I always assumed that a good economy would be better for the environment than a bad one. After all, people have more time to care about what's happening to the world around them when they've got a steady source of income. When the economy starts to turn sour, people would be more focused on, well, the economy, and less concerned with environmental issues.
I was therefore surprised to see an article titled "Is the bad economy good for the environment?" However, the article made some rather good points.
Basically it goes back to supply and demand. When people don't have as good as an income, they try to cut back and therefore demand falls. When demand falls, the supply curve shifts to equilibrate, and therefore less is produced. This helps the environment in conservation of natural resources. For example, people try to save money by using public transit instead of their own cars (therefore using less gasoline, and indirectly burning less fossil fuels). As industry slows, fewer pollutants are produced as a result. When wood and paper products aren't as in demand, fewer trees get cut down.
Of course, one still has to remember that there is an ongoing crisis in the environment (global warming), and it's important to focus on trying to fix what's happening. But it's good to know that there is may be some benefit to such an unfortunate circumstance as a bad economy.
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I've never really thought of this issue before. Another way to look at is, with less money to spend people are more likely to join together and trade goods and services, which benefits all according to the fifth principle of economics. Carpooling is a service people trade with one another and allows them to save money while still getting where they need to be. A, T
ReplyDeleteI agree with the theory of supply and demand for daily use products (paper, fuel, electricity).
ReplyDeleteHowever, since the economy is so bad and people are more careful with their bank accounts, it causes them to only focus on the short-term problems. They may be using less each day, but people may not be looking into the future. They are not willing to invest in long-term items or habits that are beneficial to the environment (but most likely expensive) like solar panel roofs, hybrid cars, growing food in their yard, or being completely sustainable. Although small changes do make differences over time, these large assets are going to make a larger impact.
As far as gas prices go, the higher the better for the environment. I realize that it is a hard thing to say, but high gas prices would be really good for the environmental movement. People respond to incentives, most are not going to car-pool or take the bus just to save the planet. They need an incentive. The same is true with electric cars and alternative energy. High gas prices would allow both of those products to compete in the market.
ReplyDeleteE, T
Times of economic hardship does seem to help the environment because less natural resources are used and burned. Being environmentally friendly through a recession is unintentional, but seems to work. When the economy is back on track there will be more using of natural resources and the environment will continue to be polluted like it was before (saying there is no major break through in environmentally friendly technology).
ReplyDeletePeople respond to incentives in the economic world. The government should make people want to be environmentally friendly. Providing tax breaks for the people ( or firms ) that use and do environmentally friendly things. One example is to provide a tax return to households or firms that begin to use solar energy for electric power. Buying and installing solar panels can be expensive, but the money that will be saved in the long-run along with a nice tax return is far greater in value. There can be ways to be environmentally sufficient and economically sound at the same time. Of course every decision comes with tradeoffs though. (A,T)
I think that the economic down turn is a good way to show how the environment is being treated better and the use of natural resources is at a lower amount now. But what will happen when the economy picks back up and there is a bull market? The people who have money won't think twice bout spending it and use natural resources as production rises and so forth. If we are to think environmentally friendly like Jason posted above me, should we search to make the production we do be regulated to be environment friendly, produce only environment good products, or reward the people who help save energy? Or possibly do all of them? I would be interested in if the government looks to take advantage or help set in place any of these ideas.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree with the point that the environment is benefiting from this recession, people are also buying items that come in small packs at a time because there income is not doing too well as it used to before which is affecting it in a way because more packaging is being used. But for other items such as gas and electricity as mention before, those are big saving improvement that can help with global warming. (E.A)
ReplyDeleteI also think that the bad economy can have a very negative affect on teh environment. Items thatin a good economy were considered "expensive" because they were "organic" or "fair trade", etc., are going to be even more expensive in a bad economy because people won't be willing to spend as much on these eco-friendly products and instead will buy others. People will view the cost to them as more important than the negative cost to the environment.
ReplyDeleteI think the only way to approach a sustainable healthy environment is through a positive economic outlook. Sure, there are short-term benefits to the environment with a bad economy. However, if those financial hardships impact people and people impact the environment, there's no way that a bad economy will support a good environment in the long run (unless the economic depression becomes so devastating that it wipes out a huge majority of the human race - a solution that I don't think any of us would prefer). People need time and resources to bring about social change like the environmental movement. If anyone's going to help reverse the climate crisis, they have to be able to put food on the table first.
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense to me, but what if people with lower income struggle to develop their economy thus cause more pollution? What's more, sometimes advanced technology and economy allow people to use the resources more efficiently. Well I'm not quite sure about this... A
ReplyDeleteThis makes perfect sense. When the economy is down, the demand for goods and services will be less because a lot of people don't have the disposable income to spend on products they would otherwise buy in a good economy. Therefore, things such as oil supply will decrease, because people will find other ways of transportation to save money in tough economic times. With this, less people will be driving cars, which is good for the environment, because burning less fossil fuels will help limit pollution. This bad for us, good for them situation, is clearly good for the environment, and in fact, our environment has always benefited, no matter what time period you look back too, when the economy is weak. (A, T)
ReplyDeleteYou also have to take in the account that nobody cared about the environment until the last two decades. Since the industrial revolution there hasnt really been a concern on what all the advancments in technology have been doing to the earth until fairly recently. Now im not really concerned with "global warming" but wasting versus reusing and taking care of your garbage and recyclables in the most efficient economical way versus trashing our surroundings i am concerned with. I think more and more people becoming concerned with these issues and due to a lot of enviromentalists people are being more and more eco-conscious and that even though some of those points in the article are true im not sure that the wellness of the environment and economies are so directly related.
ReplyDeleteFinally something good comes out out of the recession. Although demand is low in the market, we are actually saving the earth by reducing the amount of waste. How awesome is that! By looking at the brighter side we begin to alter the way we look at the situation. Goes back to the basic principles of cognitive psychology;changing the way we think will change the way we feel about a situation. Food for thought...
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