Total Benefits Research Articles

Water-Energy-Food integrated management model under Uncertainty-A case study of Yulin City

Water, energy, and food are indispensable human survival and development resources. With the rapid development of the social economy, the systematic risk of water, energy, and food is becoming increasingly prominent. Water, energy, and food security are threatened to varying degrees. At the same time, water, energy, and food are interrelated, restricted, and interdependent. It is of great scientific significance to reveal and optimize the WEF (Water-Energy-Food) nexus. This study relied on Chance constrained programming and Fuzzy credibility constrained programming to deal with randomness and fuzziness in the WEF nexus. Meanwhile, based on Bi-level programming, aiming at minimizing water allocation and maximizing system benefits, a Water-Energy-Food Integrated Management Model to deal with multiple Uncertainties, called IMMU-WEF model was constructed. The model solved the critical effects of the randomness of water supply and the subjective fuzziness of water demand on water resources allocation, power generation, primary energy extraction, and food planting area. The results showed that the IMMU-WEF model could efficiently deal with the game between different departments in the resource management system, the random uncertainty expressed by probability density, and the fuzzy uncertainty caused by subjective factors. It can develop a stable management scheme for resource management. Applying the mode to Yulin City, China, it is found that water supply and demand fluctuation dramatically impacts on the WEF system benefit, water resources allocation, energy and food production. Specifically, the system benefit will increase over time, with a total benefit of 1974.04 × 108-1998.06 × 108 yuan (2021–2025), 3065.69 × 108-3100.50 × 108 yuan (2026–2030), and 4128.80 × 108-4191.07 × 108 yuan (2031–2035). Additionally, the system water allocation, primary energy extraction, power generation, and food planting are expected to increase over three time periods. With the increase of water supply in the future, the energy and food production in Yulin City show an increasing trend. It indicates that water shortage will continue to be a major problem in Yulin in the three periods, and that the city still needs to increase water supply and diversion projects to ensure energy security and food security. The results can provide an optimal management scheme for ensuring Yulin City’s water, energy, and food security.

Beyond particulate matter: New evidence on the causal effects of air pollution on mortality

The increasing demand for electricity worldwide has caused a corresponding rise in the consumption of coal, leading to an increase in sulfur dioxide (SO2) pollution levels. Despite the severity of the issue, there is a lack of conclusive evidence establishing a causal link between SO2 pollution and health, particularly in developing countries. We leverage a large national environmental regulation policy, implemented in China to reduce SO2 emissions, to estimate the impacts of SO2 pollution on mortality. We find that 1-μg/m3 reduction in SO2 concentrations leads to 18 fewer cardiovascular deaths per 100,000 people aged 60 years and above (0.9% decrease) and 2 fewer deaths per 100,000 children under the age of 5 (1.5% decrease) annually. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that the total health benefits of the environmental policy outweigh its economic costs. The results are consistent across various robustness checks.

Dynamics of multiple stakeholders’ benefits due to mining area environmental remediation based on risk reduction and ecosystem services

Environmental remediation of heavy metal-mining sites can improve human well-being through pollution risk control and improved ecosystem services. A cost-benefit dynamic analysis for the multiple stakeholders involved in the project can better explain the overall efficiency and provide guidance for further mine remediation. Taking Asia's largest monomeric realgar mine environmental remediation project (MER) as a case, we conducted, for the first time, a dynamic cost–benefit analysis for multiple stakeholders over a 60-year period regarding environmental risks, health risks and ecosystem services. The results show that by improving the environment and ecosystem, the payback period is expected to begin 5 years after the end of the project, with a benefit‒cost ratio of 2.71 by 2050. Local residents, the direct beneficiaries, receive 13.2% of the benefits, which come from agricultural soil remediation projects (66.6%) and health risk reduction (33.4%). The government, as an investor, receives 3.3% of the benefits. Downstream water users are the main beneficiaries, receiving 76.5% of the total benefits, mainly from the benefit of As-contaminated water purification (97.9%). Compensation from downstream beneficiaries for improved water might be channeled into sharing the burden of MER implementation. Notably, the intercropping remediation of hyperaccumulators and low-accumulation crops for agricultural soils in MER provides employment and sustainable agricultural income during and after remediation, respectively. This green and sustainable remediation model improves both the environment and the livelihood of residents and should be recommended for nearly one million mining sites worldwide.

Revealing Inter-regional Environmental Inequities Hidden in China's Energy Transition.

Energy transition is an important way to control air pollution, but it may conflict with the economic goal of alleviating regional inequality due to its inherently different cost burdens. As one of the effective measures of energy transition, this paper takes small coal-fired boiler (SCB) upgrading as an example to explore the regional mismatch between upgrading costs and health benefits. Here, we construct a boiler-level inventory of SCB upgrades for the North China Plain (NCP) during 2013-2017 and propose an integrated modeling framework to quantify the spatial contribution of economic costs and health benefits associated with SCB upgrading. We find that although the total health benefits could offset the total costs for the entire region, the developed municipalities (Beijing and Tianjin) are likely to gain more health benefits from less-developed neighboring provinces at lower costs. These developed municipalities contribute only 14% to the total health benefits but gain 21% of the benefits within their territories, 56% of which come from neighboring provinces. Their benefits are approximately 5.6 times their costs, which is much higher than the 1.5 benefit-cost ratio in neighboring provinces. Our findings may be useful in shaping more equitable and sound environmental policies in China or other regions of the world with serious coal-related air pollution.

The health, economic and social burden of smoking in Argentina, and the impact of increasing tobacco taxes in a context of illicit trade.

Tobacco tax increases, the most cost-effective measure in reducing consumption, remain underutilized in low and middle-income countries. This study estimates the health and economic burden of smoking in Argentina and forecasts the benefits of tobacco tax hikes, accounting for the potential effects of illicit trade. Using a probabilistic Markov microsimulation model, this study quantifies smoking-related deaths, health events, and societal costs. The model also estimates the health and economic benefits of different increases in the price of cigarettes through taxes. Annually, smoking causes 45,000 deaths and 221,000 health events in Argentina, costing USD 2782 million in direct medical expenses, USD 1470 million in labor productivity loss costs, and USD 1069 million in informal care costs-totaling 1.2% of the national gross domestic product. Even in a scenario that considers illicit trade of tobacco products, a 50% cigarette price increase through taxes could yield USD 8292 million in total economic benefits accumulated over a decade. Consequently, raising tobacco taxes could significantly reduce the health and economic burdens of smoking in Argentina while increasing fiscal revenue.

Carbon Sequestration Strategies in Soil Using Biochar: Advances, Challenges, and Opportunities.

Biochar, a carbon (C)-rich material obtained from the thermochemical conversion of biomass under oxygen-limited environments, has been proposed as one of the most promising materials for C sequestration and climate mitigation in soil. The C sequestration contribution of biochar hinges not only on its fused aromatic structure but also on its abiotic and biotic reactions with soil components across its entire life cycle in the environment. For instance, minerals and microorganisms can deeply participate in the mineralization or complexation of the labile (soluble and easily decomposable) and even recalcitrant fractions of biochar, thereby profoundly affecting C cycling and sequestration in soil. Here we identify five key issues closely related to the application of biochar for C sequestration in soil and review its outstanding advances. Specifically, the terms use of biochar, pyrochar, and hydrochar, the stability of biochar in soil, the effect of biochar on the flux and speciation changes of C in soil, the emission of nitrogen-containing greenhouse gases induced by biochar production and soil application, and the application barriers of biochar in soil are expounded. By elaborating on these critical issues, we discuss the challenges and knowledge gaps that hinder our understanding and application of biochar for C sequestration in soil and provide outlooks for future research directions. We suggest that combining the mechanistic understanding of biochar-to-soil interactions and long-term field studies, while considering the influence of multiple factors and processes, is essential to bridge these knowledge gaps. Further, the standards for biochar production and soil application should be widely implemented, and the threshold values of biochar application in soil should be urgently developed. Also needed are comprehensive and prospective life cycle assessments that are not restricted to soil C sequestration and account for the contributions of contamination remediation, soil quality improvement, and vegetation C sequestration to accurately reflect the total benefits of biochar on C sequestration in soil.

Optimal Government Subsidy Decision and Its Impact on Sustainable Development of a Closed-Loop Supply Chain

Government subsidies generally play an important role in the sustainable operations management of a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC). This paper investigates the optimal government subsidy decision and its influence on the sustainable development of the CLSC, consisting of one manufacturer, one retailer, and one third-party collector, from the economic, environmental, and social perspectives. Based on game analysis technology, different Stackelberg game models among the government and the CLSC members are formulated to analyze the optimal decisions under different power structures. By conducting theoretic comparative and sensitivity analyses and a case study, the effects of the government subsidy and the power structure are explored from the total profit, environmental benefit, and social welfare. Results show that the subsidy is good for sustainable development of the CLSC, which improves the total profit of the CLSC members, environmental benefit, and social welfare and the improvement effect is more prominent when the CLSC members have unequal bargaining power. Moreover, according to the growth proportion of profit, the retailer and collector benefit more from the subsidy among the CLSC members when they have different bargaining power, otherwise, the CLSC members benefit equally from the subsidy, and the subsidy is more beneficial to the environment compared with the total supply chain profit and social welfare.

The Economic Value of New Sustainable Products: The Case of Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) Hybrid Solar Collectors

Among green energy technologies, solar power is a promising technology in the net-zero era of the power industry. Conventional solar modules have decreasing efficiency weaknesses as the temperature rises, whereas photovoltaic thermal (PVT) systems do not remove heat from the module or lower the temperature. However, the profitability of PVT systems has been underestimated. The profitability of new convergence products, such as PVT technology, entering the market for the first time allows for the evaluation of the appropriate starting price and policy requirements to support the product’s market entrance. We used the contingent valuation method (CVM) to solve this problem. The survey derived the respondents’ mean willingness to pay (WTP) and the total amount of social benefits. Among these CVM models, the one-and-one-half-bound (OOHB) spike model was used to distinguish zero WTP. Based on a survey of 300 households, respondents were willing to pay an additional yearly average income tax of KRW 10,608 (USD 7.90), and the total social benefit of PVT technology was calculated to be KRW 145 billion (USD 108 million). This result shows that individuals evaluate the value of PVT as 3.69% of their monthly electricity bill and 2.8% of their monthly gas bill. Several additional factors that influence WTP were analyzed, indicating a high possibility of PVT adoption by individuals who have replaced or are planning to replace photovoltaic (PV) modules. This study is significant because it examines the economic value of PVT and proposes a focus group for the effective market entry of new carbon neutrality products.

A novel optimization for liquefied natural gas power plants based on the renewable energy

As the world's energy demand grows, the liquefied natural gas industry is gaining popularity as a cleaner fossil fuel source. The existing economic dispatch models of the liquefied natural gas-fueled oxy-fuel combined cycle integrating the renewable energy sources and the energy storage system are not applicable because of lacking modeling and optimizing of the renewable energy sources and energy storage system. This paper proposed a novel economic dispatch model to maximize the generation benefits for determining the optimal configuration of photovoltaic array panels, wind turbines, and the energy storage battery. We established and decoupled the energy-mass coupling model of a liquefied natural gas-fueled oxy-fuel combined cycle, developed the photovoltaic array panel, the wind turbine, and the storage battery model, and calculated the time-of-use electricity price, levelized cost of energy, and levelized cost of storage energy. The model determined the optimal ratio of the photovoltaic array panel and the wind turbine, the installed capacity of the storage battery, and allocated the power of the renewable energy sources and the online grid properly. The results showed that within 120 h, the renewable energy sources reduced the grid load by 40.81%, and the total generation of the photovoltaic array panel and the wind turbine was only 24.86% and 37.39% of the installed capacity. And the energy storage battery is in dynamic balance, with a net discharge capacity of 298.23 MW. The levelized cost of energy was the key factor affecting photovoltaic array panels/ wind turbines installed capacity. The installed percentage of wind turbines did not affect the energy storage systems capacity but the total economic benefit.

Simulation and Comprehensive Evaluation of the Multidimensional Environmental Benefits of Sponge Cities

The implementation of grey and green infrastructure is an effective means to address urban flooding and nonpoint source pollution, but due to the complexity of the process and the diversity of benefits, there is a lack of measurement of the comprehensive benefits. Adopting a typical university in Beijing as an example, this paper simulated the multidimensional benefits of the water quantity, water quality, and ecology of grey and green facility renovation by coupling the storm water management model (SWMM) and InfoWorks Integrated Catchment Management (ICM). Monetization methods and economical means were employed to characterize the comprehensive benefits. The results showed that grey and green infrastructure retrofitting reduced the number of severe overflow nodes in the study area by 54.35%, the total overflow volume by 22.17%, and the nonpoint source pollution level by approximately 80% under the heavy rain scenario and 60% under the rainstorm scenario. The annual benefits of grey and green infrastructure renovation reached CNY764,691/year: of this amount, CNY275,726/year was from hydrological regulation, CNY270,895/year was from nonpoint source pollution reduction, and CNY218,070/year was from ecological improvement. The benefits of green facilities were higher than those of grey facilities, and the combined benefits were negatively correlated with the rainfall level, with a total benefit–cost ratio of 1.19. The results provide methodological and data support for grey and green infrastructure retrofitting within the context of sponge cities.

Visual and quantitative assessment of the effectiveness of non-vascularized bone grafting in osteonecrosis of the femoral head via CT-based radiomics and clinical data

To investigate the value of CT-based radiomics and clinical data in predicting the efficacy of non-vascularized bone grafting (NVBG) in hip preservation, and to construct a visual, quantifiable, and effective method for decision-making of hip preservation. Between June 2009 and June 2019, 153 patients (182 hips) with osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) who underwent NVBG for hip preservation were included, and the training and testing sets were divided in a 7∶3 ratio to define hip preservation success or failure according to the 3-year postoperative follow-up. The radiomic features of the region of interest in the CT images were extracted, and the radiomics-scores were calculated by the linear weighting and coefficients of the radiomic features after dimensionality reduction. The clinical predictors were screened using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis. The radiomics model, clinical model, and clinical-radiomics (C-R) model were constructed respectively. Their predictive performance for the efficacy of hip preservation was compared in the training and testing sets, with evaluation indexes including area under the curve, C-Index, sensitivity, specificity, and calibration curve, etc. The best model was visualised using nomogram, and its clinical utility was assessed by decision curves. At the 3-year postoperative follow-up, the cumulative survival rate of hip preservation was 70.33%. Continued exposure to risk factors postoperative and Japanese Investigation Committee (JIC) staging were clinical predictors of the efficacy of hip preservation, and 13 radiomic features derived from least absolute shrinkage and selection operator downscaling were used to calculate Rad-scores. The C-R model outperformed both the clinical and radiomics models in predicting the efficacy of hip preservation 1, 2, 3 years postoperative in both the training and testing sets ( P<0.05), with good agreement between the predicted and observed values. A nomogram constructed based on the C-R model showed that patients with lower Rad-scores, no further postoperative exposure to risk factors, and B or C1 types of JIC staging had a higher probability of femoral survival at 1, 2, 3 years postoperatively. The decision curve analysis showed that the C-R model had a higher total net benefit than both the clinical and radiomics models with a single predictor, and it could bring more net benefit to patients within a larger probability threshold. The prediction model and nomogram constructed by CT-based radiomics combined with clinical data is a visual, quantifiable, and effective method for decision-making of hip preservation, which can predict the efficacy of NVBG before surgery and has a high value of clinical application.

Net benefits change of waste photovoltaic recycling in China: Projection of waste based on multiple factors

Previous studies on photovoltaic (PV) waste recycling in China have focused on predicting waste volumes and the technical and economic feasibilities of recycling. However, those studies lack an assessment of balance of system (BOS) waste in a PV system and a macro-level assessment of the variation in the net benefits of waste recovery. This paper establishes a multi-factor gray neural network model, combined with the Weibull distribution model, to predict the total PV waste, including modules and BOS. By considering the learning curve of recycling technology and the future projected share of three mainstream technologies (mechanical, chemical, and thermal treatment), we also analyze the changes in net PV recycling benefits across the industry. The results show that total cumulative PV waste is expected to reach about 100 million tons by 2050; of this, 56.13% may be PV modules and 43.87% may be BOS. Three metals, Fe (26%), Al (21%), and Cu (4%), are expected to account for the largest proportion of total metals. Compared with direct landfill disposal, by 2050, the recycling of PV waste could potentially reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 1.1E+11 kg, save 1.1E+12 kg of industrial water, and generate 3.6E+11 MJ for primary energy use. The change in net benefits indicates that the benefit could start to generate a positive return by 2026 and total net benefits are expected to reach 90 billion CNY by 2050.

Comprehensive performance analysis of a rural building integrated PV/T wall in hot summer and cold winter region

The building-integrated PV/T technologies have garnered significant attention due to their considerable potential in low-carbon and zero-energy buildings. To gain deeper insights into the practical application of this technology, a comprehensive study was conducted on a rural building integrated with PV/T walls for demonstration purposes. A novel simulation approach, coupling the numerical models of the PV/T walls with the building energy software, was proposed and experimentally validated. Based on the validated simulation approach, this study investigated the comprehensive performance of the demo building and explored the optimal capacity of the energy storage system (ESS). The main findings are as follows: (1) The proposed simulation approach could accurately predict the energy behaviors of the multi-room building integrated PV/T wall. (2) The demo building with the optimized EES yielded 1355.32 kWh of clean electricity and 455.3 kWh of heat gain for water heating, while reducing cooling and heating loads by 5% and 12%, respectively. (3) The optimal azimuth for the building in the studied region was 45°, and the total energy benefits of the building decreased by 28.5% with an increase in dust density from 0 g/m2 to 10 g/m2.

Cost–benefit analysis of partnership working between fire and rescue and health services across England and Wales during the COVID-19 pandemic

ObjectivesFire and rescue services undertook a range of additional activities to support the National Health Service (NHS) in managing extreme service demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to...

Economic benefit of co-regulation to manage aflatoxin risk in maize

Aflatoxins are toxic fungal metabolites that occur naturally in the field among cereals, oilseeds, and nuts that may increase during storage. Texas grown maize, commonly referred as corn, has some of the highest aflatoxin levels in the US. In 2011, the Office of the Texas State Chemist (OTSC) collaborated with the Risk Management Agency (RMA) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Texas grain industry to implement the state's first co-regulation governance option to manage aflatoxin risk. Co-regulation is a form of risk management that relies upon a government-private partnership in regulation; utilizing government-backed codes of practice that result in a more connected and transparent marketplace. To measure the economic benefit of co-regulation to manage aflatoxin risk, interviews were conducted among twenty-seven participants in the OTSC aflatoxin co-regulation program who represented 31% of the grain companies that handled maize contaminated by aflatoxin according to Texas Commercial Feed Rules. A comparative approach was used by gathering evidence from 2010 to 2018, in order to evaluate the results before and after the OTSC implemented its co-regulation strategy. The results were evaluated by using the data gathered from the interviews to measure the specific costs and benefits incurred by producers and grain handlers. The findings were modeled in the form of an income statement. From the income statement, the total economic benefit of the One Sample Strategy in 2018 was $14,572,180. This study provides a more realistic characterization of cost drivers associated with aflatoxin risk management and counters exaggerated economic losses associated with aflatoxin in maize from prior studies.

Estimating the recreational benefits of Lake Pandin as a tourism destination in San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines

In this study, the individual travel cost method and Poisson regression are used to estimate the recreational benefits of Lake Pandin as an ecotourism site. It was assumed that the recreational value of Lake Pandin would be reflected by the travel cost incurred by the tourists during the visit. The local travel origin of international tourists was used to avoid overestimation of recreational value and consumer surplus per trip. A survey was conducted among 250 random foreign and local tourists who visited the lake for leisure between September 2019 and February 2020. The sample size was 35 individuals over the 215 required interviewees estimated using the G*Power statistics software. Based on the applied truncated Poisson model, the visitation rate was affected by travel costs wherein the increase in cost reduced the likelihood of tourists visiting Lake Pandin. The coefficient of travel cost revealed that a peso increment would increase the number of visits in the lake by ~0.0011%. The estimated use-value of Lake Pandin was based on tourists’ perceptions upon visiting the lake. The use value of the lake revealed a consumer surplus of PHP 1,652.34 per visit per person in a year, with a total recreational benefit of PHP 48,795,439.52. Applying the present value of the total consumer surplus considering the 2019 tourist arrival data of 29,531, the estimated value of the total consumer surplus of Lake Pandin is PHP 53,674,983.47. Applying r at 10%, the present value of the total consumer surplus is estimated to increase to PHP 78, 585.30 by 2023. This implies that Lake Pandin has great potential for future development. However, the balance between economic benefits and environmental significance should be crucially considered to prevent future degradation of the site. Hence, the evaluation of its biophysical aspects is recommended to enhance the sustainable management of the site.

Assessing adaptation planning strategies of interconnected infrastructure under sea-level rise by economic analysis

This study assesses the commonly adopted adaptation planning strategies of infrastructures in Northwest Florida (USA) based on economic analysis under different objective years. Specifically, the economic analysis considers both direct and indirect impacts of sea level rise by deploying the interdependence of infrastructures. We demonstrate the difference and significance of considering indirect economic impacts in the process of cost-benefit analysis under sea level rise. Based on the results, we recommend that the most effective strategy is partial protection of land use plus inundated transportation network upgrade, even though the total shoreline protection can make more benefits. Furthermore, we compare the performance of objective planning year from two criteria: total benefits and cost-effectiveness. The result indicates that the year 2080 could be the most economical if it is set as the objective year for the long-term infrastructure planning. The result also highlights that the economic analysis of infrastructure should be conducted over time since the total costs are distributed over many years. It is not to say that the farther the year is, the more effectiveness the strategy would be, although the total benefits would be greater.

Energy management method for microgrids based on improved Stackelberg game real-time pricing model

With the rapid development of microgrids with distributed generations (DGs) and energy storage system (ESS), it is important to study energy management methods to improve the operation economy of microgrids. However, there is currently a lack of research on microgrid’s energy management models including multi-party groups such as wind turbines, photovoltaics and ESS. This paper proposed an energy trading management method of microgrids based on Stackelberg game real-time pricing mechanism, which can solve the more complex optimization operation problem of microgrids. First, the rolling optimization was carried out to determine the charging and discharging behavior of ESS for maximizing the total benefit microgrid in the next few time slots. Further, a Stackelberg game real-time pricing model was built. The electricity prices of different entities in the microgrid in the next time slot were optimized by microgrid operator (MGO) to determine the load demand of each DG, preference parameter in the utility function of DGs was improved to promote the internal energy interaction and the economic benefits of the microgrid. Finally, the results show that our method can effectively improve DGs’ total utility and stimulate energy trading within the microgrid. Compared with no optimization and traditional method, the daily profit of MGO obtained by our method was increased by 31.89% and 5.4% respectively, verifying the economics of the proposed method.

Compensation mechanism for port time extension in cruise line designs

Low onboard spending and insufficient onshore time are the two main problems affecting the earnings of both cruise lines and port cities in the Chinese cruise market. However, increasing port berthing time can benefit port cities at the cost of cruise lines. To balance the two parties, we propose a compensation mechanism based on the cooperative game-theory, where the city subsidizes the cruise ship to stay longer to maximise overall incremental benefits. A questionnaire survey is conducted to collect data on tourists' spending and onshore time in different port cities and their budgets. The feasibility of the mechanism depends on the sailing distance of the cruise ship, the number of connected ports, and the tourists’ average budget. This compensation mechanism can enhance the total benefits of the cruise chain, improve customer satisfaction, and provide a new model for developing the cruise industry in China.

A Balanced Prescription for More Effective Environmental Regulations

Government agencies increasingly base the structure and approval of environmental regulations on a benefit-cost test. For regulations that pass this test, total benefits exceed total costs. Under a benefit-cost framework, the degree of regulatory stringency is set at an economically efficient level whereby the tightness of the regulation is increased up to the point where the incremental benefits equal the incremental costs. Setting regulatory standards to achieve the efficient degree of pollution control does not fully discourage entry into polluting industries, provide compensation to those harmed by pollution, or establish meaningful incentives for effective enforcement. This article proposes that the benefit-cost approach be retained as the guiding principle for regulatory policy, but that sanctions for regulatory violations be greatly enhanced. A different, more ambitious proposal by Elliott and Esty advocates pollution control to the lowest level that is technologically feasible, coupled with compensation for those injured by pollution. The unbounded regulatory framework advocated by Elliott and Esty sets aside benefit-cost balancing, generating the prospect of inordinate costs with few environmental dividends from the highest levels of stringency. Their more promising proposal is to establish a compensation system for environmental harms. Compensation for those harmed by pollution has some parallels with successful workers’ compensation programs, but to be successful it must address challenges not faced in the employment context. More stringent regulation of long-term risks may be more welfare-enhancing for future generations than their proposed environmental damages compensation fund. Protection may yield greater dividends for more affluent future generations than compensation.