Free Essay on Economic Growth and the Environment

Is oil and water comparable commodities?

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Oil has become an important commodity that is highly demanded and supplied between nations in this day-to-day life. In many countries, water is considered to be a very scarce and important resource, since countries connected by masses of water, disputes over the rights to the water. Water is also essential for irrigation in order to ensure the sustainment for their crops. Oil will also remain to be an essential commodity in many countries, especially when one country wants to dominate another. Its mining is considered priceless and is highly demanded by many countries. Water and oil can be comparable commodities since without oil to run a machine, water can be engineered in a way that it would ensure that the machine is operating (Brock & Taylor, 2014).

Is rapid economic growth affecting the environment?

In a country like China, where there is a rapid economic growth, they are due to experience environmental pollution, as a result of increased population growth rate (GDP). (Brock & Taylor, 2014). Over-population increases pressure on scarce land and on other resources. Waste from both consumption and production from factories, results to environmental degradation in countries that are developing or those that have already developed, through the emission of carbon.

Reply to the Students response:

I agree with him/her that the major and critical issue that is discussed by the student is on pollution. The students response, answers the question on how rapid economic growth affects the environment. In a country like China, where there is a rapid economic growth, they are due to experience environmental pollution, as a result of increased population growth rate (GDP). (Brock & Taylor, 2014). Over-population increases pressure on scarce land and on other resources. Waste from both consumption and production from factories, results to environmental degradation in countries that are developing or those that have already developed, through the emission of carbon.

Although economic growth in a country brings out positive impacts, it is clear that the rise in GDP will surely increase deforestations, which will increase in turn depleting the ozone layer, and hence resulting to global warming in the country (Brock & Taylor, 2014). There is a permanent loss of renewable resources when economic growth rate increases, due to depletion of global resources and impacts of global warming. In developing countries, environmental protection and economic growth should be bound together. In countries like China, environmental concerns such as noise pollution, road congestions and low air quality that arise from air pollution from their industrial sectors are as a result of people preferring growth on their economy rather than taking care of their environment.

Due to pollution, health care costs have increased as a result of increased number of cancerous cases due to the dangerous gases produced which depletes the ozone layer. Due to the expansion of industries producing intensive energy, there is dependence in imported oil and dirty coal, this showing how environmental problems are getting expensive to address so long as they are unresolved in developing countries (Brock & Taylor, 2014).

REFERENCES

Brock, A & Taylor, M. (2014). Economic Growth and the Environment: A Review of Theory and Empirics. New York: Prentice Hall.