D121_Tma03

Question Part (a) Summarise what the information in Table 1 tells us about (a) how the water quality of estuaries in the United Kingdom has changed from 1980 to 2005; and (b) how the water quality of estuaries varies across the constituent parts of the UK. a) In England and Wales the amount the water area of river estuary classed as ‘Good’ has risen from 1,870km² in 1980 to 2,038km² in 2005. This represents a rise in the percentage of rivers classed as ‘Good’ from 68% in 1980 to 73% in 2005. The total area of estuaries classed as ‘Fair’ has fallen slightly from 620km² in 1980 to 605km² in 2005 and the total percentage of estuaries classed as ‘Fair from 23% to 22%. The area of estuaries classed as ‘Poor’ has also fallen from 140km² in 1985 to 83km² in 2005. This represents a drop in percentage of estuaries classed as ‘Poor’ from 5% to 3%. The area of estuaries classed as ‘Bad’ falls from 110km² in 1980 to 48km² in 2005 with the total percentage dropping from 4% to 2% accordingly. In Scotland records start from 1995. The area of estuaries classed as ‘Good’ rises from 619km² to 692km² and this represents a rise in the total percentage of estuaries classed as ‘Good’ from 77% to 86%. The area of estuaries classed as ‘Fair’ falls from 153km² in 1995 to 95km² in 2005 and this represents a fall in total area from 19% to 12% respectively. The area of estuaries classed as ‘Poor’ also falls from 28km² in 1995 to 22km² in 2005 however the total percentage of estuaries classed poor remains at 3% from 1995 to 2005. Estuaries classed as ‘Bad’ drop from 9km² in 1995, a 1% total, to zero. In Northern Ireland records are only given for the years 1985 and 1993 and estuaries are classed as ‘Good’ or ‘Poor’. The area of estuaries classed as ‘Good’ rises from 100km² in 1985 to 140km² in 1993, this represents a rise from 83% to 88% of the total area. The area of estuaries classed as ‘Poor’ remains at 20km² from 1985 to 1993, this represents a fall from 17% to 12% of the total area. b) In comparing the quality of the estuaries between England & Wales and Scotland in 1995 we can see a that Scotland has a higher percentage of ‘Good’ estuaries while England have a higher percentage of estuaries classed ‘Fair’, ’Poor’ and ‘Bad’. Scotland also have a higher percentage of estuaries classed as ‘Good’ in the years 2000 and 2005 too. England & Wales also have consistently higher percentages of estuaries classed ‘Fair’ and ‘Bad’ suggesting that the quality of estuaries in Scotland is consistently higher than England and Wales. We can only compare the figures of Northern Ireland with England and Wales from 1985 and only from the classifications. These figures show the Northern Ireland has a much larger percentage of estuaries classed as ‘Good’, 83% to England and Wales’s 69%. This suggest Northern Ireland to have a better quality of water. Scotland and Northern Ireland cannot be compared directly. In all countries the level of estuaries classed ‘Good’ has risen from 1980-2005 and similarly the estuaries classed ‘Bad’ has dropped in all countries in the same amount of time. Word Count = 502 Question Part (b) In what ways may air pollution in Beijing be related to the operation of the market economy' What possible solution might there be to this problem' The Chinese economy is defined by markets, an economic system where buyers and sellers (economic agents) are free to trade with which ever individual or group they feel benefits them. Within these markets the economic agents all operate within their own interests. This market structure is known as a neo-classical model. A producers and seller of commodities keen to generate the largest profit buy being as efficient in producing a commodity as possible and selling it on at the largest profit, while buyers pay as little for a product as they feel they can depending on the value they place on a commodity. Although market forces keep sellers efficient through competition and buyers not overpaying for a product they do not value highly. This known as a price mechanism and due to this a market economy can have a detrimental effect on the environment that can have far reaching consequence, naturally and sociologically. This price mechanism means that an economic agent’s main considerations are their own private costs and benefits over the costs and benefits of society. As producing a commodity in a way that does not harm the environment raises the costs of production and therefore makes a firm less competitive in the market, firms will fail to make a commitment to environmentally friendly production. The rules of the market place dictate the a firm must be as competitive as possible, so while firms have the freedom to produce commodities however they please, they feel as if they have no choice but to cut costs wherever possible, whatever the sociological damage it will not outweigh the private costs. In the article from the Guardian newspaper ‘Satellite data reveals Beijing as air pollution capital of the world’ it is suggested that:- ‘the city is one of the worst environmental victims of China’s spectacular economic growth,’ This stresses a link direct link between rising consumption in China and air pollution in Beijing. The negative affects of which on the population are also stated in the article, the Chinese Academy on Environmental Planning ‘blamed air pollution for 411,000 premature deaths (Guardian, Monday October 2005).’ This is a good example a negative externality where Chinese industry is not taking into account the social costs of the pollution it is causing as it does not directly harm, and may well benefit, the company financially to ignore the issue of air pollution. Market forces mean that they would be unlikely to do so without pressure from other social influence which we will look at later in the essay. The article also states that in Beijing an,- ‘explosive increase in car ownership is blamed for a sharp rise in unhealthy emissions.’ This demonstrates that it is not just produce of commodities that are responsible for increasing emissions. Each individual in Beijing allows for damage to environment by buying from companies that can produce their product more efficiently and therefore cheaply, rather than paying extra for the overheads involved in environmentally friendly production. Also in their increase use of automobiles instead of attempting to find greener modes of transport they are causing pollution of the air by putting their private costs and benefits above those of society. With a market economy appealing to the economic agents involved to consider the environment in their activities is considered a lost cause as producers are in constant competition with other companies and sellers are more likely to be a product in terms of its value than its effect on the environment. This means that the price mechanism found in the neo- classical modelled structure of the market leaves agents little choice than to accept its effects on the environment. What other answers are there in protecting the environment. The article makes reference to a particular externality caused by the air pollution in the shape of acid rain polluting rivers and making them undrinkable. One solution that could be attempted to try and stop pollution to the river would be to introduce a green tax to companies that are responsible for pollution. This would either force companies to offset the negative externalities of their activities or make them consider the environmental effects of how they operate due to higher costs. Subsidies could also be offered to companies that lower pollution levels. This would not be straightforward however as it would be it would be difficult to decide exactly who should be charged. Should all factories be targeted by the taxes, or just the ones directly responsible for the air pollution that polluted the river' Another question would be what the level of cost should be' To calculate actual financial costs to an organisation affected by pollution is one thing but what about costs that cannot be measured and affect all of society and futures generations, such as damaging an area of natural beauty' This could also force polluters into poorer areas where individuals have less power in the market and therefore less say in their environment. Another solution would be to work within the market model and to assign property rights to the river, the idea being that if the river became a commodity it could be protected if people value it. The problem with this solution is that is more likely to favour the rich in the long run as they are much more likely to afford the purchase of these property rights. Even if all economic agents they had a right to the property were given rights, the poorer of those individuals are more likely to sell their rights to the rich in the long run when in need of financial capital. Another issue would be that just because an individual gain rights to a commodity does not mean they value it. It could be more in their interest financially to allow the pollution if, for example, they were subsidies for doing so. In conclusion, the pollution mentioned in the guardian article the plagues Beijing can be shown as a direct negative externality of need for companies operating within the market model to be competitive. The suggestions on how to combat these externalities that come from the market system itself have many problems, both politically and social, to be considered perfect solutions. It has been suggested that the answer lies outside the structure of the neo-classical market model. Perhaps if we lived in a system designed less around our own needs and more on the effects our actions have, we could eliminate environmental degradation. Word Count: 1,075 References:- Watts, J. (2005) ‘Satellite data reveal Beijing as air pollution capital of the world’, The Guardian, Monday October 31 2005. Hincliffe, S. Woodward, K. (2004) ‘The Natural & the Social: Uncertainty, Risk & Change’, Open University.