Category: Environmental Protection

Introduction

Environmental pollution is not only problem of developed countries, but also a global problem that affects all human kind both directly and indirectly. Over the recent past, globally many nations have felt the impacts of global pollution through disasters, hence the need to ensure all individuals and nations combine forces and curb the vice.

Eradicating pollution should be a global responsibility, because whether its air emissions or water pollution, all countries feel impacts of such practices in one way or the other. Pollution takes many forms that range from the simple waste paper disposal, which all individuals do, to the most complex that involves chemical combination that various industries and plants release to the environment. Due to such disposals, globally nations have faced many disasters, which have led to massive deaths and property destruction.

In addition, most of these impacts have left many individuals desperate with little in saving themselves. Examples of related disasters that have faced the world include flooding such as the tsunami, typhoons, food shortages, and chemical poisoning. What makes the whole situation worse is that, most of the nations facing the impacts of pollution contribute very little as concerns environmental pollution.

Due to increasing disasters caused by global pollution, many nations have come up with environmental protection initiatives both at national and international levels, the latest being the Copenhagen conference. Other initiatives include green belt movements in various countries and other programs to conserve the world habitats and forests.

It is important for all nations to note that global warming and impacts of environmental pollution never work within national boundaries, but affect all individuals equally. This therefore calls for a strong international legislation body, which all nations should respect and follow all it orders in order to save Mother Nature from destruction, which is growing at a higher rate than expected.

Environmental protection legislation is a set of rules that govern environmental practices. Although these regulations exist at national and international levels, most countries more so the developed ones never adhere to them. The violation of these laws has been a global concern; hence, the continuous campaign on environmental protection and conservation.

Environmental Protection Agencies

In the past environmental pollution was never a great threat to extinction of the world habitat and living organisms, but presently, if nations never take caution there is a likelihood of disasters wiping all existing living organisms and world habitats.

This is because there is diverse destruction of forests, and high disposal rates either by individuals or from industries. Due to this, many national and international bodies concerned with environmental protection have beefed up major campaigns directed towards environmental protection.

In addition, other environmental protection agencies have come up with prizes for individuals who help in the struggle to protect the environment. A common example of such prize is the Goldman environmental prize geared towards rewarding local individuals dedicated to environmental conservation (Goldman p.1).

Common examples of agencies that deal with global environmental protection include the United Nations Environmental Agency (UNEP), European Environment Agency (EEA), Earth System Governance project, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change( IPCC), and the recently debated on; the Global Environment Organization (GEO).

In addition to these big international bodies, other intergovernmental agencies aid to curb the environmental pollution problem. These agencies or organizations work not only at national levels, but also internationally in assisting member countries to adopt practices that will ensure such countries accord the environment the respect it deserves.

Common examples of these agencies include Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) and the Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development (Environment law alliance worldwide pp. 1). One common thing among all this agencies is that they use common policies and environmental protection practices with same principles. In addition, they encourage coordination among themselves, whereby their main guiding tools are the UN millennium goals.

These bodies not only do they receive recognition within their areas of jurisdiction, but also by UNEP in terms of labor and financial support. On main thing to note here is that, its not only developed countries that have this movements, but also developing countries have come up with initiatives to conserve their environments. For example, the green belt movement in Kenya, started by Nobel peace laureate Wangari Maathai.

In addition, some countries have many non-governmental organizations that help in the fight on environmental conservation. Common examples include the African World Dog Conservancy, the American Consumer Council, Antipoisoner international, and the American Indoor Air Quality Council.

Others include the Biosphere Expeditions, Center for International Environmental law, Earth charter initiative, Earth liberation front, Stockholm Environment Institute, and the Earth System Science Partnership. The United States also contributes greatly to this war against environmental pollution, where by the government partners with both local and international bodies to ensure countries put into practice correct environment protection policies. Although this is the case, many contention issues have rise, due to the blame the game among developed and developing countries.

The United States, the European nations, and other world countries have funded many projects internationally geared towards environmental protection. Although this is the case, still one main question remains unanswered; do these countries operate within the set limits and regulations of environmental pollution? Take for example the United States and other countries always are fighting countries producing nuclear related materials, but one thing all individuals should ask themselves is that; have these countries themselves stopped producing such nuclear products?

Due to these many unanswered questions, it has become very hard for “genuine” environmental protection bodies to properly co-ordinate environmental protection initiatives because many countries seem to set their own working standards. Majority of developed countries have embraced practices that have greatly jeopardized the well-being of the environment. This hence calls for initiatives that will give this ‘genuine” agencies power to prosecute nations that do not want to follow the laid down policies, limits, and standards (Citizens for Global solutions p.1).

These environmental protection agencies apply agreed upon policies by all world leaders, as concerns environmental protection, whereby their main support or mother body is UNEP. This is an international environmental conservation organization fighting for environmental conservation.

It works in close collaboration with world governments and other organizations in ensuring all nations follow the set rules governing waste disposal and environmental protection. It is necessary to note here that, UNEP works with no biasness, although it faces many challenges in effecting its mandate due to differences and oppositions from some countries that consider themselves more superior.

Obstacles Facing Environmental Conservation Agencies

Although many environmental conservation agencies have implemented many policies that all nations should follow as concerns environmental conservation, still there is a hard fight for them. This is because of changing trends in technology and lifestyle. In addition, it is very hard implementing some environmental protection policies in some countries due to opposition from such countries’ administrations.

On the other hand, from the report by the United States general accounting office (pp.6-8), what makes the implementation of some environmental protection policies hard, are the cost incurred during the whole process. For example, from its approximations U.S. only spent over $121 1997 million to deal with pollution, which was almost 100%, increase in government expenditure, from the previous value calculated in 1970 ($64). This therefore shows how complicated environmental conservation procedures are, although still nations must endeavor and implement correct environmental conservation measures.

The third obstacle facing conservation efforts by these organizations is ideological differences that result due to trade agreements among different nations. There is lack of coordination among different nations, whereby some countries supports processing of some products, while others oppose.

Trade being the backbone of most world economies, many countries favor each other because of associated benefits they receive from such countries. For example, there are many ideological differences among European nations as concerns nuclear production in North Korea. Due to these differences, many counties have pinned down environmental conservation efforts, hence leading to many world calamities caused by global warming.

Another main challenge to these agencies more so the international ones, is the localization of environmental conservation rules. Different countries have different rules as concerns environmental conservation. In this regard, it is the duty of such organization to ensure industries working within such regions meet the set standards, which in most cases is never the cases due to looming corruption among government officials.

In addition to trade agreements and localization of environmental conservation policies, varying and conflicting political views have greatly affected the implementation of correct environmental conservation policies. Take for example in America, due to varying political ideologies among the democrats and the republicans, implementation of some environmental conservation policies is hard (Stuart, Sarntharm and Sriwatanaporgse, pp.591-600).

Finally, financial obstacles also face many of these agencies. Effecting of correct conservation efforts needs a lot of machinery and integration of many processes in the overall management of manufacturing industries, which these agencies cannot afford to fund or support.

On the other hand, sometimes this agencies lack funds to support campaigns on the same, hence in most times, this organizations have to terminate conservation initiatives or projects in progress. This therefore calls for combination of efforts from governmental, non-governmental organizations and communities in general in averting this vice, because in one way or another all individuals are contributors.

Pollution

Many human activities done either intentionally or unintentionally are the main contributors to environmental degradation. Impacts of pollution are clearly visible in that, in one way or another each individual has faced its outcomes. Pollution generally involves the introducing of materials considered foreign to a clean environment. This to larger extents has affected balance in ecosystems, whereby this foreign materials change the chemical combination of the environment. This has led to disappearing of some animal and habitat species, hence if individuals do not take proper care, then great threats face the human generation (Victoria Rural foundation p.1).

Pollution takes many forms that include noise, thermal, chemical, and radioactive. All this process depend on the nature of pollutants, hence their effects on the environment also vary. In most cases, matter becomes a pollutant, if the quantity of such a substance goes beyond the required quantities in the environment.

Air pollution results when substances considered harmful contaminate the fresh air used by living organisms. The most types of air pollutants .include gas emissions such as sulphur dioxide, excessive carbon dioxide, nitrogen gases. These originate from sources such as industry and motor vehicle emissions, burning of fuels such as wood.

These lead to formation of smog, which affects control of global temperatures. In addition, some nitrogenous gases can lead to formation of photochemical Ozone, which affects the balance in ecosystems causing deaths or many associate disasters.

Water pollution is the second form of pollution that has greatly affected the existence of living organisms. This results due to manufacturing and processing industries releasing toxic substances to water bodies. In addition, water pollution can result from runoffs into water bodies of chemicals. This form of pollution can cause many diseases and deaths, because all human beings are consumers of water products.

In addition, excessive water pollution can cause death of marine habitats in that it leads to eutrophication, hence preventing absorption of oxygen and sunlight into water (Effects of water pollution p.1). Water pollution can also result to formation of acid rain, which is very destructive when in contact with iron and other metals.

Soil pollution is another common form of pollution, which mostly results due waste disposal and chemical runoffs. This affects the composition of soil, hence affecting the existence of living organisms. This to larger extents leads to natural catastrophes such as food poisoning and food shortages, which have immense impacts on human and animal existence.

Other common forms of pollutions are sound, radioactive, and thermal pollution, which in many ways have affected the environment negatively causing many diseases and deaths of living organisms. For example, radioactive pollution is very dangerous to human existence because it can result to diseases such as cancer and gene mutations. This in turn if reflected in gene transfer can affect the normal functioning of the body leading to deaths.

Due to many effects resulting from such pollutions, environmental bodies have come up with many regulations that manage the quantities that industries should release to the environment. This includes measures that have sought to eliminate sulphur and leaded fuels, which have degraded the environment. In addition, different governments have formulated different policies that govern industrial gas emissions, although due to looming corruption and varying ideologies among different nations, most industries have not implemented them.

The Copenhagen Climate Conference

Due to continued effects of global warming and almost expiry of the Kyoto protocol, there was need for nations to call for a conference whose main aim was to draft a new protocol of environmental conservation. This meeting primarily centered on mechanisms that nations could implement in order to minimize emissions.

In addition, the meeting was to formulate a funding mechanism, which could see nations implement correct mechanisms of reducing emissions to the environment. Although nations signed the accord and promised to adhere to it, legislation regulations agreed on in a way are biased and favor developed countries. This is because most developing nations have fewer emissions, as compared to developed countries; hence, these laws are bound to affect their rate of developments.

Although global warming is a major issue, it is important to remember that most developing nations need industrialize too fully. Reducing the emissions was a good proposition, but still one question remains unanswered; will developed nations stick to the agreement, if they never did to the Kyoto protocol? The proposition on funds contribution was good, because it will give developing nations some added funding, but still another question arises; will the mandated body manage the funds well?

All these questions unless answered the whole agreement will be invalid, hence the need for all nations to be committed to, the agreement. Another main disadvantage with the accord is that, the tools nations agreed on that they were to apply in reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD), lacked some recognized coding (Conservation International p. 1).

In general, although the accord lacks some important aspects of environmental conservation, if nations correctly implement it, it may alleviate some threats facing the existence of humankind due to environmental degradation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is important for all nations to remember that conservation is a collective effort; hence, unless they join hands to alleviate pollution, future populations will have to endure the most of present activities. Water, soil, thermal, and air pollution are practices that nations can alleviate if they only have the will.

Works Cited

Citizens for Global Solutions. Support stronger legislation to combat global warming. 2010. Web.

Conservation international. Copenhagen- a glimmer of hope. Conservation International. 2009. Web.

Effects of water pollution. Scipeeps. 2010. Web.

Environmental Law Alliance. About ELAW. The Environmental Law Alliance. 2010. Web.

Goldman. The Goldman environmental prize is the world’s largest prize honoring grassroots Environmentalist. Goldman environmental prize. 2009. Web.

Stuart, Amy L., Sarntharm, Midhasakul, and Sriwatanaporgse, Watahee. The social distribution of neighborhood-scale air pollution and monitoring protection.

Journal of the Air and Water Management Association. 59.5 (2009): 591-602. Print.

United States General accounting Office. Report to congressional requesters, 1997. Web.

Victoria Rural Foundation. Pollution control. Rural Law. 2009. Web.

Introduction

On the 2nd of December 1970, the USA Congress passed and established rules and regulations that were proposed by President Richard Nixon to ensure the nationals and the environment was safe from harm and health complications. These laws and regulations included protection from harmful contact with hazardous chemicals, noise-control act, marine protection, and air-pollution prevention. It is the work of the Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC, to administer these laws on the citizens and institutions.

How the EPA came to exist

The EPA rules came as a result of previous incidents in the USA that threatened human life and destroyed plant life, causing deaths of plantation and people from toxic wastes from industries. Back in the early 1950s, an incident occurred at a city called Love Canal in the surroundings of Niagara Falls, where a chemical company called Hooker Chemical Company sold its damp site filled with waste and covered with clay to a desperate-for-land Love Canal.

The pollution saw its residents lose lives and experience multiple miscarriages during the session, lasting till 1970 after the purchase of the land. Other than these, there were birth defects and vegetation deaths with waste puddles coming up. The residents were helped and evacuated upon President Jimmy Carter’s administrative commands. The chemical reeks that came up from underneath in school compounds and crop fields were cleaned up.

Another incident at Times Beach around 1980 lead the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) to form Superfund to enhance EPA performance and enable population evacuations. Massive and rampant pollution caught the attention of environmentalists like Rachel Carson, who in 1962 exposed the harmful effects of DDT on wildlife, especially birds. Campaigns sprouted from this marking world revolution, when many activists started to look into the health of the environment, thus the term ‘ecology.’ She died prematurely in 1964, with followers behind her cause despite skeptical criticism.

EPA at first instituted programs to enact legislation like NEPA, whose primary objective was an improvement of the environment generally. By 1972, the Federal Environment Pesticide Control Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act were enacted by EPA (Stephenson, 2010). Now, more than hundreds of programs are managed by EPA to ensure careful attention is paid to cater to and preserve the natural environment.

There came a time in 1969 when the United Nations got concerned and alerted the general public requesting mankind to avert his ways to prevent a foreseen demise that would occur if he did not change his polluting and destructive habits over the environment. President Nixon appointed a Citizens Advisory Committee and a Cabinet-level Environmental Quality Council, which were both superseded by a White House Committee appointed to empower the first two.

Legal protections of the EPA

A milestone achievement that has been set by the EPA is the introduction of Energy Star, which modifies electrical appliances used in homes reducing their energy consumption and thereby lowering the running costs. This, in turn, minimizes consumer spending and lowers greenhouse gas emissions. Energy Star is an initiative of the United States Department of Energy. A separate initiative of the EPA was set up in 1990, limiting the emission of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide, dubbed the Acid Rain Program. EPA also came up with the Endangered Species Protection Program for protecting organisms and plants in their natural habitats.

This program limits the use of hazardous chemicals and pesticides that threaten the existence of other organisms. The Food Quality Protection Act also brought up by the EPA, required the use of national pesticides to be looked into to ensure their use does not contravene with the general good health of the environment. Asbestos Program was initiated by EPA to ensure people and industries recognize and limit the use of asbestos.

Before the EPA was formed, there was an unprecedented failure in the implementation of tasks of the ECQ. President Nixon merged a few federal programs into a federal government‘s pollution- control apparatus that would later lead to the birth of EPA. He appointed ahead and enforcer for EPA, William Ruckelshaus. William managed to subdue the Union Carbide in Ohio to bring down sulfur oxide emissions from the Marietta plant to 30 percent. This set a new milestone in proving GHG emissions could be brought down in compliance with the Clean Air Act. Some widely alarming air-pollution based incidences that occurred in Donora, Los Angeles, and London led to the deaths and suffocation of more than 4400 people.

The Federal Water Quality Administration was as well-formed due to the heightened levels of untreated sewerage and water pollution, not forgetting drying rivers and natural water reserves, back in 1948. The government got involved in legislation of the EPA regulations in a few major areas, ensuring clean and safe air for the whole planet, safe drinking water, and clean fish habitats, reduced water pollution laws were implemented, protecting endangered species of animals, and wildlife. Other aspects of legislation include the prevention of hazardous waste. These lead to the generation of new laws and regulations geared towards a unilateral effort at maintaining the balance between nature and man (Ahuja, 2009).

Conclusion

Up to date, the EPA has established measures that minimize human encroachment on natural habitats and reduces carbon emissions as well as fuel consumption. Alternative energy sources are being sought with the aim of eliminating fossil fuels. Fossil fuels combust to release energy and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and the result is the greenhouse effect, where carbon molecules in the stratosphere prevent penetration of reflected radiation from the earth’s surface. The surface warms up, leading to a situation known as global warming. The resulting rise in temperature breaks the water reservoirs at the north and south poles leading to climatic changes. Habitats are destroyed, and deaths arise due to rising sea levels, as well as rampant destructive storms and hurricanes.

Reference list

Ahuja, S. (2009). Handbook of Water Purity and Quality. New York: Academic Press.

Stephenson, J. (2010). Environmental Health: High-Level Strategy and Leadership Needed to Continue Progress Toward Protecting Children from Environmental Threats. Washington DC: DIANE Publishing.

Federal Budget Deficit from a Recession Can Stabilize an Economy

A budget deficit is a shortfall in the government budget, whereby expenditures exceed income in a fiscal year. This scenario is experienced when the government cannot sustain its corresponding level of revenue required to support its budget (Hyman, 2011, p.491). A recession is experienced when there is slow GDP growth, increased unemployment, reduced housing prices, and slow business growth. Despite all these sounding exceptionally distressing, something significant comes out of recession; it helps in stabilizing the economy (Hyman, 2011, p.491).

To manage inflation, usually, the Federal Reserve tries to slow the economy without exacerbating the recession. To achieve this, the federal government lowers taxes, increases spending on social programs, or simply ignores the deficit itself (Hall, & Lieberman, 2009, p.349).

During the recession, tax collection drops and the government is unable to adjust its expenses immediately, which affects income generation, hence the deficit. Increased deficit causes increases in government expenditure on citizens as the unemployed are compensated – there are also welfare payments and food stamps (Hyman, 2011, p.491). Although these changes in revenue and expenditure increase the budgetary deficit, the measures concurrently manage the decreasing disposable income among citizens and households (Carbaugh, 2010, p. 298).

During a decline in economic activities, it is natural that the level of tax collection likewise plummets (Carbaugh, 2010, p. 298: Hyman, 2011, p.492). At this point, the consumption and expenditure are maintained at an above-normal rate thus maintaining an appropriate level of aggregate demand. As a result, the effects of the recession on the economy are lessened (Hall, & Lieberman, 2009, p.349).

The federal budget deficit causes expanded total spending, otherwise called aggregate demand, thereby causing short-term economic growth. Increased government spending directly expands the aggregate demand in cases where the deficit was because of government spending (Hall, & Lieberman, 2009, p.349). In the event of a budget deficit because of tax cuts, the increased spending among recipients who get tax cuts increases the aggregate spending.

Adjustments in Wages and Prices: Short-Run to Long-Run Equilibrium

The short-run microeconomics describes the period when prices are stagnant or do not change tremendously. When wages are sticky, a company’s costs will remain stagnant, as well. Sticky wages result in sticky prices and this hinders the normal economic mechanisms from causing demand and supply to equilibrium in the short-run (Gamber, & Colander, 2006, p.114). The short-run equilibrium helps in the identification of Real GDP produced by the economy when these conditions are true: sticky wages, sticky prices, and producers as well as workers’ misconceptions.

After a while, the wages and prices ultimately become changeable, the misconceptions subside, and the producers and workers gain accurate perceptions. When this happens, the economy moves from short- to Long-run equilibrium (Gamber, & Colander, 2006, p.114).

During the short-run period, the prices and wages do not react to changes in the economic situation. The prices are slow to conform to the adjustments (sticky prices), when this situation happens, it results in periods of shortages and surpluses. Sticky prices and wages thwart the economy from operating at its natural level of employment and prospective production (McEachern, 2011, p. 562). Before the short-run equilibrium is connected to the long-run equilibrium, the economy normally suffers inflation. The supply curve slopes in recession as the unemployment rate increases and there are low wages. At this point, the economy is at a level output that exceeded the potential output. As a result, the competition for labor and raw materials increases (Gamber, & Colander, 2006, p.114).

The prices and wages also continue to increase. As such, the short-run aggregate supply (AS) curve will continue to rise until the intersection with the Aggregate demand (AD) curve (Gamber, & Colander, 2006, p.114). In such an event, the short-run AS curve will continue to rise until when it intersects with the AD curve. At this point, the economy will have attained the long-run equilibrium (McEachern, 2011, p. 562). The AD then intersects the long-run AS curve, and at this point, the operation of the economy is at its potential output.

Marketable Pollution Permits vs. Command-And-Control System

The command and control systems for environmental protection mostly worked as a traditional approach where the regulating body commanded the desired behavior. The regulator imposes limits on emission amount for the polluters – these are emission standards. Controlling and enforcing compliance becomes the job of the regulator. The incentive for maintaining the standards is sanctions and penalties on the polluters when they fail to comply (Jenkinson, 2000, p.49).

Permits, licenses, and other authorizations are granted or withheld accordingly. The permits are linked to air or water quality standards, and the emitters are required to fulfill some specified conditions like complying with the code of practice, reducing the impact on the environment, and installing treatment plants among others. The regulators have a reasonable level of predicting pollution levels (Jenkinson, 2000, p.49). However, the method is ineffective and not sufficient in addressing many of the recent pollutions problems like disposing of solids, depletion of the ozone layer, managing climatic changes depend, and other waste management issues.

Tradable permits allow polluters to purchase ‘rights’ for producing pollution or the regulators can also sell these ‘rights’ to the emitters. Under the marketable permit system, the bodies or authorities charged with this responsibility determine the targets of environmental quality (Jenkinson, 2000, p.49). This scenario is defined as the allowable level of emission, and it is referred to as the ambient environment standard quality. It translates to the number of allowable emissions that can be released. The discharge rights are allocated to companies as permits where owners can emit a specified amount of pollution. By understanding processes regulators are involved in, companies can make adjustments to their emissions in a strategic manner (Jenkinson, 2000, p.49).

Looking at these two approaches, the pollution permits are less costly but cause more pollution because, conventionally, the firms causing emission can pay for them. However, in the command and control system, the regulator can manage the level of pollution allowed without compromise because of the payment made for the missions (Jenkinson, 2000, p.49).

Three Factors That Should Be Included in the GDP Calculations

Even though for a long time, the gross domestic product has been the most common measure for a nation’s economic success, some researchers have argued that it is not one of the best measures since it has many deficiencies (Banting, et al., 2001, p.35). To give it a better picture of economic value, the debate has caused some meaningful issues to be aired, which addresses human-centered conceptions. However, several alternative indices can help in addressing the inherent deficiencies in GDP (Banting, et al., 2001, p.35).

Human Development Index (HDI)

This UNDP’s measure is a composite statistic, which has gained wide use on the international scene by multinationals and international bodies for evaluating and ranking countries in terms of three principal indicators of social and economic welfare viz. health, income, and education (Cohn, 2007, p.85). The income element is used for adjusting the per capita GDP, and it is measured in international dollars at purchasing power parity (PPP) for inequality, where the incomes of nations, which exceed the world average, are discounted (Tremmel, 2009, p.125).

The index of health in this measure is the life expectancy at birth. Education achievement of the nation is measured by the weighted sum of literacy and gross enrollment rates in schools and colleges- two-thirds weight is assigned to the literacy sub-component (Tremmel, 2009, p.125).

Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI)

Unlike HDI, GPI is quite intricate. It consists of 51 indicators of economic wellbeing, income inequality, consumer debt, under-employment, degradation of the environment, crime, sustainable development, etc. the measure is based on the personal consumption expenditure element of the gross domestic product (Banting, et al., 2001, p.35). This component hence measures the changes in inequality instead of the absolute inequality levels as indicated by the Gini Coefficient and income distribution indices. The other advantage of this measure is that it factors in the costs linked to pollution, depletion of natural resources, accidents, crime, and other protective expenses like lost leisure time (Banting, et al., 2001, p.35).

In GPI, the dollar value for each is factored based on higher education, volunteering, parenting, and domestic work. Comparing GDP and GPI, the debate that policymaking and decision-making were appropriate in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, and inadequate today are sustained. GPI assesses progress based on a remarkably large number of indicators related to human welfare hence the quality of life – it is based on GDP consumption data.

Weighted Index of Social Progress (WISP)

This composite index consists of forty economic and social indicators of a country’s development, wellbeing, and human welfare in ten dimensions (Banting, et al., 2001, p.35). The dimensions include the environment, status of women, cultural diversity, welfare, demographics, education, defense system, health, social chaos, and economics. The economic sub-index takes into account GDP per capita, the external debt, the rate of unemployment, the GDP growth rate, as well as the Gini index inequality measure (Banting, et al., 2001, p.35).

Reference List

Banting, K. G., Sharpe, A., & St-Hilaire, F. (2001). The Review of Economic Performance and Social Progress: The Longest Decade. Montreal: Institute for Research on Public Policy and Centre for the Study of Living Standard, IRPP.

Carbaugh, J. (2010). Contemporary Economics: An Applications Approach. Armonk, NY: M.E Shape.

Cohn, M. (2007). Reintroducing Macroeconomics: A Critical Approach.Armonk, NY: M.E. Shape.

Gamber, E., & Colander, C. (2006). Macroeconomics. South Africa: Pearson.

Hall, R., & Lieberman, M. (2009). Macroeconomics: Principles and Applications. Ohio, Southwestern: Cengage Learning.

Hyman, D. (2011). Public Finance: A Contemporary Application of Theory to Policy. Ohio: Southwestern: Cengage Learning.

Jenkinson, T. (2000). Readings in Microeconomics. London: Oxford University Press.

McEachern, W. A. (2011). Economics: A Contemporary Introduction. Ohio: Southwestern: Cengage Learning.

Tremmel, J. (2009). A Theory of Intergenerational Justice. London: Earthscan.

Introduction

The development of human society has always been characterized by fast changes and integration of various spheres of activity. Thus, at the modern stage of its development, mankind has reached the stage when marketing, formerly perceived as a purely business concept, is used by governmental organizations to handle the issues of public services. The case under analysis is an important source of data on the topic of the use of marketing in operating governmental agencies and public service providers.

Background

Therefore, the main idea behind the selected case is the analysis of how a governmental unit can apply marketing concepts and principles to succeed in providing public services of improved quality. More importantly, the case illustrates how a governmental agency with a damaged image can resort to the help of outside sources, i. e. marketing techniques and skills, to restore this image and avoid similar issues in future.

Case Analysis

Relevant theories

Thus, the first relevant theoretical approach that can be applied to the case study of WCEPA is the idea of the four Ps of marketing developed by Kotler et al. (2009, pp. 56 – 57). According to these authors, the four P’s that include the ideas of product, price, place, and promotion, form the so-called marketing mix, i. e. the set of means an organization has to affect its market position and make customers consider and purchase its goods and/or services. In the context of developed use of marketing principles by governmental agencies, as argued by Batley (2004, p. 15) and Bolman (2003, p. 50), these four P’s become increasingly important. This happens mainly because it is difficult to agree on the ideas of public services and business in the public mind.

Questions answered

Based on these theoretical views, it is possible to see that the external environment of Sanger, the person appointed to restructure the image and operations of WCEPA looks completely different from the environment of business environment. The main difference lies in the direction of WCEPA’s work, as business entities implement marketing mix to retrieve profit, while Sanger has to revive WCEPA using the mix but without any notions of profit.

Accordingly, this controversy of “non-profit” or public marketing explains the logic behind the 16 rules Sanger adopted. Their major idea is avoiding unreasoned actions and remarks, committing actions only with a complete certainty about their result, and the ability to admit one’s mistakes before the media do it for the public service official.

Needless to say, Sanger agreed on a substantial pay cut when she took the position of WCEPA executive, but this choice granted her three sources of power inaccessible to a business executive, i. e. position power, information and expertise, and control of rewards (Bolman, 2003, p. 194). Using this power, Sanger can implement a rewards and punishment system in WCEPA, train employees in the areas of communication with media and fulfilling their duties.

Conclusions

So, the case of WCEPA reveals that marketing is a powerful developmental tool for governmental agencies dealing with public services nowadays. The case also reveals that the improper marketing causes issues that only an experienced person can overcome using the basic marketing theory concepts, including the 4 P’s of the marketing mix and the idea of marketing of governmental agencies.

References

Batley, R. (2004). The changing role of government: the reform of public services in developing countries. Palgrave Macmillan.

Bolman, L. (2003) Reframing organizations: artistry, choice, and leadership. John Wiley and Sons.

Kotler, P. et al. (2009). Marketing: An Introduction. Pearson Education.