Water Pollution: Effects, Prevention, and Climatic Impact

This paper aims to analyse the nexus between tourism activities, including tourists’ circulation, accommodation or entertainment, and environmental degradation. Consequently, the conceptual framework captures the complexity of the nexus between tourism and the environment, given that tourism activities can be performed by tourists or for tourists and that tourism depends on the environmental quality, and, consequently, we highlight the impact of tourism activities on biodiversity loss through the pollution effects that they generate, i.e., air pollution, water pollution, or noise pollution, as well as their contribution to waste increase or to the depletion of natural resources. To achieve this goal, we apply structural equation modelling based on partial least squares analysis (PLS). The results based on tourists’ opinions highlight the existence of a direct and significant nexus between tourists’ activities and environmental degradation, with many implications and consequences.

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Beach Pollution Effects on Health and Productivity in California

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16111987 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (11) ◽

pp. 1987

Author(s):

Jingjing Li ◽

Xiaohan Zhang

Keyword(s):

Water Pollution ◽

Sick Leave ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Productivity Loss ◽

Pollution Abatement ◽

The United States ◽

Runoff Water ◽

Pollution Effects ◽

Fecal Matter ◽

Beach Pollution

The United States (U.S.) Clean Water Act triggered over $1 trillion in investments in water pollution abatement. However, treated sewage discharge and untreated runoff water that are contaminated by fecal matter are discharged into California beach waters daily. Warnings are posted to thwart the public from contacting polluted coastal water, according to the California Code of Regulations (CCR). This paper evaluated the current policy by empirically examining the productivity loss, in the form of sick leave, which is caused by fecal-contaminated water along the California coast under the CCR. The findings of this study showed that Californians suffer productivity losses in the amount of 3.56 million sick leave days per year due to recreational beach water pollution. This paper also empirically examined the pollution-to-sickness graph that Cabelli’s classic study theoretically proposed. The results of the research assure that the existing water quality thresholds are still reasonably safe and appropriate, despite the thresholds being based on studies from the 1950s. The weakness of the CCR lies in its poor enforcement or compliance. Better compliance, in terms of posting pollution advisories and increasing public awareness regarding beach pollution effects on health, would lead to a significant decrease in sick leaves and a corresponding increase in productivity. Therefore, this study advocates for stronger enforcement by displaying pollution advisories and better public awareness of beach pollution effects on health.

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Benefits and Costs of Campaign-Style Environmental Implementation: Evidence from China’s Central Environmental Protection Inspection System

10.21203/rs.3.rs-772735/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Dan Pan ◽

Wei Hong

Keyword(s):

Water Pollution ◽

Environmental Protection ◽

Cost Benefit Analysis ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Economic Losses ◽

Inspection System ◽

Pollution Effects ◽

Potential Health ◽

Mortality And Morbidity ◽

Benefits And Costs

Abstract Campaign-style environmental implementation (CEI) is widely exerted in environmental protection, while its benefits and costs are controversial. We take advantage of the Central Environmental Protection Inspection (CEPI) System— a latest and distinguished form of CEI launched by China in 2016, as a quasi-natural experiment to compare the benefits and costs of CEI based on water pollution effects estimates. Our results based on the annual panel data from 500 cities during 2009-2018 show that CEPI significantly reduced water pollution by an average of 11.2%. Further cost-benefit analysis based on the estimates of water pollution reduction shows that the potential health benefits of mortality and morbidity reduction resulting from CEPI are at least $279.5 billion, which is greater than the $192.2 billion economic losses it causes. The gap is further magnified after considering the potential biases. We also explore why CEPI is cost-effective and find that CEPI reduces water pollution and becomes cost-effective mainly through deterring local officials, punishing polluting enterprises, and increasing public participation in environmental governance.

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