College of
Business
Administration
College of
Business
Administration
The following questions relate to "Parking Lots and Potato Heads" (Hawken)
1) Hawken begins the chapter by describing how the U.S. Economy has left the environment out of the "equation." On pg. 58 he states that there must be a total redesign of business, "when science can tell us clearly and without a doubt that our present course of action is extinguishing life on earth." Most Americans know that we are living unsustainably, but doubt the conflicting reports we see through the media.
If technology could answer all questions regarding the environment, would this be enough to trigger the switch to sustainable practices? Or would it take some catastrophic event that forces us to change?2) Do you the feel the $10 Trillion spent on the Cold War was a waste? Or was it necessary in order to save the world from communism? Could it best be described as a necessary waste?
3) On ppg. 61-62 Hawken discusses industrial ecology, a business philosophy that "entails using waste so that it no longer is waste at all." He gives the example of Kalundborg, Denmark, where a dozen businesses cooperated to exchange and recycle waste materials. The cooperation was not preplanned or mandated, and proved to be an economic success.
What are some ways to facilitate similar cooperation in the U.S?4) Hawken discusses how pollution permits have failed in some industries because the regulations have not provided enough lead time for companies to develop anything but end-of-the pipe solutions, and in many cases, it is cheaper to purchase the credits than to implement this solution.
What can be done to modify the regulation system so that this doesn,t continue to happen? Is it possible to education the politicians, the environmentalist, and the organizations that there are better ways to approach these emission problems?5) German auto manufacturers are designing their vehicles so that they can be brought back to a disassembly plant to be recycled. The Japanese manufacturers are also heading in that direction.
Will this provide any competitive advantage in the United State, similar to that of the fuel-efficient models that were introduced in 1970s? If so, will it be significant enough to persuade The Big 3 U.S. auto manufacturers to adopt a similar process?CalMaX Website: http://www.ciwmb.ca.org/calmax
6) In Germany's "intelligent product system" (pg. 67), manufacturers are responsible for the product at the end of it's life cycle, forcing companies to consider the value of the product when it is returned. This rewards companies that design products which have maximum recyclibility...
Is this the solution for this form of waste? Would "products of service" such as cars, refrigerators, and computers be able to improve technologically even though they are limited to being interchangeable with past versions?The following questions relate to "Closing the Circle Through Recycling" (Bogliano)
7) Plastics turned out to be the main factor in the Duales System Deutschlands problems. It costs less to produce plastic then it does to recycle.
Should we continue to recycle plastic and just offset this loss against the "profitableo/oo recycling of glass and aluminum? Or should every recyclable product be evaluated independently? (It seems as if this is the case, as many recycling centers won,t even take plastic materials) What are some of the options with plastic waste?8) On page 4, Klaus Blum of one of Germany's leading chemical companies states "We do feel a great responsibility for environmental protection, but new processes take time to develop. In 10 to 15 years we will have very different types of production as we redesign to build environmental protection in from the beginning."
Obviously the redesign of industry is going to take time, but is 10-15 years from now to late?9) In this article, the author tells how the German Recycling program struggled due to misuse and almost went bankrupt before changes were made that helped the program become a success. Although the United States could learn from Germany's mistakes, there would invariably be an adjustment period before the system would run efficiently.
Do you think the consumers and the producers in our country would have the patience necessary for a program like this to work? Why or why not?The following questions relate to "Why I Am Not An Environmentalist" (Landsburg)
10) Landsburg argues against the "preserve for future generations" theme by bringing up the question, " Do we have any reason to think that future generations will prefer inheriting the wilderness to inheriting the profits from the parking lot?" Is there any validity to Landsburg's position? Discuss...
11) The author makes the point that "recycling paper eliminates the incentive for paper companies to plant more trees and can cause forest to shrink. If you want large forest, you best strategy might be to use paper as wastefully as possible."
Is there any truth to this statement? What about some of the other statements such as a ban on carcinogenic pesticides can lead to an increase in cancer?12) This article places environmentalists in the same category as religious fanatics. While there are instances where he may be right (Earth First! comes to mind), what about those of us who hold a strong belief in recycling, mass transit, and free range chicken? Is he right that once we try to "convert" someone into our way of thinking we are stepping over the line?
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