Chapter 5 Goal of Environmental Policy Environmental Policy is a policy that pertains to human interactions with the environment Problem solving tool that uses science ethics and economics In 1970 President Nixon s executive order created the Environmental Protection Agency EPA To develop an integrated approach to environmental policy The EPA Conducts and evaluates research Monitors environmental quality Sets and enforces standards for pollution levels Assists states in meeting standards and goals Educates the public Environmental policy has 3 major approaches Lawsuits People saw legislation and regulation as more effective in protecting health and safety Command and control a regulating agency prohibits actions or sets rules or limits Economic policy tools Assumptions of neoclassic economy Capitalist market systems operate according to neoclassical economics Enormous material wealth has been created Assumptions of neoclassical economics contribute to environmental degradation Resources are infinite or substitutable We should discount the future All costs and benefits are internal All growth is good Psychological factors that underlie consumer choices Market prices reflect consumer preference Supply vs demand Conflict between buyers and sellers leads to Production of the right quantities of a product The National Environmental Policy Act NEPA began the modern era of environmental policy It created the Council on Environmental Quality Requires an Environmental Impact Statement EIS An EIS usually does not halt projects BUT Provides incentives to decrease damage Grants citizens input into the policy process International Environmental Policy For any federal action that might significantly impact the environment To assess the environmental impacts of any federally funded project No country has authority outside its own border so solving transboundary problems is vital Customary Law arises from long range standing practices or customs held in common by most cultures Conventional Law arises from conventions or treaties into which nations enter International Organizations o The North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA o The United Nations o The European Union o The World Trade Organization WTO WTO Can impose penalties on nations that don t comply with its directives Brazil and Venezuela filed a complaint against U S regulations requiring cleaner burning fuel Under NAFTA investors can sue a country for lost profits Canada sued the U S for 300 million for banning beef after finding mad cow disease in Canada cows The U S forced Mexico to pay 16 million and reopen a toxic waste dump Ecological economic Ecological economics civilizations cannot overcome environmental limitations Uses principles of ecology and systems science Natural systems are models for sustainability Calls for revolution Ecological economists advocate steady state economies Economies that mirror natural ecological systems They don t grow nor shrink but stay stable Quality of life increases through technological and behavioral changes Chapter 6 Population China s population policy and effect In 1970 China s 790 million people faced starvation The government instituted a one child policy o The growth rate plummeted The policy is now less strict but has unwanted consequences o Killing of female infantso Black market trade in teenaged girls The Good In addition if the first child is either handicapped or a girl then the couple is allowed a second child Those with one child are issued with a one child certificate entitling them to interest free loans longer maternity leave and cash bonuses However the policy varies from province to province and is especially liberal when it applies to China s minorities More young educated women in Chinese society today than ever Nearly 50 of all undergraduates and graduates are female The bad Steep decline in the average population growth rate alongside an aging population with women only having 1 4 children instead of the 2 1 necessary for population stabilization This means more pressure on a shrinking work population as well as on government pensions and healthcare With the arrival of ultra sound technology sex selective abortion and female infanticide became widespread Lack of brides Because of financial penalty many families do not register these babies and therefore have no legal identities Child trafficking Another effect is the creation of little emperors obesity and a generation of spoiled brats Parents rising expectations Sadly this has led to high suicide rates Policies and family planning Cairo conference Family planning efforts to plan the number and spacing of children o The greatest single factor slowing population growth o Clinics offer advice information education and contraceptives Birth control controlling the number of children born by reducing the frequency of pregnancy Contraception deliberate prevention of pregnancy through a variety of methods o Hindered by religious and cultural influences o Rates range from 10 Africa to 86 China o Space Births Policies and family planning work Funding and policies that encourage family planning lower population growth rates in all nations o 1994 s UN population conference in Cairo Egypt called for universal access to reproductive health care Offer education health care and address social needs E g Alleviate poverty disease and sexism Global funding has fallen 33 slowing progress Thailand s education based approach to family planning reduced its growth rate o Brazil Mexico Iran Cuba and other developing countries have active from 2 3 to 0 6 programs The 4 stages of the demographic transition Demographic transition a model of economic and cultural change explains the declining death and birth rates in industrializing nations Pre industrial stage low population growth o High death disease starvation few medicines and birth compensation for mortality rates Transitional stage industrialization increased food and medical care reduce mortality rates o High birth rates cause population to surge Industrial stage women get jobs and use birth control o Kids do not need to help get food Post industrial stage low birth and death rates stabilize populations Demography TFR Demography applying the principles of population ecology to the study of change in human populations Demographers study o Population size o Density and distribution o Age structure o Sex ratio o Birth death immigration and emigration rates Factors for Population Control o