Question

Transferable discharge permits allow polluters to buy and sell the right to pollute. For which type of environmental pollution are these permits most often used?

a) air pollution for automobiles
b) air pollution from power-generating companies
c) water pollution from leaking oil tankers
d) water pollution from agricultural fertilizer runoff

Answer 1

Transferable discharge permits are primarily utilized for air pollution control in power-generating companies, especially to limit sulfur dioxide emissions associated with acid rain.

Step-by-step explanation:

Transferable discharge permits are most often used for air pollution from power-generating companies. An example of this application is the amendment of the Clean Air Act in 1990, where the U.S. government implemented a marketable permit program to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions from electricity-generating plants, particularly coal-burning plants. These marketable permits allowed the firms to emit a certain amount of pollution, which could be bought or sold, and were designed to shrink over time, thereby reducing the allowed amount of emissions.