Money talks
the amount of a product or service people will buy at a given price if free to do so
Demand
an approach to environmental policy in which a government body sets rules and threatens punishment for violations
Command-and-control approach
a carbon-containing fuel formed over millions of years from the remains of living things
Fossil fuel
the amount of a product or service offered for sale at a given price
Supply
a tax levied on companies that participate in activities or produce products that are harmful to the environment
Green tax
a resource that is replenished, or renewed over short periods of time
Renewable natural resource
the study of how resources are converted into products and services and of how those products and services are distributed and used
Economics
a system the U.S. government uses first to determine an acceptable amount of a specific pollutant and then assigns (via permits) a fraction of that amount to industrial sources of the pollutant
Cap-and-trade
able to meet the current demand for a resource without depleting the future supply
Sustainable
a method in which decision-makers compare what will be sacrificed and gained by taking a specific action
Cost-benefit analysis
a grant of cash or a public resource that is intended to encourage a particular activity or lower the price of a product
Subsidy
a study in which only one factor is manipulated, or changed
Controlled study
the field of economics that recognizes the relationships between ecosystems and economic systems
Ecological economics
efforts to influence an elected official into supporting a specific interest
Lobbying
a resource that is formed much more slowly than it is used
a resource that is replenished, or renewed over short periods of time