Green taxes

Many serious threats to humanity's future (from climate change and ozone depletion
to air pollution and toxic contamination) arise largely from the economy's failure to
value and account for environmental damage. Because those causing the harm do not
pay the full costs, unsuspecting portions of society end up bearing them (often in
unanticipated ways). People in the United States, for example, annually incur tens of
billions of dollars in damages from unhealthy levels of air pollution, but car drivers
pay nothing at the gas pump for their part in this assault. Similarly, if farmers pay
nothing for using nearby waterways to carry off pesticide residues, they will use more
of these chemicals than society would want, and rural people will pay the price in
contaminated drinking water.

Taxation is an efficient way to correct this shortcoming, and a powerful instrument

for steering economies toward better environmental health. By taxing products and
activities that pollute, deplete, or otherwise degrade natural systems, governments can
ensure that environmental costs are taken into account in private decisions (whether
to commute by car or bicycle, for example, or to generate electricity from coal or
sunlight). If income or other taxes are reduced to compensate, leaving the total tax
burden the same, both the economy and the environment can benefit.

Opinion polls show that a good share of the public thinks more should be spent on
protecting the environment, but most people abhor the idea of higher taxes. By shifting
the tax base away from income and toward environmentally damaging activities,
governments can reflect new priorities without increasing taxes overall.

So far, most governments trying to correct the market's failures have turned to
regulations, dictating specifically what measures must be taken to meet environmental
goals. This approach has improved the environment in many cases, and is especially
important where there is little room for error, such as in disposing of high-level
radioactive waste or safeguarding an endangered species. Taxes would be a
complement to regulations, not a substitute.

Environmental taxes are appealing because they can help meet many goals efficiently.
Each individual producer or consumer decides how to adjust to the higher costs. A tax
on air emissions, for instance, would lead some factories to add pollution controls,
others to change their production processes, and still others to redesign products so as
to generate less waste. In contrast to regulations, environmental taxes preserve the
strengths of the market. Indeed, they are what economists call corrective taxes: they
actually improve the functioning of the market by adjusting prices to better reflect an
activity's true cost.

In a minor form, environmental or so-called green taxes already exist in many

countries. A survey by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
turned up more than 50 environmental charges among 14 of its members, including
levies on air and water pollution, waste, and noise, as well as various product charges,
such as fees on fertilizers and batteries. In most cases, however, these tariffs have been
set too low to motivate major changes in behavior, and have been used instead to raise
a modest amount of revenue for an environmental program or other specific purpose.
Norway's charge on fertilizers and pesticides, for instance, raises funds for programs
in sustainable agriculture (certainly a worthy cause) but is too low to reduce greatly
the amount of chemicals farmers use in the short term.

There are, however, some notable exceptions. In the United Kingdom, a higher tax on
leaded gasoline increased the market share of unleaded petrol from 4 percent in April
1989 to 30 percent in March 1990. And in late 1989, the U.S. Congress passed a tax
on the sale of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in order, to hasten their
phaseout, which the nation has agreed to do by the end of the decade, and to capture
the expected windfall profits as the chemicals' prices rise. The most widely used CFCs
are initially being taxed at $3.02 per kilogram ($ 1.37 per pound), roughly twice the
current price; the tax will rise to $6.83 per kilogram by 1995 and to $10.80 per
kilogram by 1999. During the first five years, this is expected to generate $4.3 billion,
which multiple effects (a carbon tax for example, would lower both carbon and sulfur
dioxide emissions by discouraging fossil fuel consumption) and because the taxed
activities will decline even before taxes are fully in place, revenues shown in the table
cannot be neatly totaled. But it seems likely that the eight levies listed here could raise
on the order of $ I30 billion per year, allowing personal income taxes to be reduced
about 30 percent.

A team of researchers at the Umwelt und Prognose Institut (Environmental

Assessment Institute) in Heidelberg proposed a varied set of taxes for the former West
Germany that would have collectively raised more than 210 billion deutsche marks ($
136 billion). The researchers analyzed more than 30 possible "eco taxes," and
determined tax levels that would markedly shift consumption patterns for each item.
In some cases, a doubling or tripling of prices was needed to cut consumption
substantially. Halving pesticide use, for example, would require a tax on the order of
200 percent of current pesticide prices.

Mostrar las preguntas una a una

Selecciona la opción correcta.

1. La valoración y el registro incorrecto de los daños al medio ambiente

A. afecta por igual a los distintos sectores de la sociedad.

B. hace surgir serias amenazas en relación al futuro de la vida humana.

C. provoca que todos los sectores de la sociedad paguen los costos.

2. Los gobiernos pueden influir en la toma de decisiones de los ciudadanos

con respecto al medio ambiente a través de
A. gravar actividades y productos que contaminan y acaban con los recursos naturales.

B. la utilización de sus economías como un poderoso instrumento para corregir las deficiencias.

C. la utilización, por ejemplo, de la luz solar en vez de carbón para generar electricidad.

3. Las encuestas de opinión muestran que

A. la gente pagaría con gusto más impuestos para proteger el medio ambiente.

B. la gente piensa que debe gastarse más para proteger el medio ambiente.

C. una minoría piensa que no deben aumentarse los impuestos para proteger el medio ambiente.

4. Muchos gobiernos consideran que

A. que la protección del medio ambiente debe estar regulada.

B. los impuestos ecológicos pueden sustituir las leyes actuales.

C. los fracasos del mercado económico han llevado a leyes más estrictas.
5. Los impuestos ecológicos
A. impondrán cambios en todos los procesos de producción.

B. regularán las fuerzas del mercado.

C. son considerados como impuestos correctivos.

6. La Organización para el Desarrollo y la Cooperación Económica publicó un

estudio en el que informa que
A. cada uno de sus 14 miembros ha establecido más de 50 impuestos "verdes".

B. 14 de sus miembros han establecido más de 50 impuestos ecológicos.

C. los 50 impuestos ecológicos que existen en muchos países se han establecido entre 14 de sus
miembros.

7. El ejemplo de Noruega muestra que el impuesto sobre fertilizantes y

pesticidas que recoge este país
A. se utiliza para programas de agricultura sostenible.

B. ha reducido la cantidad de substancias químicas utilizadas.

C. es muy alto y se dedica a una causa encomiable.

8. En los Estados Unidos en 1989 el impuesto aplicado a la venta de los

cloroflúorocarbonos se aumentó
A. aproximadamente al doble de su precio.

B. un poco más de cuatro veces en relación a su precio.

C. aproximadamente siete veces en relación a su precio.

9. Un grupo de investigadores del Instituto de Evaluación Medioambiental de

Heidelberg
A. propuso que el aumento a los impuestos fuera sobre los diferentes artículos seleccionados.

B. se ha propuesto incrementar los impuestos de la ex Alemania Oriental en 136 billones de

dólares.
 C. propuso impuestos que a la larga modificarían los patrones de consumo de la ex Alemania
Oriental.

10. En relación al consumo de pesticidas, el artículo dice que

A. fue necesario triplicar los precios para reducir a la mitad el uso de éstos.

B. se requeriría el aumento del impuesto en 200% para reducir a la mitad el uso de éstos.

C. es necesario duplicar o triplicar su precio para eliminar su utilización.

Siguiente sección
An Autism Epidemic?
Instruciones: Lee cuidadosamente el siguiente texto y escoge en la sección corAn
Autism Epidemic?
Instruciones: Lee cuidadosamente el siguiente texto y escoge en la sección correspondiente
la opción que representa con mayor exactitud lo dicho en él.

Epidemic is a powerful word, it generates bold headlines, congressional hearings, research

dollars and dramatic high-stakes hunts for culprits. It is a word that has lately been attached
to autism. How else to account for the fact that a disorder that before 1990 was reported to
affect just 4.7 out of every 10,000 American children now strikes as many as 67 per 10,000,
according to new data from the U:S: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention- the
equivalent of 1 in 150 kids.

But what if there is no epidemic? What if the apparent explosion in autism numbers is simply
the unforeseen result of shifting definitions, policy changes and increased awareness among
parents, educators and doctors? That is what George Washington University anthropologist
Roy Richard Grinker persuasively argues in a new book sure to generate controversy. In
Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of Autism. Grinker uses the lens of anthropology
to show how shifting cultural conditions change the way medical scientists do their work and
how we perceive mental health.
In addition to rising awareness of autism, Grinker points to these factors:

Each new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–the bible of
mental health–has revised the criteria for identifying autism in ways that include more
people. Two conditions on the milder end of the autistic spectrum –Asperger´s syndrome and
the awkwardly named PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise
specified)–were added to the DSM in 1994 and 1987, respectively. Grinker and others say
50% to 75% of the increase in diagnoses is in these milder categories.

U.S. schools are required to report data on kids who receive special-education services, but
autism wasn't added as a category until the 1991-92 school year. No wonder the numbers
exploded-from 22,445 receiving services for autism in 1995 to 140,254 in 2004. Grinker
points out that "traumatic brain injury" also became one of the 13 reportable categories in
1992, and it had a similar spike.

In some states, parents of children with autism can apply for Medicaid even if they are not
near the poverty line. A diagnosis of mental retardation doesn't always offer this advantage.

As services have become more available for kids with autism, more parents are seeking a
diagnosis they would have shunned 30 years ago, when psychiatrists still blamed autism on
chilly "refrigerator" mothers. Doctors are also more willing to apply the diagnosis to help a
patient. "I will call a kid a zebra if it will get him the educational services I think he needs",
U.S. National Institute of Mental Health psychiatrist Judith Rapoport told Grinker.

For all the reasons above, many kids previously given other diagnosis are now called autistic.
University of Wisconsin researcher Paul Shattuck has found that the number of kids getting
special-ed services for retardation and learning disabilities declined in 47 states between 1994
and 2003, just as those getting help for autism was rising. In 44 states, the drop exceeded the
rise in autism.

As convincing as Grinker's analysis seems, arguments about the apparent epidemic will
probably continue. It is simply impossible to accurately reconstruct the past incidence of the
disorder, given how radically definitions have changed. Those who believe the increase is
real often focus on the mysterious lack of autistic adults. With their conspicuous symptoms
like hand flapping and little or no language, "I think we would be recognizing them in
institutions", says Dr. Robert Hendren, executive director of the M.I.N.D: Institute at the
University of California, Davis. Grinker says autistic adults are out there but wearing other
labels. "Where are the adults with fetal alcohol syndrome?", he asks. No one over 40 has the
condition, thought to affect up to 1 in 500 kids, since it was not recognized until the mid-

Mostrar las preguntas una a una

Selecciona la opción correcta.

1. El autor del artículo utiliza la palabra "epidemic" en el título

A. aunque genere encabezados muy alarmantes en los periódicos.

B. para poder referirse al aumento de casos de este padecimiento.

C. por los presupuestos millonarios que se otorgan para investigación.

2. En el segundo párrafo se menciona que el incremento en el número de casos de

autismo pudiera deberse
A. al aumento en la conciencia en padres y médicos sobre este padecimiento.

B. a los cambios previstos en las definiciones médicas sobre esta enfermedad.

C. al cambio drástico en la política gubernamental en relación a este trastorno.

3. ¿Cuál de los siguientes temas no aparece en el libro "Unstrange Minds:

Remapping The World of Autism?"
A. La visión antropológica acerca de los cambios en la medicina.

B. La manera en que los psicólogos ahora perciben la salud mental.

C. Las causas culturales de los cambios de perspectiva sobre la salud.

4. En el manual conocido como la "Biblia" de la salud mental,

A. existen varios criterios para identificar los diversos tipos de autismo.

B. se han añadido, por lo menos, tres trastornos más desde el año de 1987.
 C. se han ampliado los criterios para identificar los problemas de autismo.

5. El sistema educativo estadounidense

A. propició el aumento de los casos documentados de autismo en 1995.

B. debe informar sobre quienes reciben apoyos educativos especiales.

C. clasifica al autismo, entre otras, como una lesión cerebral traumática.

6. Se consiguen servicios médicos casi gratuitos en algunos estados de Estados

Unidos
A. aún para niños no tan pobres si se les diagnostica como autistas.

B. si al niño se le diagnostica retraso mental en lugar de autismo.

C. si los padres solicitan reevaluación del diagnostico de retraso mental.

7. Un diagnóstico de autismo
A. no necesariamente hace que los doctores estén más dispuestos a ayudar al paciente.

B. no evita que algunos psiquiatras culpen a las madres "refrigerator" de este problema.

C. hubiera sido rechazado por los padres de familia con toda seguridad hace 30 años.

8. De acuerdo al investigador Paul Shattuck de la Universidad de Wisconsin

A. aumentó la ayuda por servicios especiales educativos para niños con trastorno de aprendizaje
y retraso mental.

B. en 47 estados norteamericanos ha disminuido el número de niños que reciben ayuda

educativa especial.

C. en 44 estados norteamericanos ha disminuido el número de niños que reciben ayuda.

9. El Dr. Robert Hendren y el antropólogo Roy Richard Grinker

A. coinciden en su opinión acerca del incremento del autismo en Norteamérica.
 B. concuerdan en algunos puntos acerca del tratamiento en los casos de autismo.

C. difieren en su opinión acerca del incremento del autismo en años recientes.

10. Considerar que existe una epidemia

A. es más cómodo que pensar que existen múltiples causas para el padecimiento.

B. implicaría ajustarse a la definición que tenemos de la enfermedad y no modificarla.

C. científicamente genera preguntas sobre los hechos que conforman este padecimiento.

Siguiente sección

respondiente la opción que representa con mayor exactitud lo dicho en él.

Epidemic is a powerful word, it generates bold headlines, congressional hearings, research

dollars and dramatic high-stakes hunts for culprits. It is a word that has lately been attached
to autism. How else to account for the fact that a disorder that before 1990 was reported to
affect just 4.7 out of every 10,000 American children now strikes as many as 67 per 10,000,
according to new data from the U:S: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention- the
equivalent of 1 in 150 kids.

But what if there is no epidemic? What if the apparent explosion in autism numbers is simply
the unforeseen result of shifting definitions, policy changes and increased awareness among
parents, educators and doctors? That is what George Washington University anthropologist
Roy Richard Grinker persuasively argues in a new book sure to generate controversy. In
Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of Autism. Grinker uses the lens of anthropology
to show how shifting cultural conditions change the way medical scientists do their work and
how we perceive mental health.

In addition to rising awareness of autism, Grinker points to these factors:

Each new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–the bible of
mental health–has revised the criteria for identifying autism in ways that include more
people. Two conditions on the milder end of the autistic spectrum –Asperger´s syndrome and
the awkwardly named PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise
specified)–were added to the DSM in 1994 and 1987, respectively. Grinker and others say
50% to 75% of the increase in diagnoses is in these milder categories.

U.S. schools are required to report data on kids who receive special-education services, but
autism wasn't added as a category until the 1991-92 school year. No wonder the numbers
exploded-from 22,445 receiving services for autism in 1995 to 140,254 in 2004. Grinker
points out that "traumatic brain injury" also became one of the 13 reportable categories in
1992, and it had a similar spike.

In some states, parents of children with autism can apply for Medicaid even if they are not
near the poverty line. A diagnosis of mental retardation doesn't always offer this advantage.

As services have become more available for kids with autism, more parents are seeking a
diagnosis they would have shunned 30 years ago, when psychiatrists still blamed autism on
chilly "refrigerator" mothers. Doctors are also more willing to apply the diagnosis to help a
patient. "I will call a kid a zebra if it will get him the educational services I think he needs",
U.S. National Institute of Mental Health psychiatrist Judith Rapoport told Grinker.

For all the reasons above, many kids previously given other diagnosis are now called autistic.
University of Wisconsin researcher Paul Shattuck has found that the number of kids getting
special-ed services for retardation and learning disabilities declined in 47 states between 1994
and 2003, just as those getting help for autism was rising. In 44 states, the drop exceeded the
rise in autism.

As convincing as Grinker's analysis seems, arguments about the apparent epidemic will
probably continue. It is simply impossible to accurately reconstruct the past incidence of the
disorder, given how radically definitions have changed. Those who believe the increase is
real often focus on the mysterious lack of autistic adults. With their conspicuous symptoms
like hand flapping and little or no language, "I think we would be recognizing them in
institutions", says Dr. Robert Hendren, executive director of the M.I.N.D: Institute at the
University of California, Davis. Grinker says autistic adults are out there but wearing other
labels. "Where are the adults with fetal alcohol syndrome?", he asks. No one over 40 has the
condition, thought to affect up to 1 in 500 kids, since it was not recognized until the mid-

Mostrar las preguntas una a una

Selecciona la opción correcta.

1. El autor del artículo utiliza la palabra "epidemic" en el título

A. aunque genere encabezados muy alarmantes en los periódicos.

B. para poder referirse al aumento de casos de este padecimiento.

C. por los presupuestos millonarios que se otorgan para investigación.

2. En el segundo párrafo se menciona que el incremento en el número de casos de

autismo pudiera deberse
A. al aumento en la conciencia en padres y médicos sobre este padecimiento.

B. a los cambios previstos en las definiciones médicas sobre esta enfermedad.

C. al cambio drástico en la política gubernamental en relación a este trastorno.

3. ¿Cuál de los siguientes temas no aparece en el libro "Unstrange Minds:

Remapping The World of Autism?"
A. La visión antropológica acerca de los cambios en la medicina.

B. La manera en que los psicólogos ahora perciben la salud mental.

C. Las causas culturales de los cambios de perspectiva sobre la salud.

4. En el manual conocido como la "Biblia" de la salud mental,

A. existen varios criterios para identificar los diversos tipos de autismo.

B. se han añadido, por lo menos, tres trastornos más desde el año de 1987.

C. se han ampliado los criterios para identificar los problemas de autismo.

5. El sistema educativo estadounidense
A. propició el aumento de los casos documentados de autismo en 1995.

B. debe informar sobre quienes reciben apoyos educativos especiales.

C. clasifica al autismo, entre otras, como una lesión cerebral traumática.

6. Se consiguen servicios médicos casi gratuitos en algunos estados de Estados

Unidos
A. aún para niños no tan pobres si se les diagnostica como autistas.

B. si al niño se le diagnostica retraso mental en lugar de autismo.

C. si los padres solicitan reevaluación del diagnostico de retraso mental.

7. Un diagnóstico de autismo
A. no necesariamente hace que los doctores estén más dispuestos a ayudar al paciente.

B. no evita que algunos psiquiatras culpen a las madres "refrigerator" de este problema.

C. hubiera sido rechazado por los padres de familia con toda seguridad hace 30 años.

8. De acuerdo al investigador Paul Shattuck de la Universidad de Wisconsin

A. aumentó la ayuda por servicios especiales educativos para niños con trastorno de aprendizaje
y retraso mental.

B. en 47 estados norteamericanos ha disminuido el número de niños que reciben ayuda

educativa especial.

C. en 44 estados norteamericanos ha disminuido el número de niños que reciben ayuda.

9. El Dr. Robert Hendren y el antropólogo Roy Richard Grinker

A. coinciden en su opinión acerca del incremento del autismo en Norteamérica.

B. concuerdan en algunos puntos acerca del tratamiento en los casos de autismo.

C. difieren en su opinión acerca del incremento del autismo en años recientes.

10. Considerar que existe una epidemia
A. es más cómodo que pensar que existen múltiples causas para el padecimiento.

B. implicaría ajustarse a la definición que tenemos de la enfermedad y no modificarla.

C. científicamente genera preguntas sobre los hechos que conforman este padecimiento.

Siguiente sección