Calculating the costs to society of burning gasoline means including the
medical costs of treating those with illnesses from breathing polluted air,
which number in the millions. Other costs to be tallied are the damage to
forests, crops, and buildings caused by acid rain and, by far the largest of
all, the costs of climate change.
Higher temperatures can wither crops and reduce harvests. They also cause
ice melting and rising sea level, which can lead to the loss of ocean-front
property, the loss of beaches, and, most important, the loss of agricultural
lands. This is particularly important in low-lying countries such as
Bangladesh, where a 1-meter rise in sea level would inundate half of the
country's riceland with saltwater. The rice-growing river deltas and
floodplains in other Asian countries would also be at risk. The inundation
of half of Bangladesh's riceland would likely produce some 40 million
refugees who would have to be relocated. We can only speculate as to what
the cost of such a massive relocation would be.
A 1-meter rise in sea level, very much in the range of possibility during
this century, would also require the resettlement of the populations of
numerous low-lying island countries. The interesting question for us is,
What is the cost to society of burning a gallon of gasoline? Is it more or
less, for example, than the cost to society of smoking a pack of cigarettes?
medical costs of treating those with illnesses from breathing polluted air,
which number in the millions. Other costs to be tallied are the damage to
forests, crops, and buildings caused by acid rain and, by far the largest of
all, the costs of climate change.
Higher temperatures can wither crops and reduce harvests. They also cause
ice melting and rising sea level, which can lead to the loss of ocean-front
property, the loss of beaches, and, most important, the loss of agricultural
lands. This is particularly important in low-lying countries such as
Bangladesh, where a 1-meter rise in sea level would inundate half of the
country's riceland with saltwater. The rice-growing river deltas and
floodplains in other Asian countries would also be at risk. The inundation
of half of Bangladesh's riceland would likely produce some 40 million
refugees who would have to be relocated. We can only speculate as to what
the cost of such a massive relocation would be.
A 1-meter rise in sea level, very much in the range of possibility during
this century, would also require the resettlement of the populations of
numerous low-lying island countries. The interesting question for us is,
What is the cost to society of burning a gallon of gasoline? Is it more or
less, for example, than the cost to society of smoking a pack of cigarettes?