Boston+Snow+Party+Cities+struggle+to+clear+snow+piles

Title:Boston Snow Party: Cities struggle to clear snow piles

Source: http://www.salon.com/news/snow_storms_dc_new_york/?story=/news/feature/2011/02/04/boston_snow_party_waterways_dump Written in Feb 4, 2011

Summary: Because of the harsh weather condition, many cities are setting seasonal snowfall records.The extra snow that accumulates on the road also means extra salt needed to melt the snow. This can be explained through a supply and demand graph, shown in Fig 1. The demand curve  shifts to the right because the demand increases due to expectations. They expect to use more salt to lower the freezing point of the large accumulated pile of snow. Thus the equilibrium price  goes up. Furthermore, snow is a necessity item and has almost no substitutes in a winter season because it is needed to melt the snow, or else the roads will get blocked, and there will be an excess of traffic.It can be said that the demand curve for salt will be inelastic , and so the total revenue should increase. Because salt is so important in the winter season the firms will provide more salt, shifting the supply curve  to the right. Overall, although once the equilibrium price rose because of a shift of demand curve, but a supply curve also came in, putting the price back to the original, but also increasing quantity demanded and quantity supplied. Therefore, it could be said that the there was an increase in total revenue, measured by the box, Q1Q2EP2EP1. Last but not least, this article had also provided a substantial amount of positive and normative statements.

Evaluation: It is very hard to prevent from the snow falling, so there isn't much the government can do about the weather. However, the government can help reduce what might happen to the city. For example, trash has been piling up for days, and no one has done anything about it. I think the government should do something about the environment. The homeless people will have to live in such a cold weather. It affects the **economic development** of the city. The government should also subsidize the companies so more salt is available in this crisis. Because we are in a **short run**, the technology is fixed. I hope few years later, the government can seriously improve its state of technology, so in the future ice can melt faster, and also the technology will help slow down the global warming! I think government should also enforce the policies that are active in the winter and raise the awareness of it. Just because this winter has been very unusual than other ones, it doesn't mean people can make the laws flexible. It is important for people to follow the laws, so there will be less accidents happening.

Definition: Demand curve- A curve showing the quantity consumers are willing and able to buy at different prices Supply curve-A curve showing the quantity suppliers are willing and able to provide at different prices Equilibrium price-the market price at which quantity supplied meets quantity demanded Price elasticity of demand- the responsiveness of quantity demanded to change in price Inelastic-when PED is between 0 and 1 Positive statement- A statement that can be proven right or right Normative statement-A statement that is simply an opinion or belief Economic development-a measure of welfare short run- the time frame of a firm in which at least one factor of production is fixed