E8-18A Sustainaty and short-term decision making Learnng Obiective t earning Obj
ID: 2571102 • Letter: E
Question
E8-18A Sustainaty and short-term decision making Learnng Obiective t earning Objective 1) Over the past several years, decommissioned U.S. warships have been turned into aris artif. envire ocean and have been costly to decontaminate. Now the U.S. government is taking bids cial reefs in the ocean by towing them out to sea and sinking them. The think sinking the ship would conveniently dispose of it while providing an artificial reef nking was that ment for aquatic life. In reality, some of the sunken ships have released toxins into th to instead dismantle and recycle ships that have recently been decommissioned tbut not been sunk yet.) Assume that a recently decommissioned aircraft carrier, the USS Blaze, is estimates o contain approximately 40 tons of recyclable materials able to be sold for approximatel $32.8 million. The low bid for dismantling and transporting the ship materials to appropr ate facilities is $34.5 million. Recycling and dismantling the ship would create about 500 jobs for about a year in the Rust Belt. This geographic area has been experiencing record-high unemployment rates in recent years. 1. Is it more financially advantageous to sink the ship (assume that it costs approximately S0.7 million to tow a ship out to sea and sink it) or to dismantle and recycle it? Show your calculations. 2. From a sustainability standpoint, what should be done with the decommissionedair craft carrier? List some of the qualitative factors that should enter into this analysis 3. As a taxpayer, which action would you prefer (sink or recycle)? Defend your answerExplanation / Answer
1. Costs of dismantling and recycling the ship:
Cost of sinking = $0.7 million.
As the cost of sinking (0.7 million) <cost of dismantling (1.7 million) it is financially more advantageous to sink the ship.
2. From a sustainability standpoint the ships should be dismantled as sinking the ship may lead to release of toxins in the ocean and this will have a significant negative impact on the aquamarine life in the long run. Qualitative factors that should be considered are vulnerability of the aqua marine life to the toxins being released, the quantity of the toxins being released and the ability of the government to successfully eliminate all toxic materials from the ship before sinking it.
3. As a taxpayer I would prefer to recycle the ships even though it costs more. This is because it is more sustainable and does not damage the environment. Secondly it generates employment opportunities in an area which has been experiencing high unemployment rates.
(in $ million) Bid for dismantling and transporting the ship 34.50 less: sale price of recyclable material 32.80 Net cost of dismantling 1.70Related Questions
Navigate
Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.