To pollute or not to pollute? That is the question. In order to survive, we all need to cause pollution. Factories that process the food we eat, clothes we wear, and cars we drive have to cause pollution. The environment has the ability to absorb our waste or the pollution, but its absorption ability has its limits. If the pollution level is higher than what the environment can cope with, then that's the time when pollution is bad. If the pollution level becomes too high, human health can be affected badly. Then, the productivity level of the sick people is low and the economy suffers. The economy suffers not only because of the lost productivity of the people, but also because the government must pay for the damage the pollution has done to its people. This is the reason why the government prefers taxation policy. Imposing (征收) a tax on firms that pollute the environment can be considered a good strategy, as long as the tax covers all the external costs or the cost of the damage the firm has created during production. Taxation, if enforced (执行)really well, can make firms create a technology that may reduce pollution, if they find out that it will be cheaper than continuously paying the tax. The disadvantage of this policy, however, lies in the possibility that some big firms will find the tax cheap and then they will just produce more and pollute the environment more. If other small firms find the tax expensive, thus closing down, their production will be eaten up by those firms which can afford the tax. Therefore, it is important that lawmakers in each country, when deciding to impose a tax on pollutant emissions, first review and analyze very carefully the real cost of the damage.（307words）
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