSTAINABILITY GREEN BUSINESSL doing business in a way that is good for people and the environment SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: economic and social development that meets present needs without preventing future generations from meeting their needs BIOMIMICRY: using nature as a model to inspire sustainable solutions to environmental problems -knowing a product’s true cost requires transparency from the industries that produce and sell us goods and services -governments can encourage sustainability by providing incentives for businesses to account for true costs rather than just internal costs -a company that adopts cradle to cradle resource management is responsible for the resource or the impact of its use at every stage of the process -needs to take into account the upstream and downstream impacts – a life cycle analysis ECOLABELLING: providing information about how a product is made and where it comes from; allows consumers to make mores sustainable choices and support sustainable products and the businesses that produce them -more companies are engaging in greenwashing – claiming environmental benefits for a product when they are minor or non-existent -fair trade products are more likely to sustainably produced
choices on people and the environment THERE ARE TACTICS OF ACHIEVING SUSTAINABILITY GREEN BUSINESSL doing business in a way that is good for people and the environment SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: economic and social development that meets present needs without preventing future generations from meeting their needs BIOMIMICRY: using nature as a model to inspire sustainable solutions to environmental problems -knowing a product’s true cost requires transparency from the industries that produce and sell us goods and services -governments can encourage sustainability by providing incentives for businesses to account for true costs rather than just internal costs -a company that adopts cradle to cradle resource management is responsible for the resource or the impact of its use at every stage of the process -needs to take into account the upstream and downstream impacts – a life cycle analysis ECOLABELLING: providing information about how a product is made and where it comes from; allows consumers to make mores sustainable choices and support sustainable products and the businesses that produce them -more companies are engaging in greenwashing – claiming environmental benefits for a product when they are minor or non-existent -fair trade products are more likely to sustainably produced
