Ecology & Environmental Problems

Dr. Ron ChesserLecture #24

Sustainable Development, Foreign Aid

Extra Point Projects are due NOW. Put them at the front of the room.

Government must do more to improve quality of life…

Whose life? Us…or Them? Which “Them”? Who is “us”…”me” or “me and some of them”?

With what resources? By which means?

Over 25% of the world’s population…

Live on < $1.00 per day Will never have a phone Don’t have windows Won’t receive an education Have never ridden in a car Don’t receive medical care of any kind Drink untreated water

Where does your $$ go?

http://www.oecd.org/countrylist/0,2578,en_2649_34447_1783495_1_1_1_1,00.html#u

It’s your $$$...Foreign Aid

USAID (http://www.usaid.gov/policy/budget/cbj2004/europe_eurasia/)

The United States is the world's top foreign aid donor in 2003, disbursing a combined $15.79 billion, up 18.8%.

Aid sometimes is a foreign policy tool to aid the donor not the recipient

AID may be to affect domestic policy in the recipient countries

It’s your $$$ -- Decisions

Cost of programs to save one life from radiation exposure…~$2.5 Billion

Cost to save one life from AIDS…~$50,000 Cost of programs to save one life by immunizations

(e.g. measles) …~$99.00 Neem Tree is endangered. It is found only in the

Olga Forest. It produces taxol, a compound that can cure breast cancer. 6 trees are required to treat one patient. Is it worth it?

Which Distribution of Resources is Best?

Low Resources HighMedium

Freq.

Which Distribution of Resources is Best? – AT WHICH SCALE? LOCAL, NATIONAL, INTERNATIONAL????

Low Resources HighMedium

Freq.

Which Distribution of Resources is Best? –LOCAL

Low Resources HighMedium

Freq.

Which Distribution of Resources is Best? –National

Low Resources HighMedium

Freq.

Which Distribution of Resources is Best? –International

Low Resources HighMedium

Freq.

ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS

There is a link between sustained development and environmental ethics

Resource availability and distribution

Do Environmental Ethics mean that we must be altruistic? (altruism=giving up one’s fitness to benefit another)

RESOURCE AVAILABILITY

VARIANCE OF RESOURCEAVAILABILITY

LOW - LOW LOW - HIGH

HIGH – LOW HIGH - HIGH

LOW CONFLICTLOW FITNESS

HIGH CONFLICTLOW FITNESS

LOW CONFLICTHIGH FITNESS

HIGH CONFLICTHIGH FITNESS

Ecology & Environmental Problems ---

“Think Globally…Act locally.” Can you do this? Are decisions dependent on scale? Does it matter?

Who will make future decisions on Ecology & Environmental Problems for the world?

You