Syllabus for Winter 2001

Overview | Goals | Objectives | Required Text | Suggested Reading
Requirements and Grading | Schedule | Instructions for Assignments 
Grading for Papers | Guidelines for Authors: References

 
Course Overview
 
     This course covers economic concepts and policy issues associated with renewable and non-renewable natural resource management, pollution, environmental protection, and regulation with a global perspective. Most environmental problems are symptoms of flawed or incomplete markets and inaccurate accounting. The failure of environmental organizations to effect change reflects the weakness of blaming problems on "moral failure". If the rules of the game change people will work equally hard to reach sustainable solutions -- if they are more profitable.
 
     This course reviews the foundations and principles of economics but focuses on environmental or ecological economics and the critical factors that distinguish it from conventional economics - true cost accounting, externalities, discount rates, inter-generational transfers and equity and the perverse effects of government intervention. Emphasis is on applied problems and differences between countries and systems of management because solutions can only be developed with a good understanding of cultural and political settings. Opportunities for environmental entrepreneurs are also examined. Readings, papers and discussion are very important for this class.
 

Course Goals

1. Demonstration of a global outlook
2. Understanding of the interconnectedness and interdependence of individuals and cultures
3. Skill in critical thinking to assess the quality of information and its importance
4. Competency in interpersonal communication with oral, written, quantitative and computer skills
5. Understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of knowledge
6. Group Work
    

Course Objectives

1. Understand the importance of ecological economics and human activities and survival. Relate economic policy to global environmental problems and sustainability issues
2. Develop an increased awareness and understanding of people's impact on the environment and the effect of economics on human behavior. Develop increased respect and understanding of "others" and the non-monetary economy
3. Apply critical analysis skills to interpreting economic policy and approaches to resource management
4. Interpret and present important journal, newspaper and web information for other classmates
5. Understand the inter-relatedness of all things and the importance of systems thinking to solve complex problems with economic, social and ecological interactions
6. Learn to work well with teams and with a partner in analyzing and presenting discussions of important concepts and papers
    

Required Text
 
Hawken, P., A. and H. Lovins. 1999. Natural Capitalism. Back Bay Books, Boston,
     MA 396 p. (paperback $17.95)

Suggested Reading
 
Socolow et al. 1997. Industrial Ecology and Global Change. Cambridge.
 
Robert C., J. Cumberland, H. Daly, R. Goodland, and R. Norgaard. 1997. An
     Introduction to Ecological Economics. by St. Lucie Press, Boca Raton, FL 
     275 p.

Andersen, M.S. 1994. Governance by Green Taxes. Making Pollution Prevention
     Pay. Manchester University Press. UK. (sadly out of print)

Piasecki, B. 1995. Corporate Environmental Strategy. John Wiley.

Willig, J. 1995. Auditing for Environmental Quality Leadership. John Wiley.

Richards, D., ed. 1997. The Industrial Green Game: Implications for Environmental
     Design and Management. National Academy of Engineering, National Academy
     press, Washington, DC.
 

Course Requirements and Grading

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT ASSIGNMENTS OR EXPECTATIONS, PLEASE E-MAIL bainbrid@usiu.edu, CALL 635-4616, VISIT MY OFFICE, OR CALL ME AT HOME BEFORE 9 PM. 858 455-6336.
  

Schedule: Week by week

1. Introduction and summary - Natural Capitalism pp. 1-21
Environmental economics--why, what, how, for whom. Supply, demand and prices -- elasticity of demand. The dismal science and the folly of traditional economics, oblivious to environmental limits and uncertainties. The issue of externalities and market failure. The revolution now underway -- Factor 4 and Factor 10.

2. Economics for a sustainable future - NC pp. 144-169
Natural laws, assets and values, distinguishing between mining and harvesting resources. Mortgaging the future and the discount rate problem. The problem of subsidies, corporate welfare, and governmental policy - a look across several nations.

3. Measuring well being and progress - handouts
The true economy versus the money economy. Why GNP fails as an indicator, the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare and other indicators. Making the market complete, visible and effective.

4. Policies and management strategies - NC pp. 111-143
The need to develop a shared vision. From command and control to the free market. The complexity of governance - simple solutions are politically correct but rarely work. Government givings and takings.

5. Economics of water pollution cleanup - handouts
The value of case studies and interpretation of effects. The cultural, political and environmental setting and what works, what doesn't. Economics of water pollution cleanup. Denmark, France, and Germany, the Netherlands, United States, California. Cost effectiveness of water pollution policies and implications for other environmental problems and resources

6. Environmental economics and the built environment - NC pp. 22-47
Homes, developments and transportation systems. Perfectly perverse incentives for doing the wrong things. Performance contracting and other signs of hope. A look at the positive benefits of improving refrigeration efficiency.

7. Forest management and mismanagement - NC pp. 170-189, handouts
Renewable resource environmental economics, why there is little forest replanting despite the growing demand for wood. Command and control versus performance incentives. Subsidies and perverse incentives in the US and overseas.

8. Sustainable agriculture - NC pp. 190-212, handouts
Internal and external costs of American agriculture, cost accounting for the Amish and their neighbors. Strategies for reform

9. Making the future work - NC pp. 206-322.
Environmental technology and business opportunities, ee and industrial ecology. Green industry around the world, by-passing the smokestack industrial era. Kalundborg, Volvo, Curitiba, the Netherlands.
 

Instructions for Assignments
 
Papers
Paper Format - No cover sheet, no title page, use recycled paper.
 
All papers should be typed, one and a half space in 12 point Times or similar font, 1.25 inch margin on the left and 1 inch margins on all other sides. Typographical errors, spelling mistakes, and poor grammar must be corrected by careful proofreading. Ask a friend to check it.
 
You should use at least five professional articles and/or sources for your short paper and 10 for your long paper. Your search strategy must by included with data bases and hits. Although textbooks, newspaper articles, and magazine articles can be useful to get started use professional journals, government documents, and scholarly books as primary source materials for the papers. Follow citation format in attached journal instructions.

Assignment #1. Short Paper
Your short paper should be on a specific topic or issue in EE, i.e. How can we measure real progress or failure? Do externalities favor non-chemical alternatives to chemical weed control? Should San Diego's water system be privatized? Should the ocean fisheries be privatized? What went wrong with energy privatization in California? The environmental cost of corporate welfare. The carbon tax - what should it be? Farmers markets and environmental costs/benefits in San Diego.
 
Communication is the most important part of business, politics and human interaction. Make it work for you by learning how to write well.

Assignment #2. Long Paper
Your paper should explore one of the following areas:
a) the economics of a key international environmental problem
b) the economics of a key local environmental issue
c) what should we do to consider inter-generational equity
d) making a specific market whole and complete and visible
e) a business opportunity in environmental management-- making a market better through industrial ecology
f) a "green" fee to solve a common misuse of resources
 
The Long Paper will include:
-- An introduction that lays out the issue and opposing views.
-- The main body of the paper develops your theme using the appropriate scientific and popular literature (at least 10 different sources).
-- The close of your paper should look to the future and contain your assessment of how the issue may be or may not be resolved or improved.
-- Literature cited must be carefully checked with formats correct and complete.
-- A computer search MUST be attached, with search language, browser, and total number of sources found (known as "hits"). A world wide web search may be used in rare cases, but data base searches through the library are required for most topics.
 
This is a lot to accomplish and will require a careful analysis of the issue and a well crafted outline before you start the paper.

Do not use footnotes, use direct quotations only when they are essential to your argument. An example is quoting a section of a law or a statement made by someone in a speech. In most instances you should paraphrase the information from your sources, giving credit to authors by citing their paper or book.

Assignment #3. Presentation
Presenting ideas is critical. This short talk can cover any of your papers. Expect to talk for about 10-15 minutes. Prepare an outline of the key points and use graphic aids - either transparencies, charts, displays or a computer presentation. Your time as presenter is valuable - make sure it counts. More details will be provided in class.
 

GRADING for PAPERS (papers may be corrected, resubmitted and regraded)

*****  Deductions for spelling errors:  -5 points for each word  *****
*****  Deductions for wrong words:  -2 points for each word  *****
*****  Deductions for incorrect margins:  -5 points  *****
*****  No page numbers:  -10 points  *****
*****  Incorrect line spacing and font:  -5 points  *****
*****  Inappropriate topic:  up to -30 points  *******
Plagiarism (inappropriate copying of web page or other paper):  
no points, and no rewrite

Get a dictionary and use it!
 

Guidelines for Authors -- Ecological Economics (with minor revisions)
References

1. All publications used should be cited in the text. The full reference should be presented in a list of alphabetical listing of references following the text. These are not numbered. The spelling of authors' names and dates must be exactly the same in the text as in the reference list.
    

2. In the text refer to the author's name (without initial) and year of publication at the end of the sentence where this is used, for example (Peterson, 1989). If you rely on information from the same source for a whole paragraph you do not need to repeat it again. If you switch to a new source, then add the citation at the end of the first sentence where this information is used. If no none author use (Anon, 2000).
    

3. For two authors use both last names (Smith and Botkin, 1998). If reference is made in the text to a publication written by more than two authors, the name of the first author should be used followed by "et al." For example, (Smith et al., 1999). This indication, however, should never be used in the list of references. In the reference list, names of first author and all co-authors should be listed.
    

4. Citations listed together in the text should be arranged chronologically (Smith, 1975; Kebbe, 1998). A semicolon is used between the authors citations.
    

5. Use the following system for arranging your references:
    
   The references should be arranged alphabetically on authors' names, and chronologically per author. If an author's name in the list is also mentioned with co-authors, the following order should be used: publications of the single author, arranged according to publication dates; publications of the same author with one co-author; publications of the author with more than one co-author. Publications by the same author(s) in the same year should be listed as 1974a, 1974b, etc. Or (Anon, 1999a; Anon, 1999b).
    

   1. For periodicals 
       
      Volume number, issue number, pages are indicated by: 3(7):33-44. This would be volume 3, number 7, pages 33 to 44. There should be a period after the page numbers. For newspapers note edition, section, and column as appropriate.
      
      Ayres, R.U. 1993. Cowboys, cornucopians and long-run sustainability.
           Ecological Economics. 8(1):189-207.
       

   2. For edited symposia, special issues, etc., published in a periodical
       
      Reiche, E.W. 1993. Modelling water and nitrogen dynamics on
           catchment scale. In: B. Breckling and F. Miller (Editors),
           State-of-the-Art in Ecological Modelling. Ecol.ogical Modelling,
           75/76:371-384.
       

   3. For books
       
      Ahmad, Y., El Serafy, S. and Lutz, E. (Editors). 1989. Environmental
           Accounting for Sustainable Development. The World Bank,
           Washington, DC. 100 pp.
       

   4. For multi-author books
       
      Daly, H.E. 1991. Ecological economics and sustainable development.
           In: C. Rossi and E. Tiezzi (Editors), Ecological Physical Chemistry.
           Elsevier, Amsterdam. pp. 185-201.
       

   5. For unpublished reports, departmental notes, etc.
       
      Goodland, R., Daly, H.E. and El Serafy, S. 1991. Environmentally
           Sustainable Economic Development: Building on Brundtland.
           Environment Working Paper No. 46, World Bank, Washington, DC.
           101 p.
       

   6. Internet sites should refer to the author or use Anon. The full reference includes the author, date, title, and browser used to find it, and the complete URL. For example:
       
      Riter, J. and Riter, M. 2000. Control erosion with rolling grade dips.
           International Mountain Biking Association.
           http://imba.com/resources/trail_building/gradedips.html. 
           Northern Lights. 11/17/00.
       

6. Do not abbreviate the titles of periodicals.
    

7. In the case of publications in any language other than English, the original title should be retained. However, the titles of publications in non-Latin alphabets should be transliterated, and a notation such as "(in Russian)" or "(in Greek, with English abstract)" should be added.
    

8. In referring to a personal communication, the two words are followed by the year, e.g., (J. McNary, personal communication, 1992). In the reference section you would provide further detail.
    
   McNary, J. 1992. Personal communication. Program manager, Owens Energy
        Task Force, PO Box 32322, Bishop, Ca 92187.
    

9. Nomenclature All biotica (crops, plants, insects, birds, mammals, etc.) must be identified by their scientific names when first used, with the exception of common domestic animals (cow, horse). The scientific name should be italicized, the Genus is capitalized the Species is not, for example for corn the scientific name is Zea mays.

For further information, please contact me at: 
David A. Bainbridge
Environmental Studies Coordinator
Department of Global Liberal Studies
United States International University
10455 Pomerado Road, San Diego, CA 92131
E-mail: bainbrid@usiu.edu
 
©1998-2001 David Bainbridge. All rights reserved.

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