The EPA has estimated that it would cost $60 billion to remove 85 to 90 percent of water pollutants from industrial and municipal sources,but a zero discharge of pollutants would cost about $320 billion.This suggests that
A) pollution control costs increase at an increasing rate as the level of pollution desired is lowered.
B) the costs of pollution remain the same as the environment becomes more polluted.
C) achieving a zero level of pollution is not very costly compared with the benefits of clean water.
D) the costs of pollution to society rise as the levels of pollution decline.
E) society is better off if it makes only minimal efforts to control the level of pollution.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The EPA's estimate suggests that the cost of pollution control increases as the desired level of pollution decreases. As the goal becomes more ambitious, it requires greater and more expensive effort to achieve it. This is consistent with the idea of diminishing returns, where additional inputs (in this case, pollution control measures) lead to steadily smaller improvements in the desired output (water quality).

The EPA Has Estimated That It Would Cost $60 Billion