Assignment: personal research on ecological economics issue
The topic paragraph for this paper should describe your environmental issue and the people or groups involved in the controversy. Provide at least three of your final references and describe other possible sources of information. Also suggest names and positions of people for possible personal interviews.
Pick a current controversial environmental issue in New England to research. Topics could relate to air pollution, water pollution, solid waste and recycling, climate change, energy sources, fishing policy, forest management, mining, food systems, public parks and wilderness areas, etc., at the New England regional, state, or local level. This project will be mostly a literature review, where you review and analyze the relevant literature on your topic.
Create a paper with at least five pages of text (double spaced, not including tables, figures, or references). Your paper should include:
1. A summary of the environmental problem and its physical nature. How does the issue interfere with environmental processes? What ecosystem services are affected? How is the environmental problem an economic problem?
2. The nature of this problem in a steady-state economy, i.e. would this problem be present in a non-growing economy? Would it be present but different? Does this problem affect sustainability in some way?
3. How this problem relates to individual consumption choices: would this problem be resolved if consumers made different choices for some good or service, or if overall consumption levels changed?
4. Who is affected by this environmental problem, both within and beyond New England? Do some people gain benefits while others bear costs? Does the problem systematically affect the poor more than the rich, or affect racial or ethnic minorities more than the majority?
5. The different positions of people or groups involved in the controversy. If possible, use personal interviews to document these positions. New England newspaper articles, letters to newspaper editors, etc., should also be helpful. For some issues there are advocacy organizations that state their positions on their websites. What assumptions, beliefs, or interests contribute to shaping the positions of the people involved?
6. A proposed solution that you believe would provide the greatest social welfare. Be sure to explain your understanding of social welfare and how you would measure this. Who would gain and who would lose under your proposal? What do you think are the political prospects for your proposal?
Include at least six references in your report. Use APA style for citations in the text and a complete list references at the end of the paper. Do not list any references that you have not actually read and cited in the paper.