ECON 370 – Environmental Economics

Winter 2009

California State University, Bakersfield

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Instructor: Dr. Aaron Hegde

Office: BDC 260

E-mail: shegde@csub.edu

Office hours: MW: 2:30 pm – 5:00 pm; or by appointment

Required Text: Anderson, David A. 2006. Environmental Economics and Natural Resource Management, 2^nd Ed, Pensive Press ISBN# 0-9709057-0-X

And One of a list of books (included in the syllabus)

Class Website: http://www.csub.edu/webct

Class Meets: MW 7:30 pm – 9:35 pm

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Course Description

Topics considered: The application of economic principles to the study of practices and policy decisions affecting the environment. Topics discussed, but not limited to, include optimal pollution, resource extraction, taxation and conservation. Valid methodology and relevant techniques applied to the study of issues, otherwise clouded by emotions.

Course Objectives

At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

• Use economic tools to determine the effectives of environmental policies
• Analyze and criticize pressing environmental issues
• Apply various techniques to manage natural resources

Course Requirements

Grading

Exams (2)	200 (40%)
Homework (5)	100 (20%)
Case Study	50 (10%)
Quizzes (5)	50 (10%)
Discussions (10)	30 ( 6%)
In Class Work (5)	30 ( 6%)
Paper	50 (10%)
Total Points	500

Grade Scale:

95 - 100 A	90-94 A-	87-89 B+	84-86 B
80-83 B-	77-79 C+	74-76 C	70-73 C-
67-69 D+	64-66 D	60-63 D-	0-59 F

*There will be no rounding off in grade calculation. For e.g., an 89.9 will still be considered a B+.

The above translates into:

>475 A	450 – 475 A-	435 – 449 B+	415 – 434 B
400 - 414 B-	385 - 399 C+	370 – 384 C	350 – 369 C-
325 - 349 D+	300 - 324 D	<300 F

Exams: All exams will be mostly short answer and essay type questions on the topics covered in class lectures. Details will be provided when appropriate. There will be one mid-term and a final exam. The final exam is cumulative. The final exam will only be administered on the scheduled day. You will not be allowed to take it any other day. Please keep this in mind before you make any other arrangements. There will be no make-up exam. If you miss an exam for a medically documented reason (see excused absences section later on for more details), then I will, at my discretion, re-weight the remaining exams.

Homework: A broad category that involves doing the assignments, coming to class, doing the readings, class participation, and group work. There are a total of five (5) assignments during the quarter. I reserve the right to include work, not possibly listed within the syllabus. Advance notice will be given in such cases. All homework assignments are due in class. You must be present for the entire class for the assignment to be accepted. I will not accept any homework that is emailed (unless otherwise indicated), turned in by someone other than yourself or turned in by someone not present for the entire class period, i.e. you cannot 'drop off' the assignment and leave or come in at the end of class to turn in your work. Also, unless otherwise indicated, all assignments must be typed and stapled. No late assignments, for any reason other than medically documented, will be accepted.

Case Studies: There will be some in-class assignments. Given the nature of these mostly in-class assignments, not all missed work can be made up. Where reasonable, some in-class assignments missed due to a medically documented reason, maybe allowed to be made up at my discretion. However, some case studies may not be able to be made up. It is your duty to notify me about missing work upon your return to class.

Quizzes: To reinforce your understanding of class materials, we will have five in-class quizzes. All the dates for the quizzes are announced in the weekly calendar at the end of the syllabus. No further announcements will be made in class. It is your responsibility to keep track of these dates. If absence is medically documented, other arrangements, at my discretion, will be made. However, there will be no make-up quizzes.

Paper: There is one paper (5 – 7 pgs) to be completed during the quarter. The paper is essentially a book report that incorporates relevant material from the course. Details will be available at a later date. The book report must be on one of the following books:

1. Carson, Rachel. 2002. Silent Spring. Mariner Books, ISBN# 0618249060

2. Collier, Paul. 2007. The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Falling Behind and What Can be Done About it. Oxford University Press, ISBN# 0195311450

3. Easterly, William. White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good, Penguin, ISBN# 1594200378

4. Economy, Elizabeth. 2005. The River Runs Black: The Environmental Challenge to China's Future. Cornell University Press, ISBN# 0801489784

5. Gelbspan, Ross. 2005. Boiling Point. Basic Books, ISBN# 0465027628.

6. Sachs, Jeffrey. 2006. The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for our Time. Penguin, ISBN# 0143036580

7. Kunstler, James Howard. 2006. The Long Emergency: Surviving the end of Oil, Climate Change and Other Converging Catastrophes of the 21^st century. Grove Press, ISBN# 0802142494

8. Schlosser, Eric. 2001. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the American Meal. Houghton Mifflin, ISBN# 0395977894

Class Attendance:

• Students are strongly encouraged to attend class and actively participate in class discussions and activities on a regular basis.
• Attendance will be taken randomly. More than three (3) unexcused absences will adversely affect your grade (a 5% overall reduction). If you miss a class, it is your duty to ascertain missed work.
• Please do not arrive late to or leave early from class, unless you have discussed it with me prior to class. More than 3 late arrivals and/or early departures will, at my discretion, adversely affect your grade.
• No makeup exams or extensions on the homework assignments will be allowed or accepted. Exams, quizzes, and homework cannot be made up for other reasons. If you miss a class activity, your grade will be assigned according to your completed requirements.
• Excused Absence: Only compelling medical reasons affecting you, with supporting certification from a medical doctor will be considered. Any documentation provided should address specifically the missed day(s), unless there is documented evidence of protracted illness. However, if you miss more than 25% of the class due to medical reasons, please consider a medical withdrawal from the course. Much of the success in and understanding of the material relies on your continued presence in the classroom. The exception to medical absence is absence due to a university-sponsored event, such as athletics. In such cases, it is your duty to notify me, with appropriate documentation, at the start of the quarter.

Announcements: Any and all class announcements will be made via WebCT. So please be sure to check your WebCT account. This is the only way I communicate with students outside of the classroom. So please get in a habit of checking the website often.

Academic Integrity:

There are certain forms of conduct that violate the university's policy of academic integrity. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY (CHEATING) is a broad category of actions that use fraud and deception to improve a grade or obtain course credit.  Academic dishonesty (cheating) is not limited to examination situations alone, but arises whenever students attempt to gain an unearned academic advantage.  PLAGIARISM is a specific form of academic dishonesty (cheating) which consists of the misuse of published or unpublished works of another by claiming them as one's own.  Plagiarism may consist of handing in someone else's work, copying or purchasing a composition, using ideas, paragraphs, sentences, phrases or words written by another, or using data and/or statistics compiled by another without giving appropriate citation.  Another example of academic dishonesty (cheating) is the SUBMISSION OF THE SAME, or essentially the same, PAPER or other assignment for credit in two different courses without receiving prior approval.

When a faculty member discovers a violation of the university's policy of academic integrity, the faculty member is required to notify the university's Coordinator of Student Discipline and Judicial Affairs of the alleged violation, including the name(s) of the student(s) suspected, the class in which the alleged violation occurred, the circumstances of the alleged violation, and the evidence (including witnesses) supporting the allegation.  The faculty member shall also formally notify the student(s) suspected of violating the university's policy of academic integrity, the department chair, and the school dean.  The Coordinator for Student Discipline and Judicial Affairs shall conduct an investigation, confer with the faculty member, student(s), and any witnesses identified, and review all evidence submitted by the faculty member and student(s).  Normally, the Coordinator for Student Discipline and Judicial Affairs shall make a settlement agreement with the student for his/her first violation of academic integrity with the following sanctions:

•     final course grade of 'F'

•     one-year 'academic probation' requiring a meeting with the Coordinator of Student Discipline and Judicial Affairs prior to registration for each subsequent academic term of the probationary year.

I expect each of you to uphold the standards of academic integrity. Cheating in any form WILL NOT BE TOLERATED and will result in a formal report to the university. You are expected to honestly sign the honor pledge when it is given on assignments and exams.

Incomplete Grades: No incomplete grades will be awarded unless for 'serious and compelling reason' as defined by the university.

ADA: Please see the instructor if you have any disability and need special accommodations.

Tentative Course Outline:

Building a Foundation

Module One: Introduction: The Big Picture: introduction to basic issues of relevance; Efficiency and Choice: what and who should produce; supply and demand basics

Chapters 1 & 2 Video: Resources and Scarcity

Module Two: Market Failure: imperfect competition; externalities; Trade-offs and the Economy: present value; discount rates; growth vs. welfare

Chapters 3 & 5

Module Three: Trade-offs and the Economy: cont; Morals and Motivation: ethics and environment; resolving ethical dilemmas;

Chapters 5 & 16

Issues and Approaches

Module Four: Environmental Quality: issues of concern; policies; introduction to solutions

Chapter 6 Video: The Mercy of Nature

Module Five: Environmental Quality: cont.; Energy: sources and policy

Chapter 6 & 7

Exam One, Feb 4, 2009

Module Six: Energy: cont.; Sustainability: sustainability criteria; sustainability and efficiency

Chapter 7 & 8

Module Seven: Biodiversity: valuing biodiversity; models of biodiversity loss; Global Issues: deforestation; global warming; threatened species

Chapter 10 & 11 Video: An Inconvenient Truth

Policy and Procedure

Module Eight: Natural Resource Management: managing fisheries, forests, oil and water

Chapter 13 & 14

Module Nine: Government and Environmental Policy: command and control; incentive-based mechanisms

Chapter 4 & 12

Module Ten: Population, Poverty & Econ Growth; Environmental Dispute Resolution

Chapter 9 & 15

Paper Due – Mar 3, 2008

Final Exam – March 20, 2009; 8 pm – 10:30 pm

Tentative Course Schedule

There may be some modification as to the covering of each chapter, but Test Dates Will Not Change.

Week	Day	Date	Module	Activity
One	W	1/7	Intro/ One
Two	M	1/12	Module One
	W	1/14	Module Two
Three	M	1/19	No Class
	W	1/21	Module Two
Four	M	1/26	Module Three
	W	1/28	Module Three
Five	M	2/2	Module Four	Quiz 2
	W	2/4	Module Four
Six	M	2/9	Exam One	Exam 1
	W	2/11	Module Four
Seven	M	2/16	Module Five
	W	2/18	Module Five
Eight	M	2/23	Module Six	Quiz 3
	W	2/25	Module Six
Nine	M	3/2	Module Seven
	W	3/4	Module Eight	Quiz 4
Ten	M	3/9	Module Nine	Paper Due
	W	3/11	Module Nine
	M	3/16	Module Ten	Quiz 5
Final Exam – March 20, 2009; 8 pm – 10:30 pm