Dealing with environmental pollution

This chapter addresses the problem of environmental pollution and how to fix it. In terms of damages, the major air polluters are powerplants, automobiles, but also agricultural activities while the fine particulate matter is most harmful to the society. This chapter zeros in on the fine particle pollution problem in northern Thailand where the agricultural burning season pushes the particle concentration to a dangerous level. Four policy options are explained: banning agricultural burning, banning heavy-polluter automobiles, shutting down the coal-fired powerplant, and punishing the neighboring countries for transboundary pollution. All of these options require heavy sacrifices of citizens. An efficient policy is the one which minimizes the cost to the society in achieving a clean environment, but many obstacles have to be overcome in order to achieve it. Technological options are improving. There are many behavioral options that can be adopted at the individual level. At the heart of the environmental pollution problem lies the question of burden sharing for a cleaner environment.