ENV310H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Embodied Energy, Systems Science, Transdisciplinarity
Document Summary
Conclusions: what does the ecological sphere bring to our understanding of sustainability, how to operate in a context of env change and scientific uncertainty, planetary limits and tipping points. Consumption and use: appropriate use nad resuse, g/s, water and electricity, monitoring and reflection, petroleum and metals, promotion and dissemination. Wealth and distribution: distributional equity concept that came from economics, based on a value judgement, used for determining tax structures, for instance, ensuring equity in the distribution if both costs and benefits, various mechanisms. A positive discount rate favours present benefits over long-term benefits; however, many resource-use and management decisions are long-term: discount rate strongly influences our decisions to either exploit or conserve resources, especially in cost-benefit analyses. Someone who jumps the gate is a free rider; the rest of the community pays for their ride: a public park: cost paid by municipal taxes. An out-of-town visitor or someone who dodges their taxes is a free rider.
