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Environmental Science: A Global Concern, 7/e

William P. Cunningham, University of Minnesota
Mary Ann Cunningham, Vassar College
Barbara Woodworth Saigo, St. Cloud State University

Ecological Economics

Essay Quiz


1		Describe the essential differences among classical, neoclassical, and ecological economics.



2		Resources owned in common may produce tragic results for all, or may be successfully managed sustainably, depending on your point of view. Compare and contrast these opposing viewpoints



3		Define eco-efficient economy.



4		Describe the difference between the internal and external costs of a product.



5		You note in one section of a newspaper that crude oil is selling for $25 a barrel on the world market. In another section of the paper, an article describes how a particular Texas oil field contains 50 million barrels of oil. Six months later, when oil is at $30 a barrel, you read another article about the same Texas field containing 75 million barrels of oil. No oil exploration has taken place between times. Explain.



6		Three of the strategies for sustainable development are listed here. Think about your community or state, and list any concrete examples you are aware of through which a given strategy is already being employed. a. Internalizing external costs b. Minimizing throughput by minimizing consumption, emphasizing durable goods, or recycling or reusing materials c. Developing nondestructive resource uses by focusing on activities that use intangible resources such as information, creativity, and communications



7		For a long time, residential garbage has been landfilled in many communities. The homeowner’s garbage bills were modest, covering the cost of pickup, a landfill fee for gravel cover over the garbage, and a bit of profit. In many cities, recycling and composting were rejected as management options because each was considered more expensive than landfilling. Eventually, the landfills leaked, contaminating ground drinking water supplies and forcing cities to either relocate wells or install expensive water treatment facilities before the water could be used. State laws are changing to require clay liners to be built beneath landfills to retard seepage. Other states are requiring landfill operators to maintain large contingency funds to be available to pay the cost of long-term monitoring and needed cleanup. Homeowner garbage bills have risen dramatically as a result. a. Identify internal and external costs and who paid each. b. How were the costs of landfilling garbage finally internalized? c. Speculate on the effect of internalizing landfilling costs on the choice of waste management option.



8		The use of cars is associated with many external costs. Discuss how those costs could be internalized and the resulting consequences.



9		Economists argue that human ingenuity will identify new resources to replace those that become too scarce to afford. Some claim that, historically, we have repeatedly increased environmental carrying capacity when confronted with this challenge by devising alternatives. a. Identify five of what you feel to be the most important resources necessary for your existence. b. Which of them could conceivably become scarce? c. Are there any for which there are no alternatives? Explain



10		Assume that platinum is discovered in a pristine area of the Rocky Mountains. The area has long been a favorite backpacking site and is also the core breeding area for an endangered bird species and several endangered butterflies. A mining company proposes to mine the deposit, a proposal that is strongly opposed by local interests. You are hired to do a cost/benefit analysis of the two options. a. Make a list of both the costs and the benefits of the mining proposal, and indicate which you think could be assigned a dollar value. b. Do the same for the proposal not to mine. c. Should the benefits for which a dollar value cannot be assigned be left out of the analysis

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