Evaluate proposals for reducing environmental air pollution by energy
taxation and emissions trading.
Pollution is created as a by-product of output in most industries. It
can be described as an external cost to the economy as its existence
causes a loss of welfare to the population as a whole, and, in a free
market, this loss of welfare will generally go uncompensated.
However, that does not mean that the optimal level of pollution is
zero, contrary to the environmentalist presumption, as this would mean
that economic activity would have to be zero and this is illogical.
Therefore, an optimal level of pollution and corresponding economic
activity has to be found. According to the Pareto efficient, the
ideal allocation of resources occurs when nobody can be made better
off without making someone else worse off. In the case of pollution
production, this can also be defined as the point of production where
the marginal net private benefit (MNPB) of the polluter is equal to
the marginal external cost (MEC) as a whole, as shown on diagram 1, at
the level of economic activity Q*. The polluter’s total net private
benefit from production is illustrated on diagram 1 as the area below
the MNPB curve and total external cost is the area below the MEC
curve. Using this analysis, we can see that ‘A’ is the largest area of
net benefit available, thus confirming that Q* is the optimal level of
activity. However, without regulation in this market it is likely the
polluter will continue to operate at Q to maximize their own private
benefits, although this will create an unacceptable level of external
costs. Therefore, the government faces several policy choices in order
to regulate pollution and keep it at an optimal l...
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...mits are
also effective in lowering emissions, but only if they are auctioned
off and tradable in the market. If there is grandfathering (giving
permits only to established firms in the industry) or output based
allocation present then this would incur a greater cost to the economy
than auctioning off permits, thus increasing the optimum level of
emissions.
Bibliography
* Banzhaf, Burtraw & Palmer, Capping Emissions: Where Efficiency and
Public Interest Intersect, Public Utilities fortnightly, 1st Dec
2002
* Pearce & Turner, Economics of natural resources and the
environment, Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1990
* Pindyick & Rubinfeld, Microeconomics – 2nd edition, Macmillan,
1992
* Parry. I, Are Tradable Emissions Permits a Good Idea? Resources
for the future Issue Brief 02-33
* DTI, Energy White Paper, TSO, Feb 2003
* www.defra.gov.uk
The morality of social welfare systems, or the morality of crafting laws to aid American citizens in poverty, is a subject that (like myriad ethical issues) is hotly debated to say the least. For example, some opponents of social welfare institutions maintain the view that such programs "increase the reward or reduce the penalties" of poverty; thereby ostensibly making an impoverished state appealing even to people who might initially have been motivated to earn a living by conventional means. In other words, welfare programs (according to opponents) encourage otherwise productive individuals to embrace laziness, for basic human needs would be met by such institutions, eliminating the need to work at all. Those opposed to social welfare plans have also been known to claim that an "unfair burden is placed upon workers who must pay for the system." When one considers the above opposing views, it would then stand to reason that proponents of social welfare programs might maintain that it is the moral responsibility of working citizens to provide assistance and funding for programs such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children, the Food Stamp program, or the like. This supposition is confirmed upon examination of the notion that, when basic human needs such as "food, housing, and medical care" are not met, one is consequently rendered unable to uphold any level of social freedom. Given the above information, one can safely deduce that modern supporters of social welfare organizations are under the impression that such programs provide the impoverished masses with the means by which to obtain the level of general well-being vital to acquiring work in the first place.
Living in the United States most people rely on the government to construct our society to better the people. The gap between rich and poor in our society significantly varies. In America, the government offers special programs to help those who fall below the poverty line. This is well known as welfare. The word welfare comes from a positive definition known as “well-being”, but most Americans would debate that welfare has become a disaster to our society as they increased welfare dependency, illegitimate babies, and family break-ups. In fact I agree with these clams, poverty programs have been abused by many Americans, causing more pressures and strains to American welfare.
consequence of this system of power, the unprivileged individuals are forced to seek out other,
Collectivist ideology such as welfare state puts the whole state in an economic hardship because we must rely on one another to be able to stand up. However, in a society that promotes individualism economically, we are able to create individual reliance and basically, “each man for himself.” This promotes each person economic freedom and growth because a capitalistic society that rejects economic collectivism does not require everyone in society to “pitch in” and help those who are not economically stable. By relying on welfare state, you are also relying on the pocket of the people. This makes it harder for the state to achieve economic growth since the money is not circulating around the economy. It is being used by those who cannot support themselves economically. An example of this is the ainti-poverty programs in America. Instead of pulling people out of poverty, it is increasing the federal spending even more. America has spent nearly $20 trillion dollars in attempt to defeat the war on poverty. Since the government is spending so much money on this welfare, it is just giving many people a greater reason to stay on the program. According to the Senate Budget Committee, recipients are making $30/hr per household. Instead of lifting people out, welfare state gives them more reasons to stay and abuse the privilage. This does not
The United States has many directions to choose from in the oncoming future of energy. “Options for the world's energy future may include surprises, thanks to innovative research under way around the world” (LePoire 1). History has shown that surprises can change generations . Since the mid 1900’s, experts have been conducting research on the way our nation has been using energy. The United States have relied on other countries to gain knowledge with their energy sources. China is one huge partner that helps them out a lot. They have experimented with many different alternative energy sources and have given the U.S lots of helpful information for improving our energy demands. Even though we already meet most of our energy requirements, we still look into improving it everyday to improve our way of living. Despite its ability to be supplied with other nations to be supplied with other nations, the U.S. must invest in alternative power sources if it is to meet the energy demands of the 21st century.
“Welfare Can Not End Cycle Of Poverty In U.S.” UWIRE Text 13 Nov. 2014: 1. General Onefile. Web. 25 Sept.
Wind energy can play a critical role in saving our planet from the negative effects of energy powered by fossil fuels. Wind turbines work effectively at reducing carbon dioxide emissions. For instance, a single utility scale wind turbine can prevent the emission of 5,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere a year by displacing the power generated by fossil fuels. Also, a single 750-kilowatt turbine can produce roughly 2 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually. Turbines of this nature are the ones now being used in power plants around the world (Wind Energy Weekly). One good example is California. Their wind power plants displace 4.5 billion pounds of CO2 each year with the 3 billion kilowatt hours of energy they produce. To put it into an environmental perspective, that is as much CO2 as could be absorbed by a forest covering 1100 square miles (Wind Energy Weekly). Although wind energy has little to no impact on the environment when it comes to air pollution or greenhouse gases, there are other environmental concerns surrounding this form of energy production. Some of the concerns about wind energy include visual impacts, birds and other living resources, lightning and noise (Wind Energy Development).
life and economy. They say that they cause more harm to the stable, tax-paying citizens of the
Developments and possible unintended consequences) In everyday life, the world produces carbon dioxide which is let out to the Earth’s atmosphere and will still be in the atmosphere in a centuries time. It is this carbon dioxide that causes the “Global warming effect” due to it increasing the heat of the Earth. One way to cut out global warming is to substitute current energy technologies with alternative ones that have better performance and also do not emit carbon dioxide.
One of the most dangerous environment issues Southern California is facing today is air pollution. This includes the burning of fossil fuels and natural disasters. Los Angeles is one of the most polluted cities in the world, and the most polluted city in the United States. I will research information about the causes, the effects, and the history of air pollution in the Los Angeles. For my research, I have relied mostly on, the school’s database and library, as well as current events.
Alternative energy sources are renewable, and is most commonly referred to as free energy sources. There are many alternative energy sources such as hydro power, solar power, wind, biomass, and geothermal. Using alternative sources is more expensive in the long run, but it is the much safer option for our environment compared to fossil fuels. Although everything used is completely free, such as water and wind, the equipment used to generate these things are expensive. There are several pros and cons that come with the utilization of alternative energy sources.
The free-rider issue is often seen as a serious problem because of the assumption that a free rider's best self-interest is that they interact with others by force and fraud. If they can get away with the fraud and begin to gain the benefits of others they have reached their first goal. Their next goal is to make some good money or get credit for someone else's hard work before they get caught. Then they get out and are long gone by the time anyone notices. Life in a civilized society allows each of us the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of the work of people with productive ability far greater than our own, but what happens when people begin doing this? They get used to not having to do much work and become lazy. In some cases people look at welfare in this way. If a person is able to get a good job and chooses not to, but instead, to live on our government, this would be considered free riding. This causes a fluctuation in our market and it can have a negative effect. When the benefits go away people do not want to go back to work and eventually will loose their jobs or quit and become a true free rider. Clearly there is an essential difference between cases in which one can't contribute to the benefits one enjoys and cases in which one chooses not to make a contribution that is within one's power. But apart from this distinction, we can differentiate between harmless free riding and the worthless free riding. The free rider wants anything he can get for free and will think nothing of it if he can get away with it. Free riders take advantage of public goods without having to contribute to them. For example, if s...
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