The Future And Its Uncertainties

        Air pollution might be the environmental issue any industrialized country will face. Global climate change is happening, regardless of whether we think humans have involvement or not. It now is just a matter of whether or not we will continue to exploit resources, or try to create a strong environment by focus more legislation and spending on it now. We simply cannot just pass the problem off to next generation letting it grow in cost and severity.  President Carter said it best, “Every act of energy conservation like this is more than just common sense – I tell you it is an act of patriotism.”

(Exploded Hydraulic Fracking Device used for fossil fuels)

http://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/2011/10/31/the-hidden-danger-of-fracking/ 

(An Explosion Like Chernobyl could cost America even more than Hurricane Katrina did which is over 250 billion, and Cesium is still being found in Russian exports to this day)

http://tour2chernobyl.com/about-chernobyl.html

Over Fishing And The Cost That Comes With It

        One of America's problems affecting today's economy is over-harvesting. In America, producers utilize a system called "maximum sustain yield," which is a method of taking the most of a resource possible while still sustaining the population. This method would work but unfortunately it does not take into account the fact that the species are part of an ecosystem. These problems occur in over-fishing where the adult fish are taken from the population leaving the juvenile fish to defend themselves. These juvenile fish are now the prey of other older species. Year after year less fish are available for the fishermen. This decline not only could result in us losing a species but also the loss of an industry. This could be very detrimental to the economy. This is why countries have started to add an ecological price on resources as opposed to just an economic value. they realize their resources are not infinite. Industrialized fishing also hurts species in another way called by-catches. A by-catch is when an unintended species gets caught and usually dies in a net or trap.

http://www.declineoftheempire.com/2011/06/the-international-conspiracy-to-catch-all-tuna.html

http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/blue_planet/problems/problems_fishing/

Deforestation And Our Economy

Deforestation is a huge problem in America today, but we would not have advanced as far we are today without it. Still we are now just learning the importance of the problem. Well over two thirds of all rainforest plants have cancer fighting properties, and over one fourth of all our cancer fighting drugs have ingredients from those plants. According to Leslie Taylor, author of The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs, “Worldwide sales of these plant-based drugs were estimated at 40 billion in 1990.” That is just an added perk; however, the main concern by most for the rainforest is its positive impact on the atmosphere by replacing CO2 with O2, back. When trees are cut down not only do they no longer provide us with clean air but the Carbon absorbed by them is released back into the atmosphere. This focus is very important to America because of rainforests in Puerto Rico, Guam, and even Hawaii, yet only one forest is protected. Other nations have now started compensating nations to replace the profits they would generate if they plowed down the rainforest for agriculture that year in return for the rainforests safety. Norway has set aside one billion dollars for this cause. Right now, these nations have the ultimate leverage against other countries and the only way to be less involved is to reduce our carbon emissions in general. Fortunately, we are nation that can plant trees almost everywhere and protect the ones we have.  

(How much we pay every year to protect other resources)

http://www.thejakartapost.com/files/images2/4_5.img_assist_custom-500x383.jpg
http://www1.american.edu/ted/projects/tedcross/xdefor21.htm

Why Iowa Matters?

        Iowa has been a huge factor in limiting ecosystems damage. Efforts have also been focused on finding ways to reduce or get rid of fertilizer and pesticide use because of not only the ecological expense but the lower demand that comes with its use. Currently in the US, it is cheaper to farm organically and the organic crops have a higher value also. This raises the question “why is not everything farmed organically?” The major problem with organic farming today is the switch.  The switch alone requires a lot of money and farmers have to be ready to not have a source of an income during the switch. Other governments have given money to farmers in order to make the switch and it is just a matter of time before ours does the same. 

 http://charlottesvillefarmsandland.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/WheatCosts.jpg

http://greenliving.nationalgeographic.com/use-organic-inorganic-fertilizers-2536.html

Coral's Importance

 Another problem is ocean acidification; with the excess amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere more CO2 is put into the ocean which results in ocean acidification. Ocean Acidification leads to coral bleaching and other ecosystems damage.  The NOAA places coral’s value at about 29.8 billion per year. Coral reefs' fate is very questionable they could be easily eradicated in the next twenty years. Coral reefs provide the US with about 360 million dollars in benefits per year from just Hawaii alone.  With the loss of the reefs, we could lose all the species that rely on them. One species, Horseshoe Crabs are not only a huge food source but they also serve a scientific purpose. The Horseshoe Crab’s blue blood is used for testing and the making of antibiotics, cancer medication, and even AIDS medication. 

http://coralreef.noaa.gov/aboutcorals/values/resources/cr_econ_value_cht.jpg

 http://www.barrierreef.org/Research/WhyResearch/TheReefandclimatechange/Whatisoceanacidification.aspx
http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/foundations/coral/side.html

Our Effects On Other Ecosystems

How we interact with one ecosystem does not only just affect that ecosystem but can affect multiple ecosystems. In Iowa, we use an over- sufficient quantity of fertilizers that results in excess runoff in the Gulf of Mexico. Runoff creates a “dead zone” where the oxygen is dissolved from the water and the natural inhabitants die. Only the states using excess fertilizer can stop this hypoxia. Unfortunately, we have an “it’s not our problem so it has little importance here” attitude. 

http://wiki.dickinson.edu/images/thumb/5/5a/Hypoxia1.png/340px-Hypoxia1.png

http://www.cop.noaa.gov/pubs/das/das16.pdf

Do Environmental Policies Work?

President Jimmy Carter was the most environmentally minded presidents. During his presidency, he created the Department of Energy, and pushed for the passages of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Act, the Soil and Water Conservation Act, The Antarctic Conservation Act, and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. These acts may have raised taxes but there purpose was to help the US become an independent nation. President Carter stated in his Crisis of Confidence speech, “Every gallon of oil each one of us saves is a new form of production. It gives us more freedom, more confidence, that much more control over our own lives.” President Carter is credited with reducing the national deficit at that time by $4,328,272,827. This chart is here to show that an environmentally-minded, balanced budget is very possible. 

(Please note that these are all changes in deficit or money owed)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/26/barack-obama-green-policies-environment_n_1234728.html

http://www.kondex.com/environmentally-focused.html

President Theodore Roosevelt And His Legacy

We have had a long history of Environmental policies in America. Theodore Roosevelt is considered the “father” of America’s environmental protection. According to the daily green, TR “saved over 150 million acres of timberland, created the U.S. Forest Service, created around fifty wildlife refuges and five national parks.” These parks and refuges today are home to some of the only species of their kind left, and Yellowstone National Park has lead to “three hundred million dollar” discoveries, and scientists are still learning from Yellowstone to this day. 

http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/biopictures.htm

http://theprogressiveera-oakridge.wikispaces.com/The+Conservation+Movement

http://naturalresources.house.gov/blog/?postid=311299

America's Worst Natural Disaster

Environmental policies have had some successes and some failures in the US dating back to over a hundred years ago. In the 1930's, when the Dust Bowl came and the Great Depression occurred, for the first time. US agriculture was not viable and farmers had to rely on government assistance programs. This was a significant contributor to the Great Depression and is considered to be one of the worst natural disasters in the past three hundred years. Unfortunately it was man made.  This disaster resulted in the formation of the Natural Resources Conservation Service and augmented this eco-aware perspective in government. However, with today's dry conditions brought upon us it is very important that we take special care of all our agribusinesses in order to prevent this from happening again. 

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/dust-bowl-cause.htm

(The Great Depression Economic Decline)

http://www1.assumption.edu/users/McClymer/bedfordprototype/toc/USBusinessCycle.gif

http://www.weather.com/weather/videos/on-tv-43/when-weather-changed-history-257/could-the-dust-bowl-happen-again-12819

Can We Wait?

America has to face the sad truth that we are trillions of dollars in debt and countries economically need us less and less. In addition we have less to offer each year if we keep up the same environmental disregard. We used to be the undisputed leader of industrialization. Now countries are becoming less interdependent and more self sufficient than ever, with sustainability as their goal. America is still trying to make a transition from inter-to intra-dependence. There is good news; however, now more than ever species are being looked at for not only their economic value, but for their scientific value in America. The importance of conservation and biodiversity is on the rise. America has also started to look for greener alternative sources of energy and other ways to try and break the inter-dependency on oil. 

http://ecomythsalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/wind-turbine.png

(Jobs created and jobs to be created estimate)

People tend to overlook is the creation of thousands of new jobs by this new green initiatives, and just think of it as new taxes. 

http://www.amlcleanenergy.com/web-support/content-images/job_creation.png

http://greenjobs.com/

Where Will It Stop? (Part I and II)

        When companies operate by non-green methods, the ecosystem will soon be destroyed. Ecosystems provide many great services to our planet and most services are unknown until the ecosystem is destroyed. When we lose a product or a service of that ecosystem, we have to either find a way to substitute it or learn to live without it. America is currently stuck in a trade deficit and will stay on that slippery slope if we keep destroying our natural ecosystems. With the destruction of our own natural ecosystems, we find ourselves with fewer and fewer resources to offer to other countries.  

(This shows the amount of tax put on companies generating pollution and America is last. Many Countries have yet to start this tax. graph from: http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2011/06/environmental-economics)

        Ecological economics has expanded from a result of the growing concern with the environment and the economy. Ecological economists insist that populations cannot overcome their environmental limitations and have constant economic growth. Economic growth has to stop somewhere and when it does then the resources will become depleted and the economies could go to ruins. When an economy incorporates these ideals, it is said to remain stable limiting growth and decline. This type of economy is called a steady-state economy. This is one of the only ways to have a self sufficient economy.

http://www.activistpost.com/2010/08/ten-reasons-to-become-self-sufficient.html

What GDP Does Not Account For

Another way to measure economic growth is the Genuine Progress Indicator or GPI.  GPI was introduced by Redefining Progress-a nonprofit organization- whose formula takes GDP into account along with more forms of economic measures. Normally, ecosystems have a non-market value but GPI includes them. A new method called "contingent valuation" is similar to ecosystem services but contingent valuation is taken through survey based on how much people are willing to pay for protection or resource restoration. 

(These are all real factors that shape our economy today and are a better way to compare progress between nations) 

http://www.cfr.org/economics/gdp-economic-policy/p22922

Economic Growth Is Not Necessarily Good (Part I and II)

Economic Growth is measured in terms of the percentage increase in gross domestic product, or GDP, which does not take into account all of the aforementioned factors that also affect the economy.  Economic growth has been considered as “essential,” because it can offer more opportunities for the poor to become rich. Still, many people are concerned that economic growth is not the best thing for a nation’s wealth and it can lead to affluenza. Affluenza is a term psychologist’s found that basically means “money does not lead to happiness; you’ll only get greedier.”
        Brennan and Withgott write about how critics have found that “the growth paradigm resembles the multiplication of cancer cells” (p.151). In order for the cancer cells to grow, they have to take from the body, which will eventually end up in destroying the organism itself. Because resources are finite, this is a valid comparison.  Economic growth can come from two main sources according to Brennan and Withgott: “economic growth can come from greater inputs of labor and natural resources and improvements in the efficiency of production.” (p.153).  The improvement in efficiency theory is often called “economic development.”

http://www.preservenet.com/endgrowth/EndGrowth.html

Externalties And How they Affect The Economy

Current economics are based only on supply and demand and do not factor in the external costs. Common mistakes are incorporated in today’s economic model: our resources can only be thought of as infinite, the benefits and costs are thought to be included with supply and demand, the future effects are not to be included, and economic growth is a good thing. These benefits or costs that affect the non-consumers are known as externalities. Today’s common negative externalities range from long-lasting problems in human health, damage done to properties, creation of less desirable environmental features or factors, and damage done to the natural beauty that people desire. These expenses from the damages become put on the people and it's their job to pay them off. 

(The first chart is a basic supply-demand curve; the second one is a marginal benefit and cost curves. The marginal benefit and cost curve is used to figure out a equilibrium point at which the cost of the resource use and cost to clean up pollution is equal with the benefits of the resource use. Environmentalist and other advocates believe that these charts are biased, because they focus on just the resource and not the ecosystem.)

http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/1323.html

Ecosystem Services

Strong sustainable ecosystems are the key to a strong sustainable economy, but we seem to have fewer and fewer each year. They are being destroyed for many reasons. It is not until after the ecosystem is destroyed that we know the true effects of that loss. Ecosystems are usually lost in one of two ways: either a loss of too many species or a keystone species causing the ecosystem to collapse, or a loss of a habitat for those species.   In 1970, the term “ecosystem services” was coined; this term puts those habitats into a realistic monetary value. Why is this important? It is estimated that the ecosystem services of the biosphere itself equals about 42 trillion dollars. 

(Above are some ecosystem services that we have already discovered)

http://www.metrovancouver.org/planning/development/ecologicalhealth/PublishingImages/Ecosystem.jpg

http://www.fs.fed.us/ecosystemservices/