|
|
Interdisciplinary Seminar on Environmental Issues - Part I (E275)
Course Organization
Time: Tuesday, 14:15-16:00
Instructors:
Professor Urs Luterbacher
Office: Rigot 25
Office hours: Tuesday 16h15-18h00 or by appointment
Telephone: 022 908 59 40
Email: luterbac@hei.unige.ch
Dr. Ellen Wiegandt
Office: Rigot 20
Office hours: Tuesday 16:15-17:30 or by appointment
Telephone: 022 908 59 37
Email: wiegandt@hei.unige.ch
Teaching Assistant (for logistical issues):
Colin Nippert
Office: Rigot 26
Office hours: Tuesday 10h15-12h00 or by appointment
Telephone: 022 908 59 41
Email: nippert4@hei.unige.ch
Course Description
This seminar addresses general questions about major contemporary environmental issues as well as specific environmental topics that impinge upon international relations. The seminar is explicitly interdisciplinary because it incorporates natural science, economic, sociological/anthropological, political, and legal perspectives. It focuses primarily on international aspects of the environment but also examines the nature of policy and abatement questions at the local and national levels.
Work Schedule and Course Organization
Most readings on the following list are required. Supplemental or optional readings are indicated in the reading list. All others are required. The course is organized as a seminar which means that the professors take primary presentation for presentation of the topic, but students are expected to participate in discussion based on readings and a discussion leader may be designated. The professors’ presentations will not necessarily be a review or summary of the readings but may well present other aspects of the topic not addressed in the readings. The final examination will draw on material from both class sessions and readings. The final test will include both short answer and essay questions.
Auditing the course is strongly discouraged and must be approved by the instructors. Auditors will be expected to do the same work as those registered for the course. The only difference will be that auditors will not receive a grade or credit.
Course Schedule and Readings
September 25, 2007,
General Introduction to Course: Substance; Organization; Requirements
October 2, 2007,
Introduction to Environment and Society Interactions: A Problem of Managing Risks and Uncertainties
- Luterbacher, Urs and Detlef Sprinz (2001) Introduction. In Urs Luterbacher and Detlef Sprinz, eds. International Relations and Global Climate Change, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Chapter 1, especially pages 2-15. Available online (with login password).
- Perman, Roger, Yue Ma, James McGilvray and Michael Common (1999) Natural Resource and Environmental Economics, New York: Longman. Chapter 1: 1-11. Available online (with login password).
- Clark, Colin W. (1990) Uncertainty in Economics, in Risk and Uncertainty in Tribal and Peasant Economies, E. Cashdan (ed.), Boulder: Westview Press. Chapter 3: 47-63. Available online (with login password).
- Stephens, D.W. (1990) Risk and Incomplete Information in Behavioral Ecology, in Risk and Uncertainty in Tribal and Peasant Economies, E. Cashdan (ed.), Boulder: Westview Press, Chapter 2: 19 - 46. Available online (with login password).
October 9, 2007,
The Physical System; Guest Lecturer:
Professor Martin Beniston, University of Geneva
Optional reading:
October 16, 2007,
Property Rights Theories and the Tragedy of the Commons Debate
- Hardin, Garrett (1968) The Tragedy of the Commons, Science, 162: 1243-8.
- Stevenson, Glenn (1991) Common Property Economics: A General Theory and Land Use Applications, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Chapters 1, 2, and 3.
- Tietenberg, Tom (1992) Property Rights, Externalities and Environmental Problems, in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, New York: Harper Collins, Chapter 3.
October 23, 2007,
Efficiency and the Environment
- Coase, R.H. (1960) The Problem of Social Cost, The Journal of Law and Economics 3:1-44.
- Dasgupta, P., and G. Heal. 1979. Economic Theory and Exhaustible Resources. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapts. 2 and 3.
- Demsetz, Harold. 1967. Toward a Theory of Property Rights. American Economic Review 57, 2: 347-359.
October 30, 2007
Exhaustible, Renewable and Sustainable Resources
- Lambelet, Jean-Christian (1995) A Note on the Issue of Exhaustible Resources. IUHEI note, 16 pp.
- Schelling, Thomas, (1994) Intergenerational Discounting. In Integrative Assessment of Mitigation, Impacts, and Adaptation, Nebojsa Nakicenovic, William Nordhaus, Richard Richels, and Ferenc Toth (eds.), Laxenburg, Austria: IASSA: 475-483.
- Solow, Robert, Sustainability: An Economist's Perspective, The 18th J. Seward Johnson Lecture. Woods Hole, MA: Marine Policy Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
November 6, 2007,
Population and Migration
- United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affaires, Population Division (2001) Population, Environment and Development: The Concise Report, pp. 21-34.
- Ahlburg, Dennis (1998) Julian Simon and the Population Growth Debate, Population and Development Review 23 (2): 317-327).
- Coleman, David (1986) Population Regulation: A Long-Range View, In David Coleman and Roger Schofield , eds. The State of Population Theory, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, pp. 14-41.
- Wrigley, E.A. (1986) Malthus at the Bar of History, In David Coleman and Roger Schofield, eds. The State of Population Theory, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, pp. 46-64.
- Black, Robert (1994) Forced Migration and Environmental Change: The Impact of Refugees on Host Environments, Journal of Environmental Management, 42: 261-277.
- Harris, John and Michael Todaro (1970) Migration, Unemployment and Development: A Two-Sector Analysis, The American Economic Review: 3-27.
November 13, 2007,
Guest Lecturer: Prof. Joost Pauwelyn (HEI)
Trade and Environment: Production and Processing Methods
- Pauwelyn, Joost (2004) Recent Books on Trade and Environment: GATT Phantoms Still Haunt the WTO, European Journal of International Law 15(3):575-592.
- Charnovitz, S. (2000), Solving the PPM Puzzle, PSIO Occasional Paper: WTO Series Number 05.
November 20, 2007,
Trade, the Global Environment, and North-South Issues
- Anderson, Kym and Richard Blackhurst (1992) The Greening of World Trade Issues, New York, London: Harvester Wheatsheaf; 3-18, 73-89, 221-240.
- Chichilnisky, Graciela (1994) North-South Trade and the Global Environment. American Economic Review 84 (4): 851-874
November 27, 2007,
International Cooperation and Conflict
- Luterbacher, Urs (1994) International Cooperation: The Problem of the Commons and the Special Case of the Antarctic Region, Synthese 100: 413-440.
- Homer-Dixon, Thomas (1994) Environmental Scarcities and Violent Conflict: Evidence from Cases, International Security 19, 1: 5-40.
December 4, 2007,
International Environmental Negotiations
- Bodansky, Daniel (2001) The History of the Global Climate Change Regime. In Urs Luterbacher and Detlef Sprinz, eds. International Relations and Global Climate Change, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Chapter 2.
- Grundig et al. (2001) Modeling Global Climate Negotiations. In Urs Luterbacher and Detlef Sprinz, eds. International Relations and Global Climate Change, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Chapter 8.
- Brown Weiss, Edith and Harold K. Jacobson, eds. (1998) Engaging Countries, Strengthening Compliance with International Environmental Accords, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, Chapter 1.
December 11, 2007,
The Kyoto Protocol
- Grubb, Michael (with Christian Vrolijk and Duncan Brack) (1999) The Kyoto Protoco: A Guide and Assessment, London: The Royal Insitute of International Affairs, Chapters 4 and 7.
- Wiegandt, Ellen (2001) Climate Change, Equity, and International Negotiations. In Urs Luterbacher and Detlef Sprinz, eds. International Relations and Global Climate Change, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Chapter 7.
December 18, 2007,
Exam
|
