Zachary Schwadel
301331148
Tutorial D107
November 15, 2017
Word Count: 1162
Is Pollution Exaggerated?
Background
In the article “The Truth About the Environment”, Bjorn Lomborg challenges the global concern of atmospheric and oceanic pollution by suggesting it is “exaggerated” or simply “transient” due to early industrial revolution. He continues to claim that an increase in economic prosperity and becoming “rich” (defined in this analysis as high GDP per capita in a global context) will reduce pollution as wealthier nations become more concerned with pollution. Later in the paper Lomborg suggests facing every facet of an issue is necessary to have proper discourse relating to pollution, and currently it is impossible as bias based off who …show more content…
In an article, Nicholas Muller, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Pittsburgh, finds that “environmental policy limits the adverse affects of urbanization” (2017) where adverse affects are defined as pollution. This support’s Lomborg’s claim as urbanization is directly correlated to economic growth, as it is common knowledge a nation cannot urbanize if it does not have wealth. Muller’s research is based off calculations and formulas that calculate pollution as a ratio with urbanization, population growth and production of goods. This source, although peer reviewed, may be considered inaccurate as it uses math to determine environmental detriment which may not take into consideration certain factors i.e. the effects of noise pollution, deep earth pollution, chemicals that aren’t mentioned in the study. Muller may be bias towards as more pro-economy than anti-pollution due to him being a professor of economics, and may view these issues from a statistical rather than humanitarian/ecological …show more content…
Retrieved November 14, 2017, from http://voxeu.org/article/environmental-engel-curves#fn
Luo, Y., Chen, H., Zhu, Q., Peng, C., Yang, G., Yang, Y., & Zhang, Y. (2014). “Relationship between Air Pollutants and Economic Development of the Provincial Capital Cities in China during the Past Decade”. PLOS ONE. doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0104013
Muller, N. Z., & Jha, A. (n.d.). "Does environmental policy affect scaling laws between population and pollution? Evidence from American metropolitan areas". PLOS ONE . doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181407
“North Korea.” (2016). Retrieved November 14, 2017, from https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/prk/
Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor and
H.L. Miller (eds.).Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Rep. No. 4). (2007). Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
“U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis.” (2015, May 14). Retrieved November 14, 2017, from
301331148
Tutorial D107
November 15, 2017
Word Count: 1162
Is Pollution Exaggerated?
Background
In the article “The Truth About the Environment”, Bjorn Lomborg challenges the global concern of atmospheric and oceanic pollution by suggesting it is “exaggerated” or simply “transient” due to early industrial revolution. He continues to claim that an increase in economic prosperity and becoming “rich” (defined in this analysis as high GDP per capita in a global context) will reduce pollution as wealthier nations become more concerned with pollution. Later in the paper Lomborg suggests facing every facet of an issue is necessary to have proper discourse relating to pollution, and currently it is impossible as bias based off who …show more content…
In an article, Nicholas Muller, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Pittsburgh, finds that “environmental policy limits the adverse affects of urbanization” (2017) where adverse affects are defined as pollution. This support’s Lomborg’s claim as urbanization is directly correlated to economic growth, as it is common knowledge a nation cannot urbanize if it does not have wealth. Muller’s research is based off calculations and formulas that calculate pollution as a ratio with urbanization, population growth and production of goods. This source, although peer reviewed, may be considered inaccurate as it uses math to determine environmental detriment which may not take into consideration certain factors i.e. the effects of noise pollution, deep earth pollution, chemicals that aren’t mentioned in the study. Muller may be bias towards as more pro-economy than anti-pollution due to him being a professor of economics, and may view these issues from a statistical rather than humanitarian/ecological …show more content…
Retrieved November 14, 2017, from http://voxeu.org/article/environmental-engel-curves#fn
Luo, Y., Chen, H., Zhu, Q., Peng, C., Yang, G., Yang, Y., & Zhang, Y. (2014). “Relationship between Air Pollutants and Economic Development of the Provincial Capital Cities in China during the Past Decade”. PLOS ONE. doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0104013
Muller, N. Z., & Jha, A. (n.d.). "Does environmental policy affect scaling laws between population and pollution? Evidence from American metropolitan areas". PLOS ONE . doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181407
“North Korea.” (2016). Retrieved November 14, 2017, from https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/prk/
Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor and
H.L. Miller (eds.).Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Rep. No. 4). (2007). Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
“U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis.” (2015, May 14). Retrieved November 14, 2017, from