The first policy that I would put in place is a reduction of hours available for the plants to run. I think that by reducing the available operation times, you will have less production and therefore less pollution. This will ultimately force the company who definitely needs all the time they can to produce their products, to find a cleaner way to get the job done.
The second policy that I would put in place would be a limitation on the amount of certain chemicals that can be used. I would limit the use of chemicals that cause the most emissions problems and invoke fines on anyone who goes over the limited usage. This would
2. Why do you think they each would work?
As I mentioned above, the first policy would force the company to find a better way to produce power without the dangers of the externalities polluting the air. The company will need to operate at a certain level to produce power, so they would have no other choice but to find a way to reduce emissions. With the second policy would only work if there were fines associated with using more than the allotted amount of chemicals that cause pollution. We could have policies all day long, but if there are no consequences or they don’t have anyone to answer to then things will not change. They will continue to produce at levels that are dangerous to the people around them. 3. What would the benefits of each action be (besides emissions reduction)?
In addition to the reduction of emissions, we would also gain control of the quality of energy being produced. There would be a consistent product that was produced cleanly and it definitely would be better for the health of the people that live around the power plants. The health benefits are fewer illnesses such as cancer, upper respiratory infections, and skin diseases associated with the release of externalities.
References: Power Plant Pollution Control. (n.d.). Engineering Services Outsourcing. Retrieved February 4, 2013, from http://www.engineeringservicesoutsourcing