In: Economics
Research the concept of “externalities” and explain in your own words, the idea of an externality. (The Wikipedia entry on externalities is a good source. Skip the mathematical definition.)
(15 points) List five examples of externalities, preferably from engineering projects, processes, inventions, or products. You must be specific, - what is the technology or process and what is the resulting social impact. Do not cut and paste or copy from Wikipedia. Be creative and interesting with your examples. Your list should include some positive and negative events
(15 points) List three examples of possible solutions to “negative” externalities. What was the externality, what caused it and what was the remedy. Was the remedy successful?
(0 points) Think about possible topics for your presentation. Look for “modern” technologies, inventions or processes that have had a significant effect on society. Look for externalities – unintended consequences and/or unexpected applications of a technology. Ex: cell phone banking in Africa, adapting missile detection technology to fight malaria. Contemporary issues such as the legal and moral issues of self-driving cars or climate change are possible topics.
Explain the “tragedy of the commons” in a short paragraph – using your own words!
Even ancient technologies have externalities. Give some positive and negative examples for one of the following technologies: agriculture, fire, or animal domestication.
(a) The externalities are pollution from leather tanning industry which is very harmful and toxic, air pollution resulting from cement factories which cause Asthama
and lung cancer, hydrolic acid released during formation of washing soda which is harmful for crops, server clogs due to online games and cloud services which reduce productivity of others who are linked to server, externality due to electronic waste which releases toxic pollutants in environment, Engeenering knowledge given to students which benefit society in general
Carbon trading on emissions of co2 which reduces carbon emissions which led to global warming,. It is successful. The other is cleaning the wastes of petrochemical industries like ONGC by scientific method. This reduced pollution emitted into water bodies. It was successful though it was implement only in some plants. Other is reducing lead from emissions from vehicles. It is poisonous. It was banned and scheme was quite successful
By tragedy of commons we mean commons are exploited beyond reasonable range by actions of private individuals motivated by self interest