ABSTRACT
Environmental degradation is everyone's problem, but it's especially a problem for the poor, and for obvious reasons. In this sense, inequality ought to be a fundamental consideration when fashioning environmental policies. The most deleterious effects of global warming are felt in the tropics. Of course, there are big environmental costs. There is a two-way relationship between environment and inequality. So while environmental degradation contributes to inequality, inequality can also contribute to environmental degradation. The result is that in democracies, the desperately poor tend to have less of an interest in pursuing policies designed to protect the environment, because their most important concern is doing whatever's necessary to get out of the situation. One of the discussion points that economists debate forever is the virtues of price versus quantity regulation in dealing with environmental issues. Distributional concerns need to move front and center in environmental and resource economics, especially given America's high inequality—both of outcome and of opportunity.
