Written Assignment #3

In the face of major environmental challenges including such problems as urban smog, diffuse source pollution and eutrophication of rivers, it is becoming increasingly clear that reliance on traditional approaches to regulation alone will not ensure continued environmental improvements or allow regulatory agencies to achieve their missions. Environmental taxes, charges and levies are one major class of economic instruments that could be used for achieving better levels of environmental protection. They constitute a mechanism for putting prices on the use of the environment. As with any other policy tool, their acceptability and effectiveness varies according to the particular environmental problem at hand and the way they are designed and implemented.

Are good health and a clean environment a basic human right or merely something that we should all strive for? Would you be willing to pay a separate tax for a cleaner environment?

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