Discussion Questions

1. What attitudes and values on the part of business and others lead to the creation of areas like the "valley of death?" Should the third world have more pollution, as Lawrence Summers argues? Assess his argument that dirty industries should move to poorer and less-polluted areas.

2. Some say, "Pollution is the price of progress." Is this assertion correct? What is meant by "progress"? Who in fact pays the price? Explain the moral and the economic issues raised by the assertion. What are the connections between economic progress and development, on the one mental protection controls and environmental protection, on the other?

3. Do human beings have a mortal right to a livable environment? To a non-polluted environment? It might be argued that if people in the "valley of death" don't complain and doesn't wish to move, then they accept the risks of living there and the polluters are not violating their rights. Assess this argument.

4. Assess the argument that people in third world should learn from the errors of the West and seek development without pollution. Should there be uniform, global environmental standards, or should pollution-control standards be lower for less-developed countries?

5. Even though they will probably be hit hardest by it, poor nations are less able than are rich countries to deal with the consequences of global warming. As a result, do rich nations owe to it to poorer nations to curb their own emissions more than they otherwise would be inclined to do? Do they have an obligation to provide poorer nations with, or help develop, greener industries and sources of energy? Explain why or why not?