I think that it is important to the world that we recycle. But I think that is easier said than done I know my family doesn't recycle because it is such a hassle for us. I think a lot of people would like to help the world and to recycle but most people don't want to put in the extra effort to do so. Maybe if there was a system that collected your recyclables than more people would do it.

I think it is very important to reuse and recycle. We have a limited amount of resources available and that affects the economy and welfare of the whole world. It affects economy because with a limited amount of resources we cannot keep growing and consuming the way we have been before. We have an economy based on producing and buying. But if we get to the point where we run out of resources and we cannot produce or sell anything, we will be both screwed as a human race without anything to use to survive and an economy based on selling things that cannot be produced anymore.

I agree that "going green" is important, but a lot like Ryan, i feel that it is very unlikely that it will ever be fully accepted. The problems with expecting the whole country to accept and practise recycling is that not everyone cares. A lot of people will only admit that recycling is important if they themselves are directly affected by the pollution of the earth. As it stands right now, the earth isn't feeling the full effects of not recycling, so most of the population doesn't care about going green. So until everyone is physically affected by this problem, not everyone will try to change their habits.

I think that people in America would like to recycle and "go green" but the fact of the matter is that we are too lazy. If you were to place a trash can next to somebody and then a recycling bin 20 feet away I am willing to bet a high percentage of people would just toss their plastic bottle in the recycling bin. You might sit there and say that I am wrong, but i see problems worse than this in our own school. We have recycling bins and trash cans next to each other and I see kids throw their bottles in the trash. Why you may ask? I ask the same question to myself but I do not know the answer. Maybe we just don't think about it enough and if that is the case then recycling needs to be advertised more. Recycling has many benefits so I cannot really understand the reason why people would not recycle. Maybe there should be some regulations on recycling, but all I know is that we are not utilizing our re-use of re-usable resources. I think we need to take more accountability for our actions, and begin to recycle as a nation instead of just select communities.

I agree. I think that recycling is a great thing. Even if right now it is not cost efficient right now, in the long term it will work out for the better. Eventually we are going to run out of natural resources and as the cost of resources rises the value of whatever resources someone has will go up as well. If people start conserving and recycling now i think that it will be better for them and their company into the long term as we enter the new millenium

Waste and recycling is directly related to economics. If we recycle there will end up being more material to make new stuff with wich will make it easyer for buisnesess make their product. If we just put it in a land fill no one will ever see it again and it will not be helping anyway.

In my house we recycle all paper and plastics. We also use more energy efficient light bulbs and try to reduce our energy output by other means. I totally understand how pollution is related to economics and effect eachother. There isn't much to do about it other than to reduce our energy and pollution output. This can be done by using more energy efficient products and pre-recycled products too.

In my house we recycle everything that can be recycled. However I find it disturbing that a lot of the plastic we recycle actually doesn't get reused because it's cheaper to make it from scratch. And you can only recycle plastic and paper so many times before it has to be thrown away. I don't think working on recycling programmes will help us much, I think we should use less packaging, buy less altogether and work more on reusing the goods that are ready to be reused and not just through them away.

Eric First Post

I agree with the people that say that the population s growing and that if it continues to grow then the large corperations will continue to increase their use of natural resources. There will always be a demand for the resources but If we are going to do something about this then alternate resources will need to be found. if they do not find any other sources then we will be facing a serious problem.

Clancy's Second Post

I agree with Pali on how a lot of large corporations see nature as a resource that they can use as much as they want without any consequences. Although there are plenty of trees on the earth such corporations still need to slow down so they don't destroy the forests. As in my other posts these large corporations should put money into finding alternate power sources. Even if one company did this it would make a difference.

Becca's Second Post

The additional coast in recycling our waste and reusing as many resources as possible is minuscule compared to the damage that will be done to our environment if we do not do so. If we commit to making more effort in our recycling programs in school, work places, and homes society will also benefit economically. Although the sorting and processing that is required in recycling may be costly, in the long run the reusable products will save individuals and businesses money. The unsightly and health hazardous waste lands are also a pressing issue that will cause economic issues if they are not handled quickly. Medical expenses may pose a problem if the health issues from pollution as well as the waste lands increase in our population. As stated in the original blog as our population has increases our waste has as well. Today is when we must plan and take action to create changes so that we can better our state of living as well as our environmental and economic well-being.

How do waste and materials relate to economics?

You might be familiar with the first and second laws of thermodynamics which state (1) that matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed and (2) that nature's capacity to convert energy and matter is limited. This applies directly to economics because it implies that for every resource we use in economic activity (inputs) a residual is left behind and how we manage inputs in the production process is very important. How resource intensive an economic activity is can effect environmental quality and economic outputs, because remember we have a finite amount of natural resources, but with good management we can hopefully reuse them and come up with greater efficiency and market allocation.

How does population effect pollution and economics?

As many of may know the earth has around 7 billion people on it, and as population increases, we are using more and more resources to feed, educate, provide jobs and transportation, and supply goods to these people. But as population increases, we also experience higher amounts of waste and need more places to either store this waste or convert it into something useful that we can reuse. A lot of people think that the world population is increasing and it will become unmanageable for the environment to support us. However, there is a lot of data that supports that world population growth is slowing, especially in some countries such as the US and parts of the developing world, as more people are able to attain higher levels of education and are either having children later or less than in the past. If you would like to watch a quick video on population growth over the span of human history search "population growth" on youtube and watch as human population grows since 2000BC to 2030 AD. Keep in mind that with a greater population, our quality of life will be effected as there will likely be more pollution, less resources to go around such as food, and more sprawl.

As more of these people demand goods and services there will be more waste associated with a rise in per capita gross national product, or as they become more educated or attain higher paying jobs they will likely buy more and more waste will be generated. Countries that are located on islands, such as Japan, have higher rates of municipal waste recovery because they have less space to otherwise let it decompose. It is in the best interests of society to recover municipal wastes because they can pose health effects through threatening water systems, be unsightly, and release toxins into the environment. However, in some communities it is cheaper to not recycle wastes because the costs of doing so (recovering, transportation, sorting, processing, reusing) are much greater than sending waste to landfills.

How do you feel about how waste and recycling relate to economics and what do you think society can do differently?

jordan

i think that talking about economics and housing at the same time as being good to our planet. i think that we can help the environment while being not so economically dependent on something like foreign oil, or labor done out of the country. we all can do something that will help with this. my family does not do that many things well be we do a few. we heat our house completely with wood that was scavenged from all over. we do not drop live trees, only dead trees. we also recycle paper, glass, plastic, and metal products. other people do other things that help the cause in a different way.