Environmental Economics - Essay Example

ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS taskmasters 24 november 2008 Environmental Economics at my community level Environmental Economics. Try telling this word to any layman. It would bring about blank looks and raised eyebrows. Not surprising. As Charles D. Kolstad puts it “A natural reaction, particularly considering the the common belief in some circles that economics is the root of the environmental problem”(“Environmental Economics” 1). So what is environmental economics? The basic concept as Ethan Goffman states is “economic activity that harms the environment creates present or future losses to humans in the form of damaged health,lower productivity, depleted natural sources and reduced enjoyment of nature. Environmental Economy seeks to quantify these losses and determine the most efficient way to reduce them.”(Environmental Economics - Basic concepts and Debates{Introduction}) The main objective of my project would be to remove this lack of knowledge and change the mindset of the local community.The project would involve the local community,work with them and bring about a systemic social change and slowly develop a conservation ethic amongst the local residents.This ethic needs to be so deeply ingrained that they themselves will start thinking about the conservation of environment and all their actions,thinking and unthinking, will be directed towards it.The other objective would be to integrate environmental conservation with economic growth or development.So no more raised eyebrows and questioning looks. My dream would be to create a community where environmental conservation would be a way of life and not just an abstract thinking. To work with the community and to keep the work going at a steady pace one has to have a good overview of the local community and be very innovative.As Danesh, programme co-ordinator, Rasta, Barefoot college - Kerala says “Many people look around here and see dead leaves and straw. I see energy.We just need to tap it.”(“Social entrepreunership Criteria-External Level” 5). First a team will have to be formed comprising of of dedicated and focussed members of similar mindset preferably living within the same local community and thus being well rooted. This team will start their work by conducting home to home survey, finding about the number of family members, average anuual income(if the members are willing to give),their pattern of spending, their usage of electricity, fossil fuel and other objects which are generally proven to be harmful for the environment like plastic bags.All this data will give a more or less good insight into the families which make up the local community. After all the data is ready meetings and open debates can be arranged for all these members to come under one roof. Views can be shared, opinions aired.One specialist on this subject will be invited each time to these meetings where he/she can listen and give his/her ideas. The main aim for all this is to give an overview of the causes which are plaguing the earth and environment at these times.Slide shows will be arranged to give the real and detailed picture.The main objective would be to educate people about the problem and to tell them of the small ways in which they can contribute to the fight against pollution. They will be requested to minimize the use of vehicles while travelling short distances and to instead walk or use the bicycle.While going to office it would be better if one availed the usage of the car pool. Data will be presented as to how much usage of fossil fuel can be cut down if people opt for these methods, thus contributing positively towards global warming. Walking and cycling would also improve ones health in the long run . Incandescent bulbs can be replaced by energy saving lamps (compact fluorescent lamps) which would also cut down on the electricity usage and bill. Nothing forcibly will be poured down the gullet, instead ideas will be presented in such a way that people start realising that they can also contibute towards conservation without shelling out much money and this point will be highlighted time and after as a gentle reminder as to much how much we can collectively do towards saving the earth. The main objective is to inspire people to start thinking on their own about what they can do and how much they can do. After all it doesnt take much to go green. To educate the local community meetings of such nature will be arranged quite frequently.Younger members of the locality will have to be roped in to spread the message of environmental awareness as they are more malleable and can influence their older family members in turn. Another major problem is deforestation.”Deforestation is responsible for about 20% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions”(World Banks Workshop.-”The costs of reducing Carbon emissions from Deforestation And Forest Degradation”). This data needs to be presented to community members and shown that if this is not slowed down then what the future holds for the next generation and others to come. Funds will be collected and people will be requested to donate as much as they can so that sapling planting drive can be arranged from time to time involving all the interested community members. Another way to reach out to local community members would be through the local media like the local radio and television broadcasting medium.Qualified people and others working with environmental conservation programmes can be arranged to come over and speak via these medium . Live programmes can be aired where people can come forward with their queries and also new ideas as to how to move further with this project. Articles in the local newspaper regarding this issue and the project can be written about so that all the community members are aware of the going ons. The basic aim is to reach out to as many members as possible and make them aware of environmental pollution - the causes and result. Renewable energy like wind, solar, biomass help to create a cleaner, greener environment. Basic information on these energy sources need to be imparted as most people have very limited knowledge on these topics. Infact the college management can be spoken to and convinced to start using solar power for the lighting process. This way we can be the torchbearers and actions definitely will convince more than words. Local council members will have to be met and convinced about the seriousness of the project. One of the main function of the project members would be to meet up with these people and try to convince them to arrange for some sort of reward,compensation or perks for people who are actively trying to do their bit towards environmental conservation like maybe free discount coupons or free parking for the bicycle users and car pool users.People who install solar power or windmills at home can be offered certain amount of tax benefit. All these little things will encourage people more to come forward and take part in the conservation drive. Local authorities can be spoken to and requested to collect paper wastes from colleges and homes so as to be able to recycle them. Setting up of biomass plants can be asked for and waste leaves and kitchen wastes can be collected to feed these plants. All the methods discussed above will take some time to start working as do most social causes. Many questions will be raised, many grievances nursed. Many would not like to take part in anything at all and some will just pay the donation and not like to take active part in the cause . All these setbacks will have to be borne with equanimity.The local authorites will not be easily convinced, they may not realise the seriousness of the cause and at times we project members may feel that we are banging our heads against the wall, feel dejected by the lack of enthusiasm from community members, but we will have to stand the test of time, be focussed in our objectives and remember that “Rome was not built in a day”(old English Proverb).We will have to stay fixed in our objective of imparting knowledge to one and sundry and outcomes will slowly start showing when people start slowly getting involved with the project. It will be our motto to show people that everybody can help however little it maybe, in the conservation process and that too without spending a fortune on it. It is this knowledge which will ultimately convince them that the environment in which we live is worth fighting for not only for ourselves but for all the future generations to come. Works cited Goffman Ethan. “Environmental Economics - Basic Concepts and Debates”. Introduction. April 2007 http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/envecon/review.php Kolstad D.Charles. “Environmental economics”. Oxford University Press.US. 2000. What Is Environmental Economics. 1 Social Entrepreneurship Criteria (External level). “Innovation- Barefoot College”. Centre for Social Initiative And Management (CSIM). Hyderabad. 2008. Social Impact. 5 www.csim.org World Banks Workshop .“The Costs of Reducing Carbon Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation”. http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/ENVIRONMENT/EXTCC/O Read More