Barrons AP Environmental Science

Technology To   achieve results that    are predictable and

certain.

Ecotaxes (Green Taxes)

Ecotaxes are intended to promote ecologically sustainable activities by providing
economic incentives. They can complement or reduce the need for regulatory
(command and control) approaches. Often, an ecotax may attempt to maintain
overall tax revenue by proportionately reducing other taxes (green tax shift).
Examples of ecotaxes are:
■ Taxes on the use of fossil fuels by the amount of greenhouse gases
produced
■ Duties on imported goods produced by ecologically unsound methods
■ Taxes on mineral, energy, and forestry products that were produced by
ecologically-unsound methods
■ Fees for camping, fishing, hiking, and hunting
■ Taxes on technologies and products that are associated with substantial
negative externalities
■ Waste disposal taxes
■ Taxes on effluents, pollution, and other hazardous wastes

Environmental Full-Cost Accounting

Environmental full-cost accounting is a method of cost accounting that traces
direct costs and allocates indirect costs by collecting and presenting information
about the possible environmental, social, and economic costs and benefits or
advantages (i.e., the “triple bottom line”). Full-cost accounting embodies several
key concepts that account for costs rather than outlays:

■ Hidden    costs   and externalities

■ Overhead  and indirect    costs

■ Past  and future  outlays

■ Costs according   to  the life    cycle   of  the product

External Costs

External costs are costs that are NOT included in what a business bases its prices
on. These include: