Questions and Answers of Environmental Economics

The author made the claim that the "principle of common but differentiated responsibilities" might have contributed to the failure of the Kyoto Protocol. Do you agree with this claim? If you agree,
The United States' experience with the Acid Rain Program, established under Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendment, has been hailed for its successful use of a market-based emission trading
Read carefully Section 9. 4 of the textbook before making any effort to respond to this question. Since the signing of the 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change at the Earth Summit in Rio de
What approaches does your college take to reduce the volume of waste generated on campus? If you could implement one additional waste- reduction policy, what would it be?
List five consumer goods that you have purchased recently. For each, note the source of a raw material that went into that good. For example, a computer mouse is made from plastic by the
In your opinion, does society take an anthropocentric or an ecocentric view of natural resources when deciding on policies for preservation? Explain which view you think we should take and why.
What criterion does John Rawls suggest for decisions about how to act? Would you favor limits on gasoline use in the present under this criterion?
What is the source of energy for the building you are in or closest to? What barriers prevent more energy from being obtained from clean sources?
Is the optimal level of pollution zero? Why or why not?
What four broad categories of problems can prevent free markets from allocating resources efficiently?
What has prevented the starvation predicted by Thomas Malthus and others?
In what ways are we all farmers?
Beyond the examples of ethical issues mentioned in this chapter, list two more ethical issues related to the environment that you face on a regular basis.
Explain how you could use marginal analysis to determine the optimal amount of time to spend studying environmental economics today. Illustrate your answer with a graph.
The marginal utility Hugo receives from planting flowers diminishes as he plants more flowers. On a graph, draw a hypothetical flower demand curve for Hugo. Explain why Hugo should not purchase the
On a graph, show the general shape of the production possibilities frontier for cattle and lumber. Explain why the opportunity cost of each good increases as more is produced.
Ally would pay up to $30 for her first umbrella and nothing for any additional umbrellas. Every soccer ball that Ally purchases gives her $9 worth of utility and she could never have too many. Draw
Describe some decisions you make on the basis of cost-benefit analysis. Describe some decisions you should make on the basis of cost-benefit analysis but sometimes do not?
A tank behind Andr's service station has leaked a large quantity of heating oil into the soil below. If left uncontained, experts estimate a 5 percent chance that the oil will contaminate local
Suppose you like potted plants in your room, but not so many that they get in the way. Draw a smooth line to show what happens to your marginal utility from potted plants as the quantity increases
Describe a situation you've learned about in your area or in the news in which a maximization of net financial gain might differ from a maximization of social welfare.
At her current consumption levels, Megan receives 15 utils from an additional cup of tea and 300 utils from an additional pair of sandals. The price of tea is $ 1 and the price of sandals is $30 per
On four separate graphs, draw an indifference curve for each of the following "goods" and "bads":a) Recycling bins and massages (2 goods with free disposal)b) Toxic waste and headaches (2 bads)c)
Draw a graph with "miles driven" on the horizontal axis and "$ per mile "on the vertical axis. Draw curves to represent the marginal social cost, the marginal private cost, and the marginal benefit
Consider the situation described in Table 3.4 under the legal rule that the insurer, Good Idea Lightbulb Co., is entitled under the injunctive remedy. Describe how the Coasian bargaining process
Advertising agencies have looked into projecting logos on the moon, which is a public good. Oscar and Craig both prefer a logo-free moon. Oscar's demand curve for logo-free days each year is a
The text discusses several applications of the prisoner's dilemma. Explain a different situation in which your own self-interest has led to a noncooperative result that was inferior to the
Describe a situation in which you could be a free rider. Then, try to come up with a policy or procedure that would remove this temptation to free ride.
Consider the situation described in Table 3.4 under the legal rule that the victims (the citizens) are entitled under the damages remedy. Describe how the Coasian bargaining process would proceed and
Drawing from what you learned in this chapter, briefly explain a major strength and a major weakness of a free market.
For each of the following externalities, explain the underlying source of inefficiency (what effects are felt beyond the decision maker) and suggest a solution that could bring the activity to its
Explain two barriers to successful Coasian bargaining in the real world.
List four things you do that could cause externalities. For each, indicate whether you consider the effects on others when you make your decisions, and whether any policies are in place to help you
One morning I received the following memo from the dean regarding noise pollution: "I have been asked to request that faculty members not play music in their offices. Our office walls are paperthin
What are the strengths and weaknesses of litigation and regulation as deterrents to environmental wrongdoing? Why do you suppose some politicians are outspoken against both litigation and regulations?
Under capitalism, socialism, and communism, most productive resources are owned respectively by private individuals, the government, and a single political party. Which of these political- economic
Present and defend your own favored approach to solving market failure in the case of a firm polluting the surrounding wilderness areas.
If you are unaware of the general views and initiatives of your nation's leader, study his or her website to see what the leader is up to. Make a list of what you perceive as the leader's top five
Suppose the president of the Nature Conservancy, the leader of the country where you live, and the president of the He-Man Tree Haters Club are the only inhabitants of an island. They expect to be
In the 1978 Tellico Dam decision (TVA v. Hill, 437 U.S. 187), the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the Endangered Species Act (ESA) defines the value of endangered species as "incalculable," and
There is current debate in many nations over the private use of public lands. How do you think classical liberals and modern liberals would differ over the issue of logging in the national parks?
In the country where you live, what aspects of the government resemble capitalism? What aspects resemble socialism? Are there aspects of other systems of government?
of the factors that complicate private solutions listed in this chapter, which two present the largest problems where you live? What types of government policies could address these specific issues?
A lumber company would cause $10 million worth of health costs by secretly substituting arsenic (a carcinogen) for safer, more expensive preservatives in its pressure-treated lumber. The estimated
What criterion determines whether it is appropriate to apply static or dynamic analysis?
Donna is trying to decide whether to pick the 60 tulips growing in her yard today or let them grow for another 2 years, in which case they will multiply and more will be available to pick. If Donna's
Suppose that a $150,000 expenditure today on insulating layers to prevent toxic landfill seepage would eliminate $1 million worth of healthcare costs 20 years from now. If the social discount rate
What discount rate would (will) you recommend if (when) you sit on the President's Council of Economic Advisors? Write one paragraph to defend your answer and its implications on the environment.
Explain why GDP is not a good measure of social welfare.
What is the difference between GDP and NNW?
Explain two reasons why environmental degradation need not accompany growth.
In the opinion of the Fifth Circuit Court, what was one thing the EPA did right and one thing the EPA did wrong in their analysis of asbestos policies?
Classify the following pollutants as uniformly distributed, concentrated, or nonuniformly distributed:a) Belching (and other CO2emissions) from cattleb) Noise pollution from rock band rehearsalsc)
Among animal manure, excessively loud bands, and factories, which would you consider to be point sources of pollution?
Of the types of policies that are appropriate for the control of point sources of pollution, which would you choose to control emissions from a paper-cup factory. Explain your choice.
Explain one type of policy that you would suggest for the control of automobile emissions. Would the policy you recommended for manufacturing plants be as effective for automobiles? Why or why not?
Given conflicting information about the severity of an environmental problem such as global warming, answer the following questions.a. Why do you suppose that some people argue ardently that there is
a) Why do you suppose that some people argue ardently that there is no problem?b) Why do you suppose that some people argue ardently that the problem is alarming?c) How often do people on each side
In your carefully considered opinion, what is the role of education in bringing about the efficient treatment of natural resources and the environment? Briefly describe the type of education programs
What do you see as the role for policy in bringing about the efficient treatment of natural resources and the environment? Provide a specific example of a policy you would create or abolish.
If each adult angler in the United States would value a 20 percent reduction in toxins at the same rate as anglers in Wisconsin, what annual value would a nationwide 20 percent reduction provide to
Suppose that in order to reduce the amount of smog, the city where you live is contemplating either (1) requiring everyone to ride a moped to work, or (2) providing each family with 10 gallons of gas
Identify a strength and a weakness of each of the following fuels:a) Coalb) Hydrogenc) Natural Gasd) Solar Fuel
If all of the energy from the sun were captured by solar cells with efficiency levels in the middle of the range of sola cell efficiency, how much energy could be converted to useful work each year?
Suppose that solar energy were made available at a constant MC social just below the preexisting market price in Figure 7.3. Draw a set of graphs similar to those in Figure 7.3 with the appropriate
The introduction to this chapter discusses the environmental costs of fossil fuel consumption. Omitted are the environmental costs of manufacturing the trucks, oil rigs, bulldozers, and other
Suppose the solar and coal industries were producing at the levels Qsolar and Qcoal as determined by the MCprivate curves in Figure 7.4. Describe two specific policies that could correct for these
Suppose that the supply curve in the top panel of Figure 7.5 represents MCPrivate, and that the demand curve represents MB social Draw an private MC social curve such that Q* is the efficient level
Draw a monopoly graph and include a price ceiling that would decrease the quantity of output to a level below the monopoly level of output.
If you had $10,000 to invest in an alternative fuel, which one would you pick? Explain your answer.
Some alternative fuels and energysaving devices would save more money than their own cost of implementation. Examples include water- saving showerheads and toilets, energy-saving lightbulbs and
Draw hypothetical marginal cost, marginal revenue, average cost, demand, quantity, and price lines for:a) A nuclear power plantb) One of the energy providers in a country that has taken the
For this problem you'll make use of a two-period model like the one in Figure 8.4. Suppose each period's net marginal benefit curve for oil is a straight line with a vertical intercept of $100 and a
Choose one policy from the chapter that you could implement locally. What do you think would be the biggest challenge to implementation and how would you overcome it?
Identify a particular group that is likely to object to an NCD tax and explain the basis for their objection.
Identify two groups that are likely to benefit from ecological tariffs and explain how they would benefit.
The world population is growing by about 80 million people per year. The growth in population and the depreciation of physical capital violate the assumptions of which "rule" as described in the
Identify a particular group that is likely to object to an NCD tax and explain the basis for their objection. Identify two groups that are likely to benefit from ecological tariffs and explain how
Some claim that fervent recycling is the result of a "religion" of conservation that makes people feel good despite a lack of concrete reason. Suppose that the curves in Figure 8.5 exclude the value
The popularity of sustainability has flourished over the past decade. In your own opinion, how can this popularity be explained, given sustainability's likely betrayal of dynamic efficiency?
(For those who have studied budget constraint/indifference curve diagrams and want a challenge.) Draw a graph with trash pickup services on the horizontal axis and "other goods/services" on the
Draw a downward-sloping demand curve and a downward-then-upward -sloping marginal cost curve for having children. Indicate how each of the following influences affects the graph. In each case,
"Doubling time" is the number of years it takes a population to double in size. The doubling time is found by dividing 69.3 by the population growth rate. Calculate the doubling time for the
If you presided over an international organization and wanted to increase the population doubling time in Bangladesh, what specific policy would you suggest? Explain your choice.
Panama's annual birth rate has fallen from 32 to 19 per 1,000 since 1975 and its death rate is steady at 5 per 1,000. In which stage of demographic transition is Panama? Belgium is in Stage IV of
Suppose that fruit flies on Kiwi Island live for three days. On their first day they are considered young and reproduce with a TFR of 2. Half of their offspring are female. On the second day the
Starting with the situation in Part (d) of Problem 5, on what day would the population stabilize, in the sense that it would be the same as the day before, in each of the following situations:a) With
Income and education levels are on the rise in many parts of the world.a) How do you think your own post-college boost in income (after you land your first "real" job) will affect your consumption
Using economic reasoning, explain why it might be appropriate for a rich suburb to dump its trash in a poorer area.
Using economic reasoning, explain why it might not be appropriate for a rich suburb to dump its trash in a poorer area.
If the environmental Kuznets curve held for individual households, what would the pollution-minimizing Gini coefficient be? Interpret this outcome and explain some of its drawbacks.
Write out a food chain that starts with plankton and ends with humans. Why is an understanding of the food chain important to the economic analysis of plant and animal species?
What is the most you would be willing to contribute in a one-time payment for the return of the passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius)? What is the least you would accept in a one-time payment for
If everyone in your country responded to a survey about the white- crowned pigeon by stating the same willingness to pay that you did, what is the CVM valuation of the white-crowned pigeon? What
Room rates in rural Bland, Virginia, are $34 per night. Rates in suburban Plainville, Connecticut, are $77 per night. Comparable accommodations cost $89 per night in rural West yellowstone and $96
A value of what type is revealed by your answer to Question 4? Which valuation method does this information lend itself to?Question 4Room rates in rural Bland, Virginia, are $34 per night. Rates in
Do you feel it is appropriate to make decisions about species preservation on the basis of anthropocentric values? Why or why not?
If you were Noah and you could preserve half of the species on the planet, how would you decide which species to provide with boarding passes? Be specific. your method does not need to be one of
Provide a specific example that is not found in this textbook of each of the following:a) An option valueb) A bequest valuec) A sympathy value
Suppose there is a 1 in 1,000 chance that a snake will bite you while you. are walking to class, and if you are bitten, you will certainly die unless you are carrying antivenin with you at the time.

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