Exploring Tradeoffs
These are Internet and InfoTrac Exercises that highlight actions, or inactions, that have various benefits and costs to the environment and humans (as represented by individuals, communities and corporations). In addition to thinking about the questions highlighted in these exercises, think about the tradeoffs involved in the actions proposed. What can be done to lessen these costs and risks? If the downside cannot be alleviated, would you be willing to pay the price at the cash register, with an inconvenience, with a risk, with your health, or with your tax dollars? If another party must shoulder the cost, would you convince them to take on the expense with incentives, or mandate it by law? Or, in the face of a costly solution, would you search for an alternative approach, or decide that the problem is not as bad as you think?
Chapter 6
InfoTrac Exercise: Deserting Our Deserts: Should we save or transform our deserts?
Chapter 8
InfoTrac Exercise: Stemming the Tide: What are the costs and benefits of stream restoration versus flood control?
Chapter 10
InfoTrac Exercise: Runaway Water: What are the costs and benefits of irrigation?
Chapter 11
Internet Exercise: Implementing the Precautionary Principle: What do you when risks of chemical exposure are unknown?
InfoTrac Exercise: A Stick in Time? : What are the risks and rewards of vaccinations?
Chapter 13
Internet Exercise: A Fine Kettle of Fish: What is the best way to preserve our fisheries while meeting a demand for fish? Is aquaculture free of downsides?
Chapter 14
Internet Exercise: Water Rights: How would you allocate scarce water resources?
InfoTrac Exercise: Dammed if You Do: What are the pros and cons of dams?
Chapter 15
Internet Exercise: Drilling in the Arctic: Explore the benefits and costs of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
InfoTrac Exercise: Mine, All Mine: What is the best way to make mining more sustainable?
Chapter 16
Internet Exercise: CAFE Standards: Building a Greener Car-Dependent World : There are several ways to improve our nation's overall fuel efficiency—what approach would you advocate and what are its costs and benefits?
InfoTrac Exercise: Photovoltaic Cells: What are the pros and cons of using solar power?
Chapter 17
Internet Exercise: Two Strokes and You’re Out: Who would be impacted if we forced a reduction in the use of two-stroke engines? Is this a reasonable place to focus efforts to control pollution?
InfoTrac Exercise: Clear or Cloudy Skies? Would using emissions trading to control mercury and nitrogen oxide pollution be a win-win situation?
Chapter 18
InfoTrac Exercise: Trading Carbon: What are the costs and benefits of ratifying the Kyoto Protocol?
Chapter 19
Internet Exercise: Recycling, Reusing, and Reducing the Use of Water: What are various methods of reducing water pollution and their benefits and drawbacks?
Chapter 20
Internet Exercise: Integrated Pest Management: Getting the Bugs Out: What are the benefits and drawback of Integrated Pest Management versus the use of chemical pesticides?
InfoTrac Exercise: Strengthening Regulations: What do you think about the Food Quality Protection Act's regulation of pesticide levels?
Chapter 21
Internet Exercise: Greening Brownfields: What are the pros and cons of rehabilitating and reusing polluted lands?
Chapter 23
Internet Exercise: Public Land Management: What are the pros and cons of these various approaches to managing public lands?
InfoTrac Exercise: Fire!: When is a forest fire a disaster or a necessity? Is it a win-win situation to let timber companies thin forests to control fires?
Chapter 25
Internet Exercise: Reducing Our Dependence on Automobiles: Of the various approaches to reducing the number of cars on the road, which has tradeoffs you and your community can live with?
InfoTrac Exercise: Sprawl versus Density: Who wins and who loses when a community implements "Smart Growth?"