air pollution - stationary and mobile sources

Question 1

what are the 5 measures to see if command and control policy is economically efficient?

Answer 1

1) The threshold concept: does the standard prevent harm to health of the most vulnerable?
2) Ambient standard level: is it cost-effective?3) Uniform ambient standards: no account for weather and geography variation
4) Timing of emission flows: thermal inversion.
5) Concentration vs exposure: health is harmed by exposure

Question 2

what is the value of statistical life?

Answer 2

Number of deaths associated with airpollution

Question 3

what is the value of a life year?

Answer 3

Loss of life expectancy

Question 4

what are most standards defined in terms of but what should they really be in terms off?

Answer 4

Most standards are defined in terms of pollutant concentration, but health effects are more closely related to exposure and to cumulative effects overtime

Question 5

what does the exposure depend on?

Answer 5

Exposure also depends on proximity to the source and on efficiency of dispersion in the atmosphere

Question 6

what are the two defined ambient standards in the US?

Answer 6

A primary standard to protect human health
A secondary standard to protect aesthetics, physical objects and vegetation (only for a subset of pollutants)

Question 7

are CAC cost effective, why?

Answer 7

CAC is typically not cost-effective.
The ratio of CAC cost to least cost suggests wide differences in cost-effectiveness of CAC policies

Question 8

what is a market based alternative to command and control policies?

Answer 8

you could have emission charges for example:
* Efficiency charges (compensate the harmed, Japan example)
* Cost-effective charges (reach standard at min-cost)
* Emission trading (avoids the concentration dilution solution)

Question 9

what was the montreal protocol?

Answer 9

in 1988 24 nations signed the montreal protocol which banned CFCs and later 96 other noxious chemicals which were depleting the ozone.

Question 10

what is acid rain and what is the issue?

Answer 10

NOx and SOx emissions can be come acid which produces acid rain of PH2 that can defoliate forests. the issue is that it can travel 200-600 miles so is transnational pollution

Question 11

what are early remedys and late remedys to acid rain?

Answer 11

Early remedy: dilution via tall chimney stacks
Later remedy: scrubbing chemically the emissions at source

Question 12

what was the difference in approaches between germany and the US for SO2 control?

Answer 12

germany uses command and control policies to quickly reduce emissions by forcing firms to adopt one single new technology. all the marginal costs became similiar for firms, this limited scope for trading emitters to equalise, sudden demand for equipment increased cost of technology adoption
The US uses a Cap and Trade program. banking was allowed and a phased deadline allowed learning and didnt suddenly raise demand for new technology

Question 13

what was the sulphur allowance trading scheme?

Answer 13

allowances were given to older power plants (grandfathering) and these allowances were transferable and could be carried over time. exceeding the allowance would result in fines

Question 14

what is the innovative approach of smog trading (reclaim)

Answer 14

400 polluters receive an annual pollution limit which decreases by 5-8% annually for the next ten years. polluters are allowed to use flexible approaches such as purchasing credits from other firms willing to sell them. it was cap and trade. no certificiation. promotes smooth adoption of new abatement technologies.

Question 15

what were the problems with california reclaim system?

Answer 15

1- there will be over allocation because the cap is too high
2- excessive cost due to concurrent deregulation of electricity market which switched temporarily to lower fees, decreasing revenue to industry

Question 16

what is the overall global air quality trend>

Answer 16

there has been an overall quality decline

Question 17

what is the trend in air quality over the UK?

Answer 17

there is a significant improvement in air quality in recent decades through emission reductions from transport, indurstry and domestic sources. there has been a decline in coal use, increase in catalytic converters reduced transport emissions

Question 18

why is the management of mobile sources more complex then the stationary sources?

Answer 18

Involves policies aimed at both the manufacturer and the owner
Control at the point of production takes longer to achieve a given reduction

Question 19

what is the relationship between the social cost of transportation and the miles driven?

Answer 19

the social cost of transportation rise with miles driven

Question 20

what is the marginal private cost of an additional mile?

Answer 20

the marginal private cost of an additional mile is zero

Question 21

what is the effect of employee parking or free parking?

Answer 21

the free parking is an implicit subsidy that creates incentives toward car use

Question 22

what is the relationship between the social costs of accidents with miles driven?

Answer 22

the social cost of accidents rise with miles driven

Question 23

why is road congestion an externality?

Answer 23

the marginal private costs will not equal marginal social costs if traffic volume is above the efficient level, there is a divergence between the social and private costs increases as traffic increases towards the full capacity of the roadway

Question 24

what are the consequences of implicit subsidies and non internalised external costs ?

Answer 24

Implicit subsidies and non-internalized external costs result in transport costs that are too low.
this results in too many vechiles using the road, too many trips taken, too many miles and too much pollution.
it also prevents the lack of demand for alternative modes of transport to be inefficiently low

Question 25

what was the effect of lead phaseout?

Answer 25

there was large social benefits from the lead phaseout from fuel. it changed to unleaded fuel

Question 26

what are examples of possible reforms?

Answer 26

fuel taxes
congestion pricing
private toll roads
pay-as-you-drive insurance
parking cash-outs
feebates
accelerated retirement strategies