I was reading 'End of Poverty' when something struck me about economic development. I also tried to linked to global warming, which is like the biggest issue humanity will face for the next century. The fact is that there are still many third world countries that thirsty for economic development. The Amazon rain forest is recognised as the lungs of Mother Earth. Yet, when it comes to economic development, environmental exploitation seems to a necessity. I saw before a documentary talking about the Brazilian government looking to pass an act to resume the construction of a highway that would cut through the Amazon rainforest to reduce the transport time and cost of moving essential commodities from the south to the east ports for exportation to its global markets. This move is well supported by local farmers as it will reduce their transportation cost and benefit the whole economic. Yet, some would feel that destroying the lungs of the planet is genocide for the entire planet. That's the problem, and also what I want to address. Now you have some background information about it, I will go to my proposed solution.
Many have heard the possibility of establishing a carbon market, the trading of carbon emission rights by countries to ensure that global carbon emissions are maintained by a free-market mechanism. Incentives and a free-trading market (from what I see) seem to be a very economist way of proposing solutions. But how about establishing a oxygen market? Countries could 'measure' the amount of oxygen their lands produce, and work out possibility ways to increase incentives or punishments for various countries. For example, I feel that industrialised countries should recognise the value of the Amazon rainforest, and somehow, reward the countries that are maintaining their forest, in which are maintaining the global ecosystem. If not, countries like Brazil have more incentive to destroy the Amazon rainforest than maintain them. In fact, the world needs it even more, and I feel that the world should pay them, the keepers of our lungs, before we all choke from the pollution we produce.
Sorry for the sketchy proposal to the problem of the century. I am just an economics undergraduate with only limited economics knowledge.
Many have heard the possibility of establishing a carbon market, the trading of carbon emission rights by countries to ensure that global carbon emissions are maintained by a free-market mechanism. Incentives and a free-trading market (from what I see) seem to be a very economist way of proposing solutions. But how about establishing a oxygen market? Countries could 'measure' the amount of oxygen their lands produce, and work out possibility ways to increase incentives or punishments for various countries. For example, I feel that industrialised countries should recognise the value of the Amazon rainforest, and somehow, reward the countries that are maintaining their forest, in which are maintaining the global ecosystem. If not, countries like Brazil have more incentive to destroy the Amazon rainforest than maintain them. In fact, the world needs it even more, and I feel that the world should pay them, the keepers of our lungs, before we all choke from the pollution we produce.
Sorry for the sketchy proposal to the problem of the century. I am just an economics undergraduate with only limited economics knowledge.
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