A city has to spend large sums on treating water-borne diseases because its river has become polluted. This spending is an example of:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → The opportunity cost of negative environmental impact
Damage to the environment forces us to spend money we could have used elsewhere. A polluted river raises water-borne diseases, so health spending rises. Such costs are the opportunity costs of negative environmental impacts.
Option (1) The opportunity cost of negative environmental impact — Correct. The money spent on health is the cost of the harm done to the river.
Option (2) The absorptive capacity of the environment — Incorrect. This is the ability of the environment to absorb degradation.
Option (3) The carrying capacity of the environment — Incorrect. This is the measure of a habitat to sustain a population.
Option (4) The aesthetic service of the environment — Incorrect. This is the environment’s function of providing scenery and the like.
NCERT (2026-27): “7.2 Environment — Definition and Functions … Added to these are the health costs of degraded environmental quality — decline in air and water quality (seventy per cent of water in India is polluted) have resulted in increased incidence of respiratory and water-borne diseases. Hence the expenditure on health is also rising. To make matters worse, global environmental issues such as global warming and ozone depletion also contribute to increased financial commitments for the government.” “Thus, it is clear that the opportunity costs of negative environmental impacts are high. …” |