NATS 1840 Lecture Notes - Moodle, Multiple Choice, Externality
20 Nov 2012
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Document Summary
Science, technology and the environment (sc nats 1840a) - tuesday. Test covers everything that we covered september 11th to now. Lectures + textbooks (more on lectures, less on textbooks) very little emphasis on thursday 27th + allowed a calculator. 10 multiple choice questions, 8 short answer questions (example online at moodle) worth 5% Often, assessing economic costs means performing a cost-benefit analysis: Compare value of the positive impacts to costs of negative impacts. Difficult to assign economic value to intangibles (beauty cleanliness,) and externalities. Inputs (internal costs) -> process -> product (benefits) + waste (external costs) Externality: cost borne by persons other than those reaping the benefit. Value of intangibles & externalities very difficult to assess objectively. Some suggest inclusion in price of goods, allowing market forces to resolve environmental problems controversial. A decision should not base solely on economic cost. Most other food chains soon follow; it is now rare to find a styrofoam cup in a coffee shop.
