Responding - Book Report/Review Example

Pollution and the Environment Explain the concept of "negative externalities" involved in the Reserve Mining case. Reserve Mining Company is a company in the town of Silver Bay that carries out the iron purification from taconite stones. It was established that taconite stone had enough iron that can be of economic benefit to the people of Silver Bay and the owner of the company. The company brought all the good thing in the town from constructing a town to establishing hospitals and bring ambulances to cater for the need of workers.

Moreover, the company gained considerable profit from mining, but had to dump waste material to Lake Superior. The waste caused a lot of displeasure because they polluted the only water reservoir in the region that people relied on for drinking water. These waste product that have a negative effect on the environment is what referred to negative externality. The effect of the negative externality made the company lose the court case and had to relocate dumping side t inland at a cost of $400,000,000.

Why doesnt the "principle of perfection" work in cases like when the government tries to reduce pollution? (Use examples from the video)There is always some challenges and economic loss that come with practicing the principle of perfection. One example of a natural approach toward controlling pollution is prohibiting of automobile in Los Angeles to minimize air pollution (Schoumacher). It was feared that the economy would so much affected if cars and trucks were to be eliminated out of the road for six months.

Describe the debate on "cap and trade." Why didnt it pass?The debate on cap and trade involve the introduction of a set limit on the emission of pollutant gases which industries must comply with over time. This is aimed to reduce the pollution by cutting on the production processes of firm and industries. In addition, ‘trade’ involve establishing innovative ways of reducing or tapping of dangerous gases so as to reduce the payment for the amount of carbon emitted to the environment. The ‘cap and trade’ did not pass in the Congress because it had huge economic impact on the economy.

The Great Depression and the Keynesian RevolutionExplain how Keynes ideas differed from Says Law.Keynes’s argued that so long us the demand for goods and investment were declining the economy would not be able to sustain full employment (Schoumacher, The Great Depression and the Keynesian Revolution). He argued that the Great Depression was doomed to exist in the long run and differed with Say’s who said that the production of goods and services created automatic the market for those commodities.

What caused the Great Depression according to Keynes?Keynes argued that the source of the Great Depression was the persistence decline of the consumption of goods and decline in investment portfolio (Schoumacher, The Great Depression and the Keynesian Revolution). In real sense these two ought to move in opposite direction to maintain a country in full employment. What did Keynes recommend to get out of the Great Depression?Keynes recommended government intervention in the economy to save business closure, job loss and loss of saving among the workers.

In his General Theory, he proposes increasing government spending to stimulate economic growth and minimize on the level of unemployment (Schoumacher, The Great Depression and the Keynesian Revolution). Why did World War II help the world climb out of depression?The World War II created an increased demand for war equipment and food for soldiers in the battlefield. Therefore, the government injected a lot of money in establishment of ships, tanks, planes and large scale farming thus heading to what Keynes has been advocating for a long time that of the power of money on unemployment (Schoumacher, The Great Depression and the Keynesian Revolution).

Works CitedPollution and the Environment. Dir. David Schoumacher. Perf. Annenberg Learner. 2012. Film.The Great Depression and the Keynesian Revolution. Dir. David Schoumacher. Perf. Annenberg Learner. 2012. Film.