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ONE MORE NOTE REGARDING
FINAL
- The period is 6-8 PM. The exam will not
likely take anyone more than an hour. At
the second Mid term there were some
latecomers.
- NO ONE WILL BE ALLOWED TO
START THE EXAM AFTER 6:
Current Issues In Current Issues In
the Environment:the Environment:
SummingSumming
it allit all
upup
Environmental protection has a good payEnvironmental protection has a good pay--off ratiooff ratio
Each generation has at least one
environmental battle that takes center stage.
Pollution control and preserving biotic diversity are now “mature” issues.
Global change and sustainable life styles are just beginning.
What can you do?
Four Suggestions
1. Understand the Issues. EveryoneEveryone wants to live in
a better environment, but we vary in the costs ($,
convenience, quality of life ) we are willing to bear.
- Better understanding of the costs of not acting on behalf of the environment needs to be more widespread
- Understanding the science of the problem and the regulatory framework to deal with the problem are the dual keys to better advocacy for a solution.
Four Suggestions
2. Be wary of extremism. Unregulated economic markets can not solve environmental problems, nor does radical “back to nature” environmentalism.
- Demonizing the opposition may be fun, but it rarely works. 3. Be Patient. Democratic governments work slowly by design.
- Environmental solutions are often excruciatingly slow to be implemented
- The US is a much more conscientious environmental manager now than 25 years ago.
- We are entering a period where most significant improvements may be a result of changing individual behavior. This will be slow and painful.
Four Suggestions
4. Embrace uncertainty. Environmental problems
are inherently complex. Complexity and
uncertainty can not be allowed to be barriers to
action.
- Indecision because of scientific uncertainty is a decision. Understand the uncertainty and treat it as a cost-benefit or risk analysis problem.
- Attacking the messenger (the science and the scientist, or the agency appointed to protect a resource) has become the norm. Recognize that this is a cheap trick of the cynical and jaded.
#1) Personal choices and
responsibility
- Recognize your impacts
- Reduce, reuse, recycle
- Be an energy conscious consumer
- Fuel efficiency, shut the AC off
- Reduced use is better than recycling “People may be concerned about the big global problems,” Ruston says, “but if they want to do something concrete in their own lives, it usually comes down to shopping and taking out the trash.”
Exercise your right to be active here
at UC Davis
Develop skills outside the classroom now:
Student organizations
Working with graduate students and faculty
internships
Professional Environmentalists
• Environmental Careers
- Policy
- Law
- Environmental Planning
- Regulation
- Environmental Engineering
- Environmental Science
- Environmental Consulting
- Science
- Education
- Environmental centers and outreach
Biography: Grew up in Fresno, BS in environmental planning from UC Davis. MS from MIT. Worked for Environmental Defense in NYC on recycling during the late 90’s. He worked with McDonalds to phase out clamshell sandwich boxes.
John Ruston EDF
Not all the environmental news is
bad. Much of it is very encouraging.Much of it is very encouraging. Get Started!
