DISCUSSION QUESTIONS for Lec 15, chp 11, Food and Agriculture

Chpt 11 is not a technical chapter, only applying a few of the concepts learned in the earlier chapters on the techniques of traditional and ecological economics. Rather than a technical lecture, you will be asked to respond to the following questions:

1 What was the single most significant (interesting, important, etc) idea that emerged for you in the 1st four sections (ie, p226-236)?

2 How does the discount rate affect the amount of soil erosion and degradation? Will an economically optimal decision be ecologically sustainable? Why or why not?

3.      Discuss at least two negative environmental effects of irrigation.