Answer to Question #314827 in Microeconomics for Bonsa desalegn

Question

In recent years, especially around big cities, there is the problem of air pollution

and the likelihood of poisoning is high. Given this scenario, do you think that air is

free resource? Justify your answer.

Answer 1

Long and short term exposure to air suspended toxicants has a different toxicological impact on human including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, neuropsychiatric complications, the eyes irritation, skin diseases, and long-term chronic diseases such as cancer. Several reports have revealed the direct association between exposure to the poor air quality and increasing rate of morbidity and mortality mostly due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Air pollution is considered as the major environmental risk factor in the incidence and progression of some diseases such as asthma, lung cancer, ventricular hypertrophy, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, psychological complications, autism, retinopathy, fetal growth, and low birth weight. With this in mind then air is not a free resource as at the end of it all it is costing human beings forcing them use their resources to treat themselves.