Course:ECON371/UBCO2024WT1/Reflections/Jacob Defeo

Reflection 2:

Taking this course has influenced how I understand environmental economics and the challenges of integrating environmental sustainability into economics. Before taking this class, I had abad attitude thinking that economic development wasn’t possible with environmental protection. I believed that pushing for economic growth, would result in environmental harm. (Which it often does) However, after learning about the complexities of environmental economics, I now see that there could be a world where these two goals can coexist, but it requires careful planning, innovation, and a LOT of politics.

Politics makes environmental economics way more complicated. It mixes enviornmental and economic decisions and many different opinions. For example, governments might support clean energy, but industries like oil and gas, which have a lot of political influence, can push back and slow down change. Politicians sometimes focus on quick goals to make themselves look better, like boosting the economy to win votes, rather than long-term solutions to protect the environment. This can make it even harder to fix problems like pollution, which are often the most affected. In the end, politics can complicate efforts to solve environmental issues.

One concept that particularly stood out was the idea of “pollution taxes” or “carbon pricing.” Before this course, I didn’t really understand how adding these “taxes” on carbon emissions could influence businesses to adopt cleaner practices. I now realize that when the cost of polluting is reflected in the price of products, it creates an incentive for businesses to reduce their environmental impact. This idea is especially important in industries like fossil fuels, where pollution is often seen as an inevitable byproduct of production. But after discussing policies like carbon taxes. I now can see how these solutions could environmentally and economically.

This course also made me more aware of the role of This course also made me more aware of the role of This course also made me more aware of the role of business in promoting sustainability. Before, I often viewed large corporations as the main drivers of environmental harm. While this is true in many cases, I also learned that businesses have the potential to be key players in environmental protection. In fact, many companies are starting to adopt greener practices not just because of government regulations, but also because of consumer demand for sustainable products. This shift in thinking has encouraged me to view businesses not just as profit grinding machines but possibly as possible game changers in the fight for a more sustainable future.

I really enjoyed seeing the in-class discussions. Using the IClicker it was interesting to see how so many people had so many differing opinions. I think it was very helpful to see that even though we are mostly a group of like minded individuals, we can have varying different opinions on different topics.

I was skeptical to even take this course, but. This course has changed my understanding of environmental economics by highlighting the many, many layers of complex issues involved in helping economic growth while also helpin environmental sustainability. I now see that solving environmental issues requires a whole lot of politics. I’ve learned that any solution to environmental challenges must be inclusive, addressing the needs of the people while also promoting sustainablity. Going forward, I plan to use the things I learned, whether in future studies or in my work or life.

Thank you for teaching a great course, have a wonderful holiday season!

Jacob Defeo

36153880

Prof: Thanks for the feedback. Yes, politics 'trumps' everything. We build models as if we are standing on the outside, the way people in the natural sciences do. Yet the reality is that we are inside the system we are modeling. That makes things complicated, as we are not neutral with respect to the policy choices that are informed by our models. So, politics and personal biases are there throughout. We can start by being aware of our own, and the fact that other people are different. I am glad that how I used iClicker was effective in showing the diversity of perspectives even within a group that have so many other things in common.