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?
By figuring out more eco-friendly ways to dispose of our goods, companies can save more. By using landfills and dumps, companies have to occupy the space, which ultimately costs money, right? If those companies were to produce products with less toxins, and more biodegradable materials, the product would most likely be more abundant and easier to obtain. The economy we are in affects us, as people, directly. So does the environment, thus the two should work hand in hand.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with Kylee. Companies should figure out better ways to create their products so they will be easier to recycle and reuse. I also think our society needs to put more emphasis on recycling and reusing materials, because too often i think people do what is easier (throwing things away) than reusing them or recycling them. I think people need to become more aware that the environment is something that needs to be taken care of because we rely on it so much.I also think companies need to be more aware and cautious of what they are putting into their products, so the products won't become harmful to the environment after they are used.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that recycling uses more effort and money, however it is far more worth it than to not reuse and recycling the products we use. I also think it is important for companies to understand the effort many of us are attempting to recycle, and pay attention to reduce the chemicals used in their products. This way, if some people decided not to recycle their already used products, the consequences will not be as bad for our enviroment. On the other hand, some people need to understand the affects of not recycling their products after using them. It is not as hard or as time consuming as many think it is worth the outcome later on.
ReplyDeleteThe benefits of recycling far outweigh the costs in our economy. Although recycling takes up time and money, in the end it will be worth it. It is very important that companies are involved in the effort to reduce waste and reuse our natural resources. We must make companies aware of their wastes and encourage them and individuals to recycle. Also there are ways to find alternative resources that our better for our environment. People need to become more aware of the effects of their actions on our environment and in turn our economy. If everyone made an effort to reduce, reuse, and recycle more our world would be better off.
ReplyDeleteWaste and materials can be directly related to economics. All things that were man made using money or service has some sort of economic value. Recycling is the best example of a way we can still hold onto some of the value that used items used to have. This method has taken items that had little economic value and made them into an industry that is currently thriving. Because of our enourmous human population our pollution level has skyrocketed. Using recycling we have found some type of way to reuse some of the huge quantities of materials that we use up.
ReplyDeleteI think that waste and recycling is greatly significant to the state of our economy. Without proper recycling we would run out of goods farely quickly and a lot of resources would go to waste. Since we have so many people in the world at this day and age a lot or products are bought which benifit our economy. After people use these products they generally throw them away. This is where recycling comes in and we can reuse the products which we had recently disposed of. This will save money that would be pulled from the economy to buy more resources. Recycling plays a big role in our economy and is a valuable key to a lot of country's strong economy's.
ReplyDeleteI think that in the future we should only permit making materials that are reciclable. By doing this, we can reduce the rate of waste dramtically and the world won't become one huge landfill. I don't even know why we have ever made materials that arn't reciclable because. I also think that every person should be required to recycle. It is good for the environment and we all be better off in the future.
ReplyDeleteI think recycling is something that should be done by more people and more often. reducing the amound of waste in the world needs to be done. People should take the little bit of time out of their day to recycle and not just throw everyting away. A clean environment contributes to a better economy.
ReplyDeleteEvery day it's looking more and more likely that people are going to live on Mars long before this becomes a serious, damaging issue that is harmful to us. Recycling is important and wasting materials after the first time they're used isn't conducive with any positive agenda.
ReplyDeleteThe three R's (reduce, reuse, and recycle) if executed will undoubtedly help the econonmy and they will also help the enviroment. By reducing resources, companies will ultimately save money and maybe not take a loan out from the government, the same results will be realized from reusing resources. Also both reusing and reducing directly makes less waste. Finally, recycling; recycling is great for the enviroment and good for the economy because with recycling companies might be able to reduce their production while retainging the same amount of product.
ReplyDeleteI strongly believe that recycling is a great asset to the world. As stated above, more and more resources are being depleted due to many factors such as deforristation, tourism, forrest fires and the list goes on. Recycling is closly releated to economics because of many reasons, one main one being that the government needs to pay for recycling.
ReplyDelete"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."
I think this is a very valid statement because is demonstrating the relationship that economics has with recycling.
Recycling is extremely important to live and sustain in a healthy community. However, it is a big piece of propoganda that this will be a damaging problem.
ReplyDeleteRecycling and waste management could potentially be a good thing to grow the economy. While utilizing the environment efficiently by recycling, it also creates jobs for those who haven't been able to find jobs. With the new jobs, more money is flowing through the economy and the GDP will then increase with the decreased unemployment.
ReplyDeleteRecycling is definitely a big problem today, and anywhere there is a big population, there will be a lot of trash/recycling. Big companies, schools and other big buildings obviously fall into this because theres a lot of people that are in their buildings. We need everyone on the same page, because some towns dont even recycle. If we all recycle, we can transport more recycling at once and open more recycling centers to make transportation easier.
ReplyDeleteA lot of times, when companies choose to recycle or dispose of their waste in a more environmently-friendly way, they actually save money in the long run. For example, when our cafeteria switched to using real silverware instead of plastic, I think that even though it was an investment, it saves money. Cutting back on money is not the important thing, though. The important thing is to help create a healthy world, and make the earth we live on a better, cleaner place to be.
ReplyDeleteI think that recycling is important, but if it is easier for big companies to not recycle then they won't choose to do it. Most big companies won't recycle without laws requiring it.
ReplyDeleteRecycling is very important in my house. We have been doing it for years. we don't go all out and have like a bin just for glass and a bin just for paper, but we still help the environment a lot by what my family does. its a personal choice if you recycle or just throw everything in the trash can, but recycling in the long run help us reuse already available resources.
ReplyDeleteI feel like if pollution is such a big global problem that there should be more advertising for recycling and awareness of the environment. I'm not sure if the government has many programs based around recycling, but I think we should have some sort of federally funded recycling program so it isn't costly on certain communities.
ReplyDeleteat my house we recyle cans and paper, and i feel like if more people do that it will greatly increase the reusable resorces that we use. many companies use recycled materials and they usually have a lot more products bought by consumers becasue they went green.
ReplyDeleteI feel that this a very popular topic right now. The interest with the general population in being green has come about because of worry over hurting our planet for future generations. Waste and toxins are destroying our water and the ozone, and people are trying to lessen their negative impact on the environment. This has impacted our economy with the development of new companies that specialize in “green products” and waste treatment. Many new homes being built are built to be energy efficient. The hole in the ozone, causing global warming, and the rise in gas prices, has changed the economics of the car industry. Many companies are developing hybrid cars, that are smaller or more fuel efficient. Waste treatment and recycling are currently big businesses in our economy and all of this impacts out daily lives.
ReplyDeleteOur society has always shaped the idea of being "green" but I do not think that we are doing everything we can to keep our world more eco-friendly. We should be really focusing on recycling and reusing products because that cuts down a lot of the waste which in turn cuts down some of this problem. I think it is interesting that waste and recycling relate to the economy becuase this is a very popular topic as Grace said but you don't really think about how it relates in different ways. I also think companies should buy more eco-friendly products because that will cut down on the problems too.
ReplyDeleteThe whole environmental situation is a prime example of the seventh economic principle, i.e. people tend to look at immediate results and not examine the potential future results from decisions. In general, being less wasteful costs more, at least for companies. Looking at the extreme, it would cost a factory next to nothing to just dump their trash in the nearest body of water. Luckily, we have laws against that. Look at this example: it’s legal, and cheap, in the computer industry, to send the waste, old and broken computers to rural China, and other third world regions of the world, where there is little environmental safety policy. The “recycling agencies” that are tasked with disposing of the trash simply dump the parts into landfills, rivers, anything that will hold the trash. This is a huge health hazard, as many of the parts in computers are toxic to people. Regardless, it’s cheaper for the computer producer and the “recycling agency” to do that than to properly dispose of computer parts in a non-hazardous fashion. I think that if everyone realized that they must sacrifice a bit of their own profit in order to maintain the status quo, then we would be a lot better off. As it is, most people are too worried about their own good to worry about the good of the environment.
ReplyDeleteI gotta say, ever since I moved to Lee, my recycling habits have changed. Not only is my step dad a recycling nazi, but he has turned my mom into one as well. I cant pin the actual story but, I heard something about Lee having one of the best recycling programs around. Literally everything in my house is recycled. Just yesterday my mom yelled at me for putting a tinny piece of paper in the garbage rather than the paper recycle. I feel my habits are becoming better, and I like that. I like a cleaner planet.
ReplyDeleteAlthough with the population constantly increasing there is more trash produced, there also will be new technologies made that will make recycling easier and more efficient. This at the moment doesn't counteract the massive amount of resources we use, but after a while this might happen as we reuse more and more of what we make. Changes such as this are often made difficult by companies, such as gas companies, who are harmed by this change and thus try to stop it. However, I think that with enough support from the people and government, it mat be possible.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kylee and Bekah. I think that companies should find a more eco-friendly way to dispose of our goods. She also mentioned that using landfills take up space and use a lot more money to do so. I don't think that it is the fact that companies have to spend money but I think that there should be better goods so that the waste can be more managable.
ReplyDeleteI think that when anything gets bigger, be it a company or anything else, they produce more waste. What is important is for the said company to learn how to minimize their waste to lower their costs. When a company recycles, most simply they have to spend less getting their trash taken away. They also do something for the environment. This is sensible economically because it is available to everyone for free.
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