1. Background The environmental problems that the world has been suffering from in the last 100

Putting a higher value on nature is a step towards the creation of a green economy. Jobs are created on better terms locally and the people can work together, with a better cleaner water supply.

Instead of focusing on the individual, “ecological economics invites us to picture ourselves not as isolated individuals but as housemates” (McFague 132). This model has two goals striving for sustainability and distributive justice which will allow for the earth’s resources to be sustained for future generations. McFague feels that the ecological economic system will provide an efficient system that will suit and support the needs of the world.

The Neoclassical model is a system that “sees human beings on the planet as a corporation or syndicate, a collection of individuals drawn together to benefit its members by optimal use of resources” (124). McFague argues that this model exploits the earth’s resources and causes greed in people, which has led to their being a need for economic reform. Therefore, Mcfague poses the Ecological model as the solution, which “sees the planet as a community that survives and prospers only through the interdependence of all its parts, human and nonhuman” (McFague 127). The ecological model is about sustaining the environment and limiting the greed of individuals by transforming society from thinking about oneself to more of a community mindset. Therefore, McFague mentions people must thinking about the world as a community in order for the world to flourish, which means that the “earth’s resources must be distributed justly among all its inhabitants, human and each other, on a sustainable basis” (120).

Everybody needs water. But this resource is scarce (UN, 2014). However, there is a controversy about whether water should be treated as human right or not. In the human rights discussion, the term “public good” is important because resources of this kind must be made accessible to everyone in sufficient quantity and quality (basic supply). Moreover, it is essential to human life and health. But according to the economic definition, this scarce resource does not meet all of the economic criteria of a public good (in which no one could be excluded from its consumption) (Arce, C., & Maume, A. 2005). Traditionally, water has been considered a free good, and charges for its use have been related to the costs of treatment prior to use, distribution and pollution abatement. In reviewing the literature from the 1970 's and the 1980 's, the scholars identified two ideas of efficiency and externalities to support the argument that the value of water needs to be increased. Regarding efficiency, Environment Canada (1983) noted from the angle of economic principles that when a good is undervalued it tends to be overused. The best example of the implications of this for natural resource management was described by Hardin (1968) regarding the 'tragedy of the commons". Hardin noted that in Britain, a common pasture was overgrazed because each herdsman thought about his interest and gradually increased the number of grazing animals. As a result the common pasture was destroyed. Tate (1984)

Another very crucial environmental issue, besides global warming, involves the finite nature of natural re, which are being depleted faster than their replenishment rates. The development model of the 20th century, which promoted the continuous consumption of products, has resulted in the reduction of agriculture land, food, water re as also fossil fuels. If humanity continues to consume fossil fuels at the same rate as today, oil re will run out by 2030, gas by 2040 and coal by 2200. By 2025, the number of people suffering due to water stress will rise to approximately 3.5 billion and almost half the world’s population is expected to experience high water stress by

The result is an unfair distribution of impacts that does not maximize social surplus. Weimer and Vining call externalities a “missing market” (p. 92). It is feasible to imagine externalities being accounted for by a private market, in cases where, for example, an externality is manifested into a change in land value. However, these cases are exceptional. Governmental must typically step in to value externalities, such as charging fines for polluting industry, in order to account for social costs and benefits.

Economic analysis that weighs all costs and benefits of a particular model must include environmental considerations. That is to say, the potential for short-term economic losses caused by conservation in the present, should be measured against the dividends that conservation will pay in the future (Nordhaus, 2007). If the earth is truly our most valuable commodity, then analysis under these conditions should recognize that if a “dollar value” were placed on environmental sustainability, more often than not it would outweigh any initial monetary loss resultant of the implementation of more sustainable practices.

Effective economic and legal mechanism is capable of maintaining a proper measure of correlation between economy and ecology at a reasonable level with lesser amounts of direct investments. To implement this condition in the economic and legal mechanism of environmental regulation, it is required to combine three basic functions:

Environmental change is a logical certainty, and progressively a lived human concern. However, it is not yet what everybody should call social-global problem in one voice. It's not an essential almost we shape our social practices, nor a sufficiently huge social standard to go about as an imperative on our conduct. Around the planet there is developing energy to characterize environmental change as a security issue and thus as a motivation topping issue that merits noteworthy consideration and assets. Calls for movement are developing - yet at the same time outlined activities to address the issue has a cost or weight that will hamper business and go about as a drag on the economy.

McFague poses the question “Is the environment a religious issue?” Many Americans believe that our deteriorating planet can be solved by science and new technology. It isn’t that simple. The environmental crisis involves all people with all areas or expertise and religions. It is about applying “household rules” to keep the planet flourishing: take only your share, clean up after yourself, and keep the house in good repair for those to come. There are two worldviews, neoclassical economics and ecological economics. McFague presents reasons why ecological economics is more beneficial to flourishing the planet. Neoclassical economics sees humans on the planet as individuals drawn together to fully make use of natural resources. Ecological economics sees the planet as a community that survives only through the interdependence of all its parts, human and nonhuman. Ecological economics concerns the health of the whole planet. This view helps us to picture ourselves not as isolated individuals but as housemates. McFague response to the environmental crisis is in four steps. First, we should become conscious of neoclassical economics as a model of how to allocate scarce resources. Second, we need to suggest some visions of the good life that are not consumer-dominated, visions that are just and stainable. Third, we need to publicly advocate the ecological model as the more just and sustainable one for our society. Lastly, we should rethink what the ecological economic context would mean for the basic doctrines of Christianity. The planet will flourish with this ecological

The actions of people in their everyday lives has an impact on the environment in one way or another. Either by deciding to turn on one switch or by utilizing slightly hotter water to shower than usual, you're utilizing resources that are extracted from the environment. How David Orr said it "All education is environmental education." What he meant was that no matter what we study, it ties into our environment and how we live. By studying microeconomics you study whether you're making a profit by analyzing which is greater, the social benefit or social cost. If a company is producing pollution that is contaminating the drinking water, it doesn't matter if you're making a profit, the social cost is greater than the marginal private benefit for the government would impose taxes to limit on how much you're producing. All this goes to show that it doesn't matter if you're studying areas that doesn't even have to do with the environment such as economics, it still ties into our surroundings which is why one needs to include environmental sustainability. Another evidence to why environmental sustainability should be included into the college curriculum is because "knowledge carries with it the responsibility to see that it is well used in the world" (Orr). What this means is that by being educated

As indicated in Figure 1, externalities are primarily as a result of the effect of carbon producing waste on the environment, where output and waste surge creating a negative effect on the environment. As consumption increases, output and waste increase resulting in amplified externalities to the society, for example, health risks associated with air pollution. A carbon tax would incentivize consumption and allow for an aggregate decrease in waste (carbon dioxide emission) output. Morris and Mathur (2014) suggest that if the carbon tax is priced in an optimal way it would allow for changes in behavior, output and waste, constructing a social optimal model, therefore positively affecting climate change.

One positive implication capitalism has to the natural environment is industrial ecology, a system of chain production and consumption, serving to the lowest environmental impacts in a most environmentally sustainable economy as the main goal of operation (Richards & Pearson, 1998). The Companies in a like to operate in such way because of four major reasons. The most important factor is known as the corporate well-being, for it is determined by higher profits and growth provided by innovations in an industry. Profits are increased from recognizing the production ineffiency costs that comes from wasted inputs and energy losses; this allowing cost savings to increase and ineffiency to decrease. compliance with cleaner technology alternatives such as ones that produce less waste and less energy will provide long term savings which are both beneficial to the environment and the business at hand. A real world example freight company changes their salvaged driving equipment to hybrid vehicles. Money is temporarily lost, but the gasoline and maintenances cost savings will compensate in a long run period of time.

Environmental issues have been a cause of a lot of debate in the recent past. Governments and nongovernmental organizations have been in constant consultations on how to help protect the environment. Apparently, as a result of man’s many actions, the natural environment is getting torn apart so quickly that the coming generations will not enjoy this kind of environment, unless a

Environmental can includes the natural resources, concern in this area is shortage of raw material and increased pollution.