ENVR 115: Introduction to Sustainable Development September 18, 2007 Fall 2007.

ENVR 115: Introduction to ENVR 115: Introduction to Sustainable DevelopmentSustainable Development

September 18, 2007

Fall 2007

AgendaAgenda

• Introduction to course and expectations

• Focus of this course is poverty reduction through sustainable development

• Intellectual underpinnings

• Challenges of sustainability

COURSE DETAILSCOURSE DETAILS

Logistics of Distance EducationLogistics of Distance Education

• Video is a live streaming feed

• Chat room is monitored during class

• Class starts promptly at 5:30

• Waiver forms for video

• All information on course website– http://courses.dce.harvard.edu/~envre115

Technical DetailsTechnical Details

• Classroom microphones are always on

• Streaming lecture video– Videos are password protected after third week

• Harvard University ID number and PIN

– Technical requirements to view streaming video• http://www.extension.harvard.edu/2007-08/

DistanceEd/reqs/

Textbook & ReadingsTextbook & Readings

• Required Text– Rogers, Peter P., Kazi F. Jalal, and John

A. Boyd, An Introduction to Sustainable Development (Pilot Edition) Harvard University Press, 2006

– Available at the Harvard COOP, Amazon.com (both new and used)

– On reserve in the Grossman Library

• Additional readings will be posted on the course website as PDFs

Economic LiteracyEconomic Literacy

• There is no formal economics prerequisite for this course but students benefit by understanding basic economic concepts before environmental economics lectures on Oct. 13th

• Review the list of economic terminology posted on the website. If there are terms you are not familiar with you can review “Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses” by the US EPA– http://yosemite.epa.gov/ee/epa/eed.nsf/webpages/Guidelines.html

Student AssessmentStudent Assessment

Undergraduates Graduates

Participation – 10% Participation – 10%

Homework Assignments – 40% Homework Assignments – 25%

Midterm Exam – 25% Midterm Exam – 25%

Final Exam – 25% Final Exam – 25%

Project – 15%

ParticipationParticipation

• Student biographies let us get to know you

• Actions that count towards your participation grade– In-class comments and questions (real & virtual)– Discussion board for course material– SD news opinions– Student presentation day

HomeworkHomework

• Assignments will be posted on the website– First assignment is due next Tues

• Experimenting with online assignment submission– Always save a copy of your assignment to your hard

drive

• No late assignments accepted without prior arrangement

ExamsExams

• Exams are in-class, close book

• Distance students in the New England area take exams in class

• Distance students outside of New England must arrange a proctor at least two weeks before scheduled exam dates– http://www.extension.harvard.edu/2007-08/

DistanceEd/policy/exams.jsp

Graduate Student ProjectsGraduate Student Projects

• Work in small teams to develop a funding proposal for an infrastructure development project that will help alleviate poverty in a low income country

– Written funding proposal

– Oral presentation

– Debate project in class

– Assessment will be based on overall group performance and individual contribution

Graduate Student Projects

Development Project• Water & Sanitation• Health Clinics• Agriculture• Education• Transportation

Maximize Social &Environmental

Benefits

Gender equalityImproved healthFood securityProtect biodiversityAccess to markets

Sustainable Development Sustainable Development Through Infrastructure Through Infrastructure

ImprovementImprovement

An Example in India

Example: Restoring Rajasthan’s Traditional Earthen Dams For Rainwater Harvesting

And Groundwater Replenishment

Source and description of projecthttp://ecotippingpoints.org/galleries/indiarainwater.html

Negative Feedback AnalysisNegative Feedback Analysis

Positive Feedback AnalysisPositive Feedback Analysis

Project SummaryProject Summary

• Building johads (check dams) is not the only factor

• Hill slopes are treated to stop run-off and soil erosion

• Forest conservation methods have been adopted

• Strong village-level organizations (gram sabhas) which tackle all issues through collective decision-making

• Economic and ecologic transformation– For every Rs 100 invested in check dams the economic

production in the villages has risen by as much as Rs 400 per capita per annum

Some Intellectual Some Intellectual Underpinnings ofUnderpinnings of

Sustainable DevelopmentSustainable Development

(And a Disclaimer)

Thomas Malthus (1766 – 1834)Thomas Malthus (1766 – 1834)The Dismal TheoryThe Dismal Theory

• Wrote “An Essay on the Principle of Population; or a View of its past and present Effects on Human Happiness; with an Inquiry into our Prospects respecting the Removal or Mitigation of the Evils”

• He believed that population was held in check by “misery, vice, and moral restraint.”

 • …population, when unchecked, increased in a

geometrical ratio, and subsistence for man in an arithmetical ratio.

And yet…And yet…• There has been a six-fold increase in global

population (from 1 to 6 billion) since 1798 and still be able to more or less feed the population

CornucopiansCornucopians““Necessity is the mother of invention”Necessity is the mother of invention”

• Increase in population pressure acts as an incentive to develop new technology and produce more food

• Ester Boserup concluded “that population growth naturally leads to development”

• Green revolution increased grain production by 250%

Basic Laws of Human EcologyBasic Laws of Human Ecology

First Law of Human Ecology:• We can never do merely one thing- nature is interconnected• Concept of externalities

Second Law of Human Ecology:• There's no away to throw to.• Concept that all resources have a purpose

Third Law of Human Ecology:• The impact (I) of any group or nation on the environment is

represented qualitatively by the relation I=PAT• Expansion of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics

Garrett Hardin

Ehrlich Identity: I=PATEhrlich Identity: I=PAT

• Environmental Impact is a multiplicative product from small changes in Population, Affluence and Technology

• Mathematically represented as:

(I + ΔI) = (P + ΔP)(A + ΔA)(T + ΔT)

Divide through by the identity

(1 + ΔI/I) = (1 + ΔP/P)(1 + ΔA/A)(1 + ΔT/T)

Where ΔI/I, ΔP/P, and ΔT/T is the percentage increase in impact, affluence and technology

Quantifying ImpactQuantifying Impact

• Example: Lead in gasoline from 1946 to 1968 in the US– Pop. increased 42%– Vehicle mile per capita doubled– Amount of lead per vehicle mile increased 81%

(I + ΔI/I) = (P + ΔP/P)(A + ΔA/A)(T + ΔT/T)

(1 + ΔI/I) = (1 + 0.42)(1 + 1.0)(1 + 0.81)

(1 + ΔI/I) = 5.14

ΔI/I = 5.14 – 1

=4.14

Or 414% increase in lead

Economics & Environmental Economics & Environmental Degradation Degradation (Kuznet’s Curve)(Kuznet’s Curve)

Stage 1 Stage 2

Start ofindustrialdevelopment

Initiation ofemissionscontrol

Stabilizationof air quality

Stage 3 Stage 4

Improvement of air quality

High Technology applied

Low Level of development High

Development of air pollutionproblems in cities according to development status

WHO Guideline ornational standard

Stage 0

Relationship between air pollution problems in cities and the level of development. As a city experiences development, the air pollution problems in the city increase rapidly, before stabilizing and declining as air pollution controls are implemented (Source: Based on Haq et al, 2002; Peters 2003)

• Sustainability is the term designed to bridge the gulf between development and environment

• Originally came from forestry, fisheries, and groundwater– maximum sustainable cut– maximum sustainable yield– maximum sustainable pumping rate

• However, even when these maxima were achieved the ecosystem was not necessarily itself sustainable

• The attempt now is to apply the concept to all aspects of development simultaneously

SustainabilitySustainability

Savings is the Key to Savings is the Key to SustainabilitySustainability

H KH

y

M KM

y

N KN

y S

y > =

Depreciation of Human

Knowledge

Depreciation of Man-made

Capital

Depreciation of Natural

Capital

Savings as percentage

of GNP+ +> =

• Weak Sustainability requires the sum of all forms of capital to be constant or increasing over time

• Strong Sustainability requires each component to be constant or increasing over time

9 Ways to Achieve 9 Ways to Achieve SustainabilitySustainability

1. Leave everything in its pristine state or return it to its pristine state.

2. Develop so as to not overwhelm the carrying capacity of the system.

3. Sustainability will take care of itself as economic growth proceeds.

4. Polluter and victim can arrive at an efficient solution by themselves.

5. Let the markets take care of it.6. Internalize the externalities.

7. Let the national economic accounting systems reflect defensive expenditures.

8. Reinvest rents from non-renewable resources (weak & strong sustainability).

9. Leave future generations the options or the capacity to be as well off as we are.

The Debate ContinuesThe Debate Continues

• In this course our goal is to avoid the major intellectual perils at both ends of this debate.

• We must evaluate what we know and have experienced and what is predictable and attempt to maximize benefits while minimizing harm

• In the long run Malthus has to be right but in the short run can we rely on human ingenuity

• Thus our definition of sustainability is time-bound to the near future