SCI 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Happy Planet Index, Ecocentrism, Environmental Economics
Document Summary
Central case study: costa rica values its ecosystem services. Costa rica was once losing its rainforests to logging faster than almost any other country. Government began paying landowners to protect ecosystem services by planting or saving forest. Forest cover has gone from 17% of the country in 1983 to 52% today. Ethics and economics involve values/ both deal with what we value. Solving environmental problems needs more than understanding how natural systems work. Culture = knowledge, beliefs, values, and learned ways of life shared by a group of people. Worldview = a person"s or group"s beliefs about the meaning, operation, and essence of the world. How a person sees his or her place in the world. Religious and spiritual beliefs shape our worldview and perception of the environment. Political ideology: government"s role in protecting the environment. Shared cultural experiences if members of the community have lived through similar experiences.
