ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
-In the 1990's researchers began to ask who lives around the most polluting facilities? Who breathes in the dirtiest air?...
-Political movement emerged to ensure all communities don't bear a disproportionate share of pollution
-The movement was called the 'Environmental Justice Movement'
-Environmental justice advocates are working to ensure implementation of environmental laws.
-As a result of political movement, federal and state governments have enacted new laws and regulations designed to take into account, the concerns of environmental justice advocates
-Remains to be seen if the governments will work to achieve environmental justice
-Not enough affordable housing to spread across urban areas
-It's hard to know what we should do to address environmental justice issues
-Not clear what the government can do about the problem regarding the cheap land
-In asking who bears burden of existing pollution, advocates and researchers are asking right questions
-Governments are beginning to find some of the answers
EXTERNAL COSTS
-If a steel producing company can minimize production cost by dumping waste for free, the company will do so.
-Since the cost of pollution clean up is considered not relevant
-Negative effects of pollution are: external costs that are passed on to our society and environment
-Supply curve is related to private production cost
-Product demand yields price and quantity
-Social curve adds external cost due to pollution.
-With this curve included, it shows that less steel should be produced at a higher price.
-Government could correct difference between private and social outcomes, by taxing companies for polluting.
-Tax revenue could be used to reduce pollution
COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS
-One would like to live in a world with zero pollution
-Technology cannot achieve that outcome at a reasonable economic level
-Necessary to determine a level of pollution reduction that is beneficial and cost efficient
-Initially, social cost is relatively low
-As pollution reduction is nearing 100 percent, social cost rises dramatically
-Social benefit will be reduced as pollution reduction increases
-Optimal point occurs where the intersection is between the two curves
-As technology improves, social cost shifts outward which means it's practical to increase pollution reduction.
STORY OF BROKE
-Tax money should be used to create a better future
-The country instead became broke
-Instead of moving forwards, things are moving backwards like reducing the size of schools, the EPA, social security and medicare.
-What's happening to all the money?
-Broke story hides a much bigger story, a story of dumb choices being made for us, choices that work against us.
-Big chunk of the tax money goes to the military. ($726 billion in 2011)
-Spending billions on fighter planes and war with no end isn't honest.
-Hundreds of billions of money used to prop up the economy.
-Keeping the economy on life support when we could be doing something better,
-Life supports comes in subsidies
-Subsidy is a giveaway that gives some companies a lift over others
-Problem is that the government is lifting companies that are dragging us down
-Everywhere in the economy, you will find subsidies
-Tax subsidies excuse big corporations from contributing their fair share
-These subsidies contribute to billions we should be collecting to put to good use
-Risk transfer subsidies where government acts as an investment bank or an insurance company for corporations doing risky things
-If anything goes on, we have to cover for them.
-Freebie subsidies are where the government gives things that belong to us to corporations for cheap/free.
-Externalized costs are costs that aren't recognized and puts trillions including damage to environment, public health and climate.
-Without laws that make polluters pay, we all pay with the loss of clean air and water.
-By the time all the subsidies are handed out, there isn't enough to pay our bills and building a better future.
-Senators wanting to keep oil subsidies earned 5x more in big oil campaign cash than those who were against it.
-Subsidies are prizes for people with mosre power
-We can make a change
-Beginning by reinvesting the 10 billion dollars spent on oil and gas subsidies for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects
-We need to subsidize zero waste and raising recycle rate to 75% will create new jobs
-Leaves billions to improve education
-In the 1990's researchers began to ask who lives around the most polluting facilities? Who breathes in the dirtiest air?...
-Political movement emerged to ensure all communities don't bear a disproportionate share of pollution
-The movement was called the 'Environmental Justice Movement'
-Environmental justice advocates are working to ensure implementation of environmental laws.
-As a result of political movement, federal and state governments have enacted new laws and regulations designed to take into account, the concerns of environmental justice advocates
-Remains to be seen if the governments will work to achieve environmental justice
-Not enough affordable housing to spread across urban areas
-It's hard to know what we should do to address environmental justice issues
-Not clear what the government can do about the problem regarding the cheap land
-In asking who bears burden of existing pollution, advocates and researchers are asking right questions
-Governments are beginning to find some of the answers
EXTERNAL COSTS
-If a steel producing company can minimize production cost by dumping waste for free, the company will do so.
-Since the cost of pollution clean up is considered not relevant
-Negative effects of pollution are: external costs that are passed on to our society and environment
-Supply curve is related to private production cost
-Product demand yields price and quantity
-Social curve adds external cost due to pollution.
-With this curve included, it shows that less steel should be produced at a higher price.
-Government could correct difference between private and social outcomes, by taxing companies for polluting.
-Tax revenue could be used to reduce pollution
COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS
-One would like to live in a world with zero pollution
-Technology cannot achieve that outcome at a reasonable economic level
-Necessary to determine a level of pollution reduction that is beneficial and cost efficient
-Initially, social cost is relatively low
-As pollution reduction is nearing 100 percent, social cost rises dramatically
-Social benefit will be reduced as pollution reduction increases
-Optimal point occurs where the intersection is between the two curves
-As technology improves, social cost shifts outward which means it's practical to increase pollution reduction.
STORY OF BROKE
-Tax money should be used to create a better future
-The country instead became broke
-Instead of moving forwards, things are moving backwards like reducing the size of schools, the EPA, social security and medicare.
-What's happening to all the money?
-Broke story hides a much bigger story, a story of dumb choices being made for us, choices that work against us.
-Big chunk of the tax money goes to the military. ($726 billion in 2011)
-Spending billions on fighter planes and war with no end isn't honest.
-Hundreds of billions of money used to prop up the economy.
-Keeping the economy on life support when we could be doing something better,
-Life supports comes in subsidies
-Subsidy is a giveaway that gives some companies a lift over others
-Problem is that the government is lifting companies that are dragging us down
-Everywhere in the economy, you will find subsidies
-Tax subsidies excuse big corporations from contributing their fair share
-These subsidies contribute to billions we should be collecting to put to good use
-Risk transfer subsidies where government acts as an investment bank or an insurance company for corporations doing risky things
-If anything goes on, we have to cover for them.
-Freebie subsidies are where the government gives things that belong to us to corporations for cheap/free.
-Externalized costs are costs that aren't recognized and puts trillions including damage to environment, public health and climate.
-Without laws that make polluters pay, we all pay with the loss of clean air and water.
-By the time all the subsidies are handed out, there isn't enough to pay our bills and building a better future.
-Senators wanting to keep oil subsidies earned 5x more in big oil campaign cash than those who were against it.
-Subsidies are prizes for people with mosre power
-We can make a change
-Beginning by reinvesting the 10 billion dollars spent on oil and gas subsidies for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects
-We need to subsidize zero waste and raising recycle rate to 75% will create new jobs
-Leaves billions to improve education
