Eco-env-and Eco revisions

Milestone Three

The Relationship between Economic Growth and Environmental Quality in the USA

The results reveal that the period that air pollution recorded an increase is the same period the transportation and energy industry recorded significant growth.

I was wondering if this statement does not contradict your first sentence.

If transportation and energy sectors have grown significantly, they should generate more jobs and pollution will be the negative externalities.

Also, I don’t see any results that you were referring to.

Milestone Three

Reporting the Results

The results indicate that regions with lower pollution rates had a better chance of creating job opportunities than highly populated areas. Regression technique used for the research allows the researchers to analyze the importance of the natural resources and the environment on economic variables such job opportunities. Importantly, the method allowed the researcher to estimate the cost of managing environmental degradation. Similarly, the research reflects how the natural resources are used to enhance the well-being of locals. Such technique is more valid because the researchers were able to obtain data that precisely for pollution, economic growth, and job opportunities. According to the study, the future is at risk if necessary measures are not taken to curb pollution. For instance, the study predicted that in the next twenty years emission of Carbon (IV) Oxide would reach alarming levels thus threatening the existence of human kind (Forni and Reichlin, 2010). GHG emission would stimulate global warming which in turn would lead to rising in sea level and eventually flooding areas close to the sea. Additionally, Snow Mountains may melt. This water would flow to water bodies hence increasing their level leading to floods. The only way out is for the stakeholders to have the goodwill to cut down C02 emissions. Just like the UN Security Council handles security matters and is even ready to go to war in case the security of the world is under threat, so should do UNEP and other bodies. Such measures would reduce C02 emission significantly.

The results reveal that the period that air pollution recorded an increase is the same period the transportation and energy industry recorded significant growth. This means that those two industries contributed to environmental degradation. It also signifies the failure of policies used to curb environmental degradation. Without clear and strict guidelines, GHG emissions would continue to increase significantly (Hanley and Wright, 2011). Emissions those harmful gasses would shift to developing countries where industrialization has just started. Those predictions are in line with earlier results that predict an increase in GHG emissions. The only difference is that the original data had focused on industrialized nations and ignored the emerging ones. The fundamental factors that led to Carbon emission and eventually degrading the quality of the environment are still in play. They include combustion of fossil fuel, deforestation, and industrialization. This means that as long as countries are industrialized, pollution would always be a threat to the world. Comment by Comlanvi Martin Konou: I was wondering if this statement does not contradict your first sentence. If transportation and energy sectors have grown significantly, they should generate more jobs and pollution will be the negative externalities. Also, I don’t see any results that you were referring to.

The data on air pollution contains the impact of environmental pollution on the well-being of individuals. Environmental encourages deforestation. Deforestation inhibits the survival of communities that relies on agriculture. Perhaps such fears explain why a region that recorded increased levels of agricultural activities did not increase levels of pollution. People in those areas have sufficient policies that curb pollution (Hanley and Wright, 2011). Though not indicated directly, in the research, air pollution encourages the development of respiratory diseases and skin cancer. That explains why regions that recorded a significant increase in pollution also recorded lowest levels of employment. Skilled labors must have moved to other safe areas. The data obtained is valuable because it allowed the investigators to calculate the percentage of environmental degradation. Moreover, the data is important because it allows everyone to understand how environmental degradation has reduced the number of job opportunities. It also provides the economists and environmentalists’ viable mechanism for curbing environmental degradation.

The study argues economic well-being of human would be in jeopardy unless individuals ceased polluting the environment. The study concludes that the current generation is capable of making development sustainable and meets its needs without compromising the existence of future generations. The study argues that, whereas environmental crisis affects all individuals on the planet the level of which individuals contribute to this crisis is dependent on their level of economic development as well as their consumption patterns (Nondo and Fletcher, 2009). Interestingly, the study puts all the blame on capitalism, which emerged during the industrial revolution. Investigators believe that industrial revolution set the trend for the current environmental crisis. The researchers believe economic activities have contributed to environmental degradation than other factors. For example, the use of organic fertilizers, development of pesticides to substitute biological forms of controlling insect and use of plastics as well as synthetics materials has contributed to the environmental crisis. Capitalists believe that it is easy to produce synthetic and plastic materials because they are profitable and in the process, they produce goods that pollute the environment.

The study argues that there are enough resources to cater for the needs of all individuals. However, due to selfishness individuals produce harmful environmental products with the intention of making more profits. The study relies on Regional Economic Information System research carried out in 1972 to ascertain that, humans contribute around 12% of environmental degradation, affluence contributed up to 40%, automobiles like cars contributed to 5% while technology around 40% (Nondo and Fletcher, 2009). From these findings, it is true to concur environmental crisis is generated by economic development. The second law of ecology states that everything must go somewhere. This can be interpreted to mean that nothing goes to waste, as they can be recycled. For example, animal waste can be used to produce manure while waste logs can be used to make fire. Capitalists developed a philosophy to contradict this law. The theory states that where something goes to does not matter as long as it re-enters the path of capital. This has encouraged the capitalists to view pollution caused by production as an “externality” which is part of the costs to the business. Investors argue for compensation of affected individuals rather establishing mechanisms to end environmental pollution. The four law of ecology states that nothing comes from nothing. This means that exploitation of nature comes with an ecological cost. This law advises humans to stop consuming more than they can produce. Its essence is to encourage individuals to avoid overexploitation of resources in nature and protect the environment.

The best way to examine the validity if the stated preference method is to compare current results with initial results obtained from similar research. This could include earlier rates of pollution about economic developing, figures obtained from economic studies, and comparison with studies investigated in other countries such as China or Germany (Anselin, 2012). Validity will be verified if the results are aligned closely with results from similar research. The second method of ascertaining the validity of the study is to examine if the results are consistent with the hypothesis n tested. The construct validity technique compares the results with the stated hypothesis to verify the validity of the data. In this case, the data and research are valid because it is not only consisted with the hypothesis, but also the results obtained are consistent with results obtained from other China.

Lastly, the descriptive measurement technique is best suited to analyze any change in environmental quality. Moreover, the method is capable of measuring the extent of change in the quality of the environment. The phenomena measured could include a change in temperature over a period or the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted in the atmosphere (Anselin, 2012). Importantly, the descriptive technique could be used to predict the impact of future environmental degradation. Moreover, the method is capable of measuring the success of any environmental intervention program. Researchers would use such a technique to analyze the relationship between pollution rates and levels of economic growth. The technique can precisely measure changes in land use, changes in wealth density, and changes in weather conditions.

References

Acs, Z. J., & Armington, C. (2014). Employment Growth and Entrepreneurial Activity in Cities. Max Planck Institute of Economics: Discussion Paper Entrepreneurship. Growth and Public Policy Group.

Anselin, L. (2012). Under the hood issues in the specification and interpretation of spatial regression models. Agricultural Economics, 27(3), 247-267.

Eamets, R., & Philips, K. (2015). Job Creation and Job Destruction in Estonia: Labor Reallocation and Structural Changes. Discussion Paper, Institute for the Study of Labor.

Forni, M., & Reichlin, L. (2010). The generalized dynamic factor model: Identification and estimation. Review of Economics and Statistics, 82(4), 540-554.

Goh, C. (2012). Exploring the impact of climate on tourism demand. Annals of Tourism Research, 39(4), 1859-1883.

Hanley, N., & Wright, R. E. (2011). Choice Modelling Approaches: A Superior Alternative for Environmental Valuation?. Journal of economic surveys, 15(3), 435-462.

Li, X., & Liu, X. (2015). Foreign direct investment and economic growth: an increasingly endogenous relationship. World development, 33(3), 393-407.

Nondo, C., & Fletcher, J. (2009). An empirical analysis of the interactions between environmental regulations and economic growth. West Virginia University Libraries.

Stern, D. I. (2014). The Rise and Fall of the Environmental Kuznets Curve. World development, 32(8), 1419-1439.