Archive for the ‘Environmental economics’ Tag
Link: https://www.npr.org/2022/04/08/1091736131/how-manatees-got-into-hot-water
Back in the 1970’s, manatees were close to extinction because of ruined habitats and speedboats. Over time power companies started to notice that groups of manatees were congregating around their power plants due to the warm water they produce. This episode of Planet Money discusses the unlikely partnership between environmentalists and power companies to conserve the manatee and how they make that possible. Conservation policies needed to adapt the idea that to save the manatees, the power plants also need to be saved. The warm water keeps the manatees alive but what happens when we move to more renewable energy resources? Pat Rose, a conservationist known as the “manatee man”, joins the show to explain what is going on in the manatee world today and what the future looks like.
Original Air Date: April 8, 2022
Length: 24 minutes 2 seconds
Link: https://www.npr.org/2019/07/12/741283641/episode-926-so-should-we-recycle
China used to purchase the majority of waste that the United States could not (or did not want to) recycle by themselves. After China stopped purchasing U.S. recyclables, many cities have given up on recycling. Some economists even believe recycling may do more harm than good.
Original air date: July 12, 2019
Length: 23 minutes 6 seconds
Discussion prompt: What are the costs and benefits associated with recycling? Given this information, is recycling ‘worth it’? Can you think of any strategies based in economic-thinking that might approach this problem differently?
audioecon 