Chapter 10 -- Sustainability, Ethics, and Technology

Question 1

anthropocentrism

Answer 1

the philosophical view that the environment has only instrumental value, that is, only value for humans and not in itself

Question 2

biocentrism

Answer 2

the viewpoint that the environment has intrinsic value (value of its own)

Question 3

pollution

Answer 3

environmental problems in which something undesirable or damaging is added to the environment

Question 4

exhaustion

Answer 4

a type of environmental problem in which something valuable is removed from the environment that cannot, or at least not easily, be renewed

Question 5

non-renewable resources

Answer 5

natural resources that cannot be renewed or reproduced (ex fossil fuels)

Question 6

renewable resources

Answer 6

natural resources that can be renewed or reproduced

Question 7

degradation

Answer 7

structural damage to the environment (ex soil erosion0

Question 8

ecological footprint

Answer 8

a measure for the total environmental impact of a person’s lifestyle expressed in an amount of space required to support this lifestyle

Question 9

sustainable development

Answer 9

development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Question 10

inter-generational justice

Answer 10

justice that relates to the just distribution of resources between different generations

Question 11

intragenerational justice

Answer 11

justice that relates to the just distribution of resources within a generation

Question 12

property right

Answer 12

the right to ownership of a specific matter or resource like money, land, or an environmental resource

Question 13

polluter pays principle

Answer 13

the principle that damage to the environment must be repaired by the party responsible for the damage

Question 14

stand still principle

Answer 14

the principle that we must not pass on a poorer environment to the next generation than the one we received from the previous generation

Question 15

environmental space

Answer 15

the (maximum) amount of use of renewable and non-renewable resources that does not exceed the boundaries of what the environment can take

Question 16

carrying capacity

Answer 16

the amount of damage that can be done to the environment without that damage being irreversible

Question 17

life phases

Answer 17

the phases through which a product goes during its “life”

– production phase, use phase, and removal phase

Question 18

life cycle analysis

Answer 18

an analysis that maps the environmental impact of a product across the entire cycle of production, use and disposal

Question 19

LiDS wheel approach

Answer 19

Lifecycle Design Strategies; a qualitative oriented life cycle approach