A cement plant's price does not include asthma treatment costs borne by nearby residents because of particulate pollution. What is that unpriced cost?

A company paves a forested lot for a warehouse, increasing downstream flood damage to homes that do not receive warehouse revenue. What economic effect is the flood damage?

A landfill charges households only for collection, while the city pays to clean litter that blows from uncovered trucks. What is the cleanup cost in this market?

A farm applies fertilizer at no charge for the algae bloom and fish kills that occur downstream. What does the uncharged damage illustrate?

A delivery company runs diesel trucks through a neighborhood, but nearby families pay for air filters because of the exhaust. Whose cost is not reflected in delivery prices?

A homeowner plants shade trees that lower summer cooling costs for adjacent apartments without charging the tenants. What is the benefit to the tenants?

A beekeeper's hives pollinate a neighboring orchard, increasing fruit yield without a payment from the orchard owner. What economic effect does the pollination create?

A beverage's price excludes the municipal cost of collecting its discarded plastic bottles from streams. What problem can result when this cost is excluded?

A pollution-control program costs $4 million and is expected to avoid $11 million in health costs. What does the cost-benefit analysis show?

Restoring a wetland costs $3 million and is estimated to prevent $8 million in flood damage. What is the estimated net benefit?

A proposed scrubber costs $2.5 million and has estimated health and ecosystem benefits of $1.8 million. What does this analysis indicate?

A city compares permeable pavement costing $6 million with $4 million in avoided flood damage and $3 million in avoided water-treatment costs. What is its estimated net benefit?

Project A has $9 million in benefits and $5 million in costs. Project B has $12 million in benefits and $9 million in costs. Which project has the larger net benefit?

Why should an environmental cost-benefit analysis describe habitat loss even when analysts cannot assign it a reliable dollar value?

A city protects a forested watershed instead of constructing a filtration plant, and the forest helps keep drinking water clean. How is the forest functioning?

A wetland stores stormwater and lowers peak flooding downstream. What ecosystem service is being provided?

Wild bees and other insects visit the flowers of nearby fruit crops and increase yields at no charge to farmers. Which value of natural capital does this demonstrate?

A coastal marsh filters sediment and nutrient runoff before it reaches an estuary. What service is the marsh providing?

A coral reef reduces wave energy before storms reach a coastal town. What benefit of natural capital is most direct?

Soil organisms decompose organic matter and recycle nutrients that crops use. Which ecosystem-service category best fits this process?

Under cap and trade, two firms face different costs to reduce sulfur dioxide. How can trading lower the total cost of meeting the cap?

A carbon tax charges $35 for each metric ton of carbon dioxide emitted. What incentive does this create for a firm?

A government offers rebates for home insulation. In economic terms, what does the rebate do?

Before deciding on a major federal highway, an agency analyzes environmental effects and alternatives in an environmental impact statement. Which law requires this process?

A factory plans to discharge treated effluent through a pipe into a river and must obtain a permit. Which federal law establishes the basic framework for regulating such pollutant discharges?