Protection Of The Environment flashcards

Question 1

Define tailings

Answer 1

waste material left over once the useful content has been removed from an ore and can be toxic

Question 2

define what pesticides are

Answer 2

chemical substances used to kill insects and small animals that destroy crops

Question 3

Define whistleblower

Answer 3

someone working for an organisation who tells the authorities that people in the organisation are doing something illegal or wrong (like a referee)

Question 4

define tax allowances

Answer 4

amounts of money that firms are allowed by the government to offset against tax

offset: an opposite payment in relation to the cost

Question 5

What negative externalities that can be caused by economic growth?

Answer 5

• Unsustainable use of non renewable resources
• Excessive waste
• Congestion

Question 6

What are business activities that damage the environment?

Answer 6

• Mining
• Agriculture
• Power Generation
• Chemical Processing
• Construction

Question 7

what are ways businesses damage the environment

Answer 7

• Visual pollution
• Noise pollution
• Air pollution
• Water pollution

Question 8

what does the government do to protect the environment?

Answer 8

• taxation
• subsidies
• regulations
• legislations (air and water)
• permits
• park provision

Question 9

Why does chemical processing damage the environment?

Answer 9

If managed irresponsibly chemicals like ethylene and poly-ethylene are released into the atmosphere, not only being Greenhouse Gases which worsen Global Warming, but also endangering wildlife such as aquatic life or even humans if poisonous gas were to be inhaled, causing health complications such as lung damage or even cancer from long time exposure.

Question 10

why does construction damage the environment?

Answer 10

Produces waste material with activities such as land clearing, burning and working with toxic materials etc.

Water pollution may also be caused, where materials which connot be reused or recyced are either burnt or sent to land fills, causing other complications towards the environment

Question 11

How does taxation protect the environment?

Answer 11

Governments impose taxes on those damaging the environment

The aim of the taxation is to ensure that those who cause social costs through business activity meet them. The tax helps to raise prices of energy sources (for instance) that use fossil fuels.

Question 12

What are some advantages of using taxation as a way to protect the environment

Answer 12

The taxes raise prices of energy sources like fossil fuels, the increased costs should cause firms to reduce their output or consumers to reduce their consumption and switch to a greener way of producing leading to a lower output form the firm resulting in a reduction in pollution

Question 13

What are some disadvantages of using taxation as a way to protect the environment

Answer 13

However, demand may be inelastic and producers may pass on the tax to consumers in the form of higher prices; in order for tax to have a significant effect, a high tax is required which can result in inflation due to rising costs and people having lower disposable incomes to spend.

• Therefore, yes a high tax can protect the environment better as there will be less incentive to produce however that comes at a cost of high unemployment.

Question 14

How can subsidies protect the environment?

Answer 14

Governments can offer tax allowances (which is a subsidy) to firms as an incentive to reduce their activités that damage the environment

Governments can also give subsidies to firms that generate positive externalities

Question 15

What are some advantages of using subsidies as a way of protecting the environment

Answer 15

Subsidies can protect the environment as it provides incentive for governments to reduce pollution which means that it may also provide incentive for households & firms to achieve more profits by doing as they are told resulting in a promotion in activities that cause positive externalities

Question 16

What are some disadvantages of using subsidies to protect the environment?

Answer 16

However, providing money as an incentive to firms may cause higher taxes and consequently, there may be a shortage of supply often times which can lead to rewards being insufficient for those firms resulting in them continuing to pollute

Question 17

How does regulation protect the environment?

Answer 17

A range of legislations, regulations and guidelines exist in many countries to help protect the environment

Many governments employ specialists to help monitor pollution levels and such agencies are responsible for taking action against those who break the environmental laws

Question 18

how do fines protect environment?

Answer 18

Fines are imposed on those breaking environmental laws. Many firms are responsive to financial penalties considering it reduces their profits hence, fines act as an incentive to comply (or follow) with environmental laws

Question 19

what are some advantages of using regulations and fines protecting the environment?

Answer 19

Regulations may discourage firms from breaking environmental laws especially with the high fines leading to most consumers and businesses to follow the regulations because they will have lower disposable incomes to spend or lower revenues. Overall the use of regulations and fines result in them having a good image

Question 20

What are some disadvantages of using regulations and fines to protect the environment?

Answer 20

Some fines may be insignificant to businesses meaning there needs to be an effective policing of regulations considering just because there’s a regulation doesn’t necessarily mean it will lead to a decreased demand resulting in firms continuing to pollute

Question 21

what are the two different types of legislations and how do they project the environment?

Answer 21

Air Legislation: Controls emissions of gases; includes system of permits and financial incentives to switch to less polluting ways of working

Water Legislation: Controls water quality: includes discharges to sewers, surface water and the protection of water against agricultural nitrate pollution

Question 22

how do pollution permits protect the environment?

Answer 22

Governments issue pollution permits that give businesses the right to discharge a certain amount of polluting material for a specific period of time

The permits are also tradable meaning a business can sell its pollution permit to another business if it’s found a way of reducing its own pollution.

However, this means a business that’s struggling to control their pollution can buy them and discharge more polluting material legally which is a disadvantage

Question 23

what are some advantages of using pollution permits to protect environment?

Answer 23

An advantage of using pollution permits to protect the environment can be that it encourages the reduction of polluters to sell their permit leading to providing a financial incentive due to increased profits after selling the permits resulting in a firm to control its pollution levels whilst also making profits

Question 24

what are some disadvantages of using pollution permits to protect the environment?

Answer 24

A disadvantage of using pollution permits to protect the environment could be that there may be too few permits leading to firms complaining they can’t produce or there may be too many permits and it won’t reduce pollution. There may be an incentive to cheat and hide emissions and it may be difficult to measure pollution outputs by the government

*** It may be best to use a combination of measures alongside pollution permits such as regulations and fines to more significantly reduce pollution levels in the long term in the economy

Question 25

How does Park provision protect the environment?

Answer 25

Governmental establish national parks where business development is completely illegal and they are very large areas of land which aim to protect areas of natural beauty

Question 26

what are some advantages of using Park provision to protect the environment?

Answer 26

An advantage of using park provision to protect the environment can be that parks reduce government spending on health costs for instance, exercise and reduced air pollution. This can lead to the protection of wildlife and ecosystem resulting in the parks to be used for tourism.

Question 27

what are some disadvantages of using Park provision to protect the environment?

Answer 27

A disadvantage of using park provision to protect the environment could be that there may be an opportunity cost of using the land to create jobs which could lead to decreased unemployment hence, meeting macroeconomic objectives and could lead to a fiscal surplus of which the government can use to repay its financial debts.

Another disadvantage of using park provision to protect the environment could be the costs involved in maintaining the park which could lead to a fiscal deficit causing persistency if the debt isn’t paid resulting in future generations to be burdened with the debt of “today” as they will be paying for the excesses of previous generations.