The notion of sustainability sometimes seems vague when applies to real world decision making process. But one universal agreement with regard to how sustainability functions in the political and economic arena unfolds as decisions made today would have huge impact on both nowadays and the future. According to Goulder and Stavins, economists, in order to help decision makers implement policy evaluations, would commonly discount future impacts. Basically, discounting serves as a mechanism to convert the potential impact in the future into computable monetary unit for nowadays. Here comes the first challenge in determining whether the use of non-renewable resources is intertemporally efficient or not. There exists some skepticism and controversy because some people would argue that discounting gives insufficient weight to future benefits and wellbeing of future generations. However, except for the superficial misconceptions, the real challenges lie in the unpredictable future interest rates and the tastes and preferences of future generations. For example, discounting will be used in...
...s is priceless. Whether it’s through public awareness or implementation of policies, the end goal and objective is to provide sustainability for future generations ahead.
Stern, Nicholas. The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Print.
One pivotal point regarding the debate on environmental ethics and the course humans should take is regarding future generations. How do the actions we take today impact those who inherit this planet after us? Some people argue that we do not inherit this world from our parents, but rather borrow it from our future children. Regarding the text Sustainability and Responsibility to the Future, several different viewpoints are offered regarding both sides of the ethics of environmentalism.
Reliance on major non-renewable resources has had, and continues to have detrimental effects on the environment. These resources found in the earth are mined and drilled so that people around the world can benefit from their use. For example, the majority of Americans, and most of the world’s population, uses gasoline to fuel their vehicles in order to commute back and forth from one place to another and gas to heat the homes in which they spend the bulk of their time. With the world’s population consistently growing, the amount of vehicles on the roadways increases therefore causing the amount of fuel being used to increase. The same goes for planes and ships that transport people greater distances, whether it be from Virginia to California, or the United States to China. The carbon emissions released pose a threat to the global climate (“Fossil”). Not only does the emission of fossil fuels hinder earth’s atmosphere, but the availability of the non-renewable resources used daily is also shrinking. Though the United States may not be greatly affected by the environmental dangers, other countries continuously struggle with locating drinkable water, maintaining consistent levels of agricultural produce and...
Sustainability is one of the most controversial topics throughout the history, and as our society develop, we realize that being able to be sustainable is essential to survival of our race. The book Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Sustainability is a collection of articles on different side of various issues related to sustainability. In the book, Issue 8 discusses the ability of technology to deliver sustainability, and issue 16 and 17 discusses the sustainability of food and energy. While issue 16 and 17 are well-presented, the arguments in issue 8 are not very strong.
Generational conflicts, political strife, environmental regulations, stakeholders in big oil, and many more hurdles affect the push to fully sustainable economies around the world and even here in America. In a world where coal, oil, and natural gas are limited, countries are gobbling it all up as fast as they can before other poorer countries come on the grid. Even though America and other countries gobble up these resources the life of the people is still a struggle to meet basic needs. Sustainability is an intermingling of resource use and protection of the “quality of life”, it is met by using resources sparingly and by recycling or reducing the use of other non-renewable resources to provide for our immediate need, but also to conserve and protect the needs of the next generation and to improve the quality of all the lives to come.
Enormous amounts of publications have been written on the subject of climate change. Many authors and environmentalists argue their cases and present different perspectives on the controversial subject. While some argue that the risks of climate change are high, others hold the view that the risks have been greatly exaggerated. Recent studies and surveys indicate that only 36% of scientists believe that human beings are the cause of global warming and therefore climate change On the contrary the other scientists hold the opinion that nature is the primary cause of climate change and that climate change will not be a serious problem(Lefsrud & Meyer 2012 ). In my discussion I will focus on two peer reviews: ‘What is the Economics of Climate Change?’ a peer review writt...
It is becoming increasingly certain that climate change will have severe adverse effects on the environment in years to come. Addressing this issue poses a serious challenge for policy makers. How we choose to respond to the threat of global warming is not simply a political issue. It is also an economic issue and an ethical one. Responsible, effective climate change policy requires consideration of a number of complex factors, including weighing the costs of implementing climate change policies against the benefits of more environmentally sustainable practices.
(7) Adams, W. M. The Future of Sustainability: Re-thinking Environment and Development in the Twenty-first Century. Rep. The World Conservation Union, 22 May 2006. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.
Sustainability is an issue that everyone should be concerned about. If the planet Earth is going to exist, as we know it, everyone should wake up and do their part to help achieve a greater level of sustainability. In my English 101 class we learned about the issue of sustainability. Many different topics were discussed and researched throughout the course of the semester. Overall, I think that the sustainability project has been a learning and enlightening experience for everyone in this class. Many more things can be done next semester, since the groundwork has been laid to continue this project for time to come.
In the language of economists, “willingness to pay” describes the amount of money a person would sacrifice in order to obtain an additional unit of utility. In environmental economics, specifically, WTP is used to reflect the maximum amount a person would give up in exchange for an increase in an environmental “good” (for example, a one-unit increase in the cleanliness of a lake) or the minimum amount a person would accept in exchange for an environmental “bad” (for example, a one-unit increase in air pollution). Certainly, WTP can be a useful tool when used during standard cost-benefit analysis. However, the specific use of WTP as a measure of environmental values is flawed in several respects: it is dependent on the public’s awareness and understanding of environmental issues; it entails severe practical difficulties in quantification; and, since WTP varies by income, it is fundamentally inequitable as a measurement standard.
Humans have been destroying the planet since we were able to stand on two legs. As a society, we need to work to reverse these terrible effects that our existence has on the planet. Sustainability is one way to begin reversing these effects, while still living our daily lives. In 2006, Al Gore presented his documentary, “ An Inconvenient Truth”, as a way to show the world the evidence behind global warming, climate change and the destruction of our planet. This documentary shocked the world. It was clear that changes needed to be made, but the destruction was more intense than previously thought. SInce this revelation in 2006, companies have tried to cut down on their greenhouse emissions, as well as offered sustainable products to their customers. Through a debate of morals and
Household energy conservation is a very practical and realistic approach to conserving energy within our society. US households consume a tremendous amount of natural gas as well as electric energy. It has been calculated that the amount of energy consumed within the US increased exponentially from about 1850 to 1975. If energy continued to increase at this rate, we would be experiencing severe energy shortages in our current society. Luckily, steps towards conservation, including various energy regulations, have curbed that growth somewhat, brining the predicted 160 Qbtu/yr for the year 2000 down to around 93.8 Qbtu/yr by the year 1996. However, household energy usage is still a major issue as households consume about 38% of the total consumed energy and contribute greatly to natural gas consumption and issues such as global warming. Therefore, it is important that people understand how we use energy in the household and what steps can be taken to conserve that energy.
These differing emphases naturally point to fundamentally different solutions: slow population growth in less-developed nations or change destructive consumption and production patterns in the more-developed nations. This debate, however, assumes a one-step answer to the complex problems created by population pressures on the environment. Both population size and consumption influence environmental change and are among the many factors that need to be combined into credible policy debates.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Sustainable consumption is primarily concerned with the quality of growth, rather than the quantity of growth. Analysts have made two important observations regarding the current growth models. The first is that as emerging economies continue to grow, most of the wealth is accumulated in the hands of a few wealthy individuals, leading to large inequality in society. The second is that economic growth increases well-being in society, but only to the extent to which it provides for the basic needs of people. Beyond that, growth makes hardly any marginal contribution to well-being, while having damaging impacts on the environment. Aside from this, the World Economic Forum recently started to recognize sustainable consumption as an economic opportunity and future direction for business.