ENVR201 Condensed Notes PDF

Resources ➔​ resources provide the material basis of subsistence for humans ➔​ what is considered a resource changes over time based on demand and uses ➔​ follows a scarcity development cycle ◆​ a resource is created ◆​ prices fall, demand rises ◆​ becomes eas...

Resources ➔​ resources provide the material basis of subsistence for humans ➔​ what is considered a resource changes over time based on demand and uses ➔​ follows a scarcity development cycle ◆​ a resource is created ◆​ prices fall, demand rises ◆​ becomes easily accessible and reserves exhausted ◆​ scarcity causes price increases, and R&D ◆​ Innovation leads to substitution, reuse and recycling ◆​ Repeat ➔​ Resources can be classified as renewable, non-renewable substitutable and non-substitutable ➔​ Sources provide resources; sinks can process wastes ➔​ Sustainable yield refers to the level of resource extraction that can be maintained without depleting the resource base. This involves extracting the resource at below the replacement rate. ➔​ Proven reserves are known resources that are profitable and relatively easily extractible. Potential reserves could exist based on technological advancements and future predictions. ◆​ Only for non-renewables Population Overview ➔​ Carrying capacity: the total capacity of humans that the earth is capable of supporting ➔​ Malthusian: population grows exponentially, and resources replenish at linear rates. Therefore, there will be a point when the earth cannot provide sufficient subsistence to the entire population, and deaths will occur. ➔​ Marxist: Distribution of resources is the real problem, not scarcity. Technological innovation can overcome resource constraints ➔​ Cornucopian: Strong belief in the power of technological innovation to overcome resource scarcity. Human knowledge is the ultimate resource. Controlling population and economic growth is immoral. Evidence by looking at each technological innovation causing a huge population boom: Fire, Agriculture, Science, and future..? ➔​ Demographic equation: R = (b - d) + (i - e) ➔​ Doubling time = 70 / annual growth rate % Population Growth Drivers ➔​ High infant mortality and death rate ➔​ Population momentum (when a large population of children enter reproductive age, even with a decrease in birth rates, the population will boom) ➔​ Demographic transition ◆​ stage 1 - preindustrial: CBR = CDR ◆​ stage 2 - transitional: health improves, CDR ↘ , CDR CDR ◆​ stage 4 - postindustrial: CDR >= CBR, and the population begins declining ➔​ The demographic trap ◆​ countries in stage 2 will have such a large population boom that degradation of their environment and scarcity of resources never ensure confidence in the future and require families to continue having high birth rates, which worsens the conditions, and the vicious cycle continues Population Policy ➔​ Pro natalist policies ◆​ abortion ban ◆​ baby bonuses ◆​ tax deductions ◆​ maternity/paternity leave and subsidies ◆​ immigration ➔​ Anti-natalist policies ◆​ incentivize female education → marry later → less kids ◆​ child quotas (e.g. China) ◆​ sterilization ◆​ increase female empowerment and employment ◆​ shift in socio-cultural pressures (e.g. less religion, or less pressure for need for male child) ◆​ poverty alleviation ​ children are productive benefits in subsistence economies. The costs are internalized by society, not the family ​ in affluent societies children are cost to burden, in poor societies they are an economic asset ◆​ family planning, public health service and reduced IMR ◆​ contraception has little impact when many other factors are at play ➔​ lifeboat ethic: withhold resources from developing nations who need it most Global fisheries ➔​ Fisheries: oceans and aquaculture ➔​ Aquaculture accounting for the capability to increase fish supply and demand ➔​ Fisheries are an important economic force, especially in LIC and account for many people's food source and livelihood ➔​ fisheries are a renewable but exhaustible resource when they are extracted above the replacement rate ➔​ What is causing fishing to be above the replacement rate? ◆​ driftnets ◆​ ghost fishing ◆​ non-selective gear ◆​ trawlers ◆​ pulse fishing ➔​ Why is overfishing susceptible to unsustainable practices? ◆​ common property resource: belongs to everyone, but nobody in particular is responsible ​ Nobody is incentivized to look after fisheries, but rivalry encourages overfishing and competition ◆​ social trap: if only one entity acts responsibly, it is to the detriment of them and benefits everyone else, so there is no incentive to do so ◆​ subsidies by governments to reduce the costs of fishing and mitigate risks for inefficient operators ◆​ Vicious cycle ​ subsidies, open access, competition, new technologies ​ more fishers ​ fewer supply ​ overfishing, pollution (through waste) ​ overfishing causes lower-value fish, which causes overfishing ​ depletion and industry collapse ​ more subsidies, new technologies, more competition Fishery policies ➔​ control fishing capacity ➔​ control illegal, unreported, unregulated fishing ➔​ transformation of consumers’ perceptions through market mechanisms and education ➔​ decentralized, local community control of fisheries instead of gov ➔​ hard to combat subsidies and social trap Global Food Security ➔​ global population has been increasing, we have been able to luckily keep up with rising food demands ◆​ irrigation improvement ◆​ fertilizers ◆​ GMOs ◆​ spread of productive crops ◆​ mono cropping ➔​ Hunger has been decreasing overall in % but still significant 800M people ➔​ Even if we distributed food equally, there is not enough food globally, according to the American diet ➔​ As people get richer (like fast developing countries like China), people want to consume more meat and dairy (higher on the food chain) ➔​ Animal consumption is expensive because we need land and food to feed the animals, leading to the need for more fertilizer, land, etc… ➔​ strain on climate change, habitat degradation, lower crop yields, nitrate leaching Food security solutions ➔​ multiple cropping ➔​ complementary harvesting ➔​ boost water efficiency ◆​ eliminate subsidies ◆​ local responsibility instead of gov ◆​ improve irrigation systems (e.g. drip irrigation) ◆​ less water-intensive grains ◆​ meat alternatives or higher efficiency conversion from water to kgs of protein (e.g. chicken and fish >> beef and mutton) ➔​ reduce population growth ➔​ reduce crop loss and food waste ➔​ shift to more sustainable diets ➔​ investments in R&D, reduce trade barriers ➔​ Hunger is a matter of poverty and policy, not just technological constraints Urban transport in N.A ➔​ Impacts ◆​ traffic fatalities, injuries, congestion, resource use, air pollution, land use, a lot of money, urban noise, transport wastes, vehicle disposal ➔​ accounts for the majority of vehicles but is 5% of the global population ➔​ income is not tied to vehicles and km driven per capita (except USA) ➔​ Why did NA end up this way ◆​ very low city density ◆​ evolved alongside the car ◆​ cultural preferences for privacy, single-family homes ◆​ abundant land ◆​ federal subsidies ◆​ low energy prices/ low cost of driving ◆​ car, oil, tire company lobbying ◆​ single use zoning ➔​ Vicious cycle ◆​ highway building/ planning for cars only ◆​ low car transport prices ◆​ low perceived costs/ dispersal of residences and businesses ◆​ excessive use of MV and reduced access to NMT and PT ◆​ congestion ◆​ repeat ➔​ Urban planning assumes the inevitability of cars, and the status quo tries to build a way out of it NA Transport Solutions ➔​ transport is about accessibility, not MV ➔​ prevention: land use integration, NMT and PT accessibility, full cost pricing of road/gas, restrict vehicles for most high-value use cases and de-link ownership from use (e.g. going somewhere nearby, you take the bus) ➔​ parking prices have a huge impact on km driven because it is one of the only costs associated with taking a car ➔​ cure: technologies for per-vehicle impacts, traffic engineering, cost-effective PT European Experience ➔​ Much higher gas and vehicle ownership taxes ➔​ provision of bicycle and PT infra ➔​ bicycles can be competitive over short distances ➔​ much higher population density and mixed land use Transport in India ➔​ rapidly growing motorization levels and one of the leading producers of MV (mostly M2W) ➔​ very high fatality and injury rates for pedestrians and cyclists ➔​ majority of people's mode of transport is walking, cycling, and PT, but they are being neglected in policy-making ➔​ high density, mixed-use zoning, inadequate infrastructure and resources ➔​ people want M2W due to lower costs, urbanization, aspirations, growing supply, gender relations, inadequate public transit ➔​ much higher motorization levels at lower income compared to NA ➔​ Solutions ◆​ focus on PT, NMT due to the natural advantages of mixed land use and high urban density ◆​ public policies need to accommodate for the majority who walk, cycle and PT ◆​ the gap between policy and reality ◆​ conventional UT planning sense of inevitability and indifference ◆​ education and moral suasion ◆​ public perception and media, looking to the West but ignoring their own context Integrating Environmental Values in Societal Decision Making ➔​ Externalities are positive when the actor does not absorb all the benefits of their actions ➔​ Externalities are negative when the actor does not shoulder all the costs of their actions ➔​ Property rights are a set of rules that layout rights, privileges, limits, responsibilities in relation to ownership and use of property ◆​ enforceability and exclusivity when properly defined  ◆​ exclusivity incentivizes environmental protection (e.g. farmer does not want to destroy his own property) ➔​ Common property is owned by all members of a society but not exclusive to any one member ◆​ this makes it hard to incentivize people to take care of the resource and incentivizes rivalry and disregard for environmental consequences (social trap) ◆​ tragedy of the commons → open and unrestricted access ➔​ Public good is non-excludable (available to all regardless of money, etc.) and cannot be worsened by consumption of anyone. ◆​ tends to create free-riders who don’t contribute to maintaining/creating it but will enjoy its benefits ➔​ Matrix. Resources can overlap Excludable Non-excludable Rival Private goods Common property resources Non-rival Club goods (controlled Public goods (positive entry; once you are in and externalities generated by able to use the food it does public good) not take away from others (ex: netflix) ➔​ When negative externalities occur, they are not priced into the cost of the item. Giving the illusion of something economically viable that is not. ➔​ Solution is to internalize externalities ◆​ e.g. represent environmental values in market prices through increased costs to maximize social welfare rather than reach market equilibrium ➔​ fuel economy standards vs fuel tax ◆​ tax pros ​ predictable revenue stream that can be used for R&D and cleaning env ​ predictable response (less driving) ​ flexible (people can choose how to respond to the situation) ​ more immediate response ​ affects all vehicles (not just new) ◆​ tax cons ​ regressivity: disproportionally affects lower-income drivers ​ hard to decide on a tax that is not too high or too low ​ less popular among public ◆​ fuel economy cons ​ rebound effect (costs less, more driving at same amount of money) ​ only impacts new cars being produced ​ takes long time to see effects on policy ◆​ fuel economy pros: ​ more support among the public ​ refer to tax cons ➔​ Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is used to systematically and comprehensively enumerate all impacts alternatives to society over time. Trying to maximize social welfare by maximizing net benefit. Uses WTP to estimate all factors in market terms ➔​ WTP can be concluded by studying market actions (revealed pref) or by surveying (Contingent Valuation) ◆​ environmental values in CBA ​ production inputs: processes that produce resources through environment conservation (flood control, soil fertilization, water filtration) ​ direct use: consumptive (fish, wood, crops), non-consumptive (hiking, personal enjoyment, bird watching) ​ non-use values: preserving for use in different time/space ​ avoided costs: costs you can avoid by protecting env, such as building a dam to stop flooding or filtration systems to substitute natural ones, putting out fires and destroyed property from forest fires ​ indirect valuation (CV): measure the value of environmental resources through WTP ​ Total economic value: use + option + existence measures direct benefits, potential future uses and intrinsic worth of nature ◆​ criticism of WTP ​ Rich people are willing to pay more for things, so the things they value become amplified, at the expense of poor people ​ relies on individual preferences (not the whole of society) ​ assumes value exists only where WTP is measurable ​ overemphasizes monetary value, excluding moral and intangible concerns ​ discounting: future costs/benefits are discounted, in turn valuing present over future impacts and diminishing irreversible impacts on the future ➔​ Monbiot (rebuttal to natural/environmental capital agenda) ◆​ These assets are incommensurable (cannot measure them in financial terms) ◆​ You are pushing the environment into a system that is destroying it in the first place, should not put the environment in the hands of financial traders who discount future value of assets and try to separate different assets of the environment because they are all interconnected ◆​ when you put something in market terms, power plays a role and even if it doesn’t economically make sense to say cut a forest down because its a net cost economically, it will be a net benefit for the powerful entity cutting it down. Giving entities with more money, more power because the environment is now just another monetary factor ​ The environmentalists are constantly trying to appease the values of people that oppose the environmental movement, by trying to frame things from the perspective of capitalism. Instead, he proposes that they should stand their ground with their values and win over the people who are undecided or shift people’s values by setting an example. soln: mobilization ➔​ Economist ◆​ Argument that public goods should be provided by WTP does not apply:  ​ If environmental issues could be bought, environmentalists would be trying to get higher-paying jobs to pay to help the environmental issues. Willing not equal to ability Sustainability ➔​ sustainability definition: moral obligation to future generations, leaving behind option and capacity to have the same well-being as us ➔​ Solow: sustainability is a moral obligation but cannot demand infeasible actions, and it is fine to leave a substitutable resource not just preservation for the sake of it. ◆​ Paradox: if we want to preserve well-being, it requires investment in the future, but this comes at the expense of the poor today who need consumption now, not investment for future generations. ◆​ In favor of population control. ➔​ Daily/Ehrlich: nuanced approach of looking at population growth, social factors, consumption and technology (should be underestimated wrt its capacity to solve all problems) ➔​ Strong sustainability: preservation of resources ➔​ Weak sustainability: Solow ideology of preserving capacity for well-being, not specific resources. (e.g. providing substitutes) ➔​ Challenges of achieving sustainability ◆​ Market: fail to represent future generations’ interests due to short term incentives and discounting ◆​ Gov: short-sighted policies ◆​ Keyfitz: Bad policies are widespread and persistent, so we should evaluate sustainability from an imperfect, self-interested society perspective. ◆​ Technological optimism: over-reliance on tech is risky due to biophysical limits, reliance on people doing the right thing with that technology Discounting and distanciation ➔​ discounting (refer to CBA); lag times between activity and environmental impact, making it hard to see the impacts of negative actions unless you look forward into the future ➔​ the human tendency to discount costs that are remote in time and space (e.g. environmental harms are shifted geographically, for example, coal mines far from home) ➔​ Policies must address these biases to promote equitable outcomes Implications for Policy and Analysis ➔​ sustainability policy must account for scale, time, ecological, social, institutional systems and biases. Must account for uneven impacts on groups and societies. Look at the choice of policy and underlying motivations ➔​ Guha: problem with the Western deep ecology perspective on policy making. It should be all about policy and looking at impacts, not just preserving the environment with no regards to overconsumption, LIC, equity Climate change ➔​ earth is warming up due to Co2 and greenhouse gas effects ➔​ “overshoot” myth is that there is no tipping point where the earth is screwed. We can always work on solutions to better the situation ➔​ unconditional NDC: 2.6 ˚C: countries plan to take these actions no matter what ➔​ conditional NDC 2.4 ˚C: if given proper funding and incentives ➔​ Emissions by sector: 26% power largest by far, the industry, transport and fuel production ➔​ largest mitigation potential coming from power, agriculture, industry and transport ➔​ there is an optimal timing and sequencing of actions to reduce GHG over the next 30 years ➔​ Renewable energy use is increasing: investment in electricity, solar and wind power ◆​ solar: decentralized, scalable, employment and poverty alleviation ➔​ Ev play large role in reducing private transport emissions, decarbonization ➔​ Private passenger transport energy use varies proportionally to population density ➔​ most energy today comes from oil, gas, coal The way forward ➔​ switch to renewable energy ➔​ cannot just leave it up to the markets to address climate change ➔​ government intervention is essential ➔​ full cost pricing (internalizing externalities) ➔​ eliminate destructive subsidies for fossil fuels ➔​ Carbon tax vs cap and trade ◆​ carbon tax pros ​ price certainty ​ simplicity ​ ease of application ​ cost-effectiveness ​ incentives for long-term planning ​ raise funds for R&D but won’t change behavior ◆​ cap and trade pros ​ emissions reduction certainty ​ politically favourable (less backlash than a tax) ​ flexibility (can either pay or innovate) ​ changes in behaviours ​ rewarded for producing less carbon emissions ➔​ obstacles are political not technical (jacobson) ◆​ renewables could be 100% of energy but we need to invest and the cost will eventually be worth it ➔​ resource scarcity depends more on trade Electric Vehicles ➔​ Transport contributes significantly to GHG ➔​ alternatives address air pollution, climate change, and energy security ➔​ Batteries have low energy density, vs fossil fuels ➔​ Societal concerns ◆​ focus on energy security, air pollution, GHG emissions ➔​ User/Manufacturer concerns ◆​ focus on reliability, cost, range, resale value, performance, safety, vehicle weight ➔​ EV barriers: infrastructure replacement needs, vehicle fleet limitations. Recyclability ➔​ Transport is the largest petrol consumer and has the lowest share of renewables by sector ➔​ rapid growth in EV sales and battery manufacturing ➔​ Ev are always heavier ◆​ wear and tear ◆​ safety concerns ◆​ lower mileage ➔​ Source for electricity has big impact on effectiveness of reducing GHG through EV ➔​ EV don’t address other transport issues like congestion or land use but help with air pollution and GHG emissions ➔​ EV environment and social impacts ◆​ significant energy and water use ◆​ battery mining and recycling, designed for durability not recyclability ◆​ Electrical grid impacts (increased power demands), overloading in peak hours ➔​ Charging infrastructure: costly, EV taxation ➔​ issues w battery in cold weather ➔​ Costs are high but financial incentives are higher ➔​ Higher fixed costs, lower variable costs (no need to buy fuel) ➔​ Reliability: range anxiety, cold weather, repair costs EV policy implications ➔​ integrated, interdisciplinary analysis ➔​ multiple perspectives to consider: society, users, manufacturing ➔​ NMT, PT still needed for sustainable urban transport ➔​ No energy technology is 100% clean, highlighting need for careful tradeoff evaluation ➔​ EVs don’t address all transportation concerns Poverty, well-being and environment ➔​ Intra-generational equity ◆​ richest 20% account for 45-60% of meat, fish, energy ◆​ high poverty levels ➔​ Solow’s paradox:  ◆​ investment in education, health, public infrastructure can help reduce poverty today but results in increased consumption (how do we do this while still being sustainable and ensuring inter-generational equity) ◆​ need to improve social relationships too not just material in LIC to improve equity → less poverty → lower population growth ◆​ Leapfrogging tech ◆​ infant mortality correlated with decreased energy ◆​ life expectancy correlates with energy consumption ◆​ need to address poverty and rapid population growth ​ reduce need for children ​ women empowerment ​ providing water, shelter, … ➔​ Solutions through science and technology ◆​ collab between scientist, policy-makers and society ➔​ Developing relationships, trust, compassion ➔​ Rethinking GDP, look at happiness ➔​ “Great Transition” → well being centered society focusing on public good, inclusive future, policies prioritizing social trust, equality and prosocial behavior