Environmental Concern for Growth

Environmental Concern for Growth

As a nation aspires for higher economic growth, the process unquestionably activates environmental degradation which hangs the natural equilibrium of sustainable development in imbalance. Nations rise and fall, but natural resources like land, water bodies, air etc are also struggling for their own existence. Some of the new policies to harness natural resources are outlined below.Cost-benefit AnalysisThe goal of cost-benefit analysis is to enable a government policy that enforces environmental regulations up to the point where the marginal social cost and the marginal social benefit of these regulations are equal. This basically means that — for instance — the government should continue reducing the amount of pollution allowed up to the point where a further reduction of pollution levels would mean greater costs for polluters than benefits for society. India can also pursue such a policy if the environmentalists focus intensively on its implementation rather than conducting elite conferences.EcosocialismEcosocialism attempts to include the current environmental challenge in the democratic socialist theory. The movement has emerged from the debate between Marxism, social democracy and environmentalism, taking ideas from each area. Ecosocialists argue that in order to improve the society, the government should intervene. The state must develop a more egalitarian society, while also respecting fundamental environmental principles such as conservation. Ecosocialists stress the need for both democratic autonomy and the satisfaction of human needs through production. However, the production of goods is one of the main causes of modern environmental problems. As a result, many ecosocialists reject the materialism of both capitalism and communism. Emission TaxesEmission taxes provide a solution to the failure of the free market caused by problems involving negative externalities (the detrimental effects of a public or private project on a society). Using an emission tax, the government simply sets an amount of tax that companies pay for every unit of pollution they produce. The ideal tax rate would be the exact social cost per unit of pollution. This policy has many advantages. It successfully forces business to internalize negative externality costs. It also solves the problem of economic inefficiency by allowing firms to maximize profits and pollute at the most efficient level. Deposit-Refund System. One method of providing an incentive to increase recycling and decrease waste is the deposit-refund system. In this system, people who return certain recyclable items are given a certain amount of money in exchange. What really happens is that when purchasing a product the consumer pays an extra amount, the deposit. The deposit usually pays for something that will not be consumed, but is necessary for selling the product. For example, a can is required to hold a liquid drink. After using the product (for example, drinking a bottle of juice), the consumer can return the bottle to the retailer or to the recycling authorities. These people will pay the consumer a certain amount of money, the deposit they originally paid. In the end, the deposit system does not affect the consumers economically if they return the bottle. What it does do is encourage them to return the bottle for recycling so that it can be reused and not simply thrown into a landfill. This might work wonder for India as very poor people — and sometimes children — often collect and redeem the items for which there is a deposit.Recycling Domestic Waste This is the most desirable process. Two economic factors limit the amount of recycling that can be done. First, recyclable materials must be collected, and the costs of doing so are often high. Second, the market for goods created from recycled materials is limited, and is further diminished by the often high cost of these goods. A general high level of public support for recycling makes it somewhat more possible. Many people are willing to sort out waste before it is collected, but in some cases they do not have the skills required, for instance, to separate various types of chemicals. One method of solving that problem is to hire people capable of properly sorting out recyclable goods to work with the recycling collectors. We boast of a high GDP, a boom in services sector, and many more things. But if these are to be sustained, environmental problems must be addressed. Sustainable development is a long process — and a process less understood but more spoken of. Source: sentinel assam editorial