There is no doubt that the automobile industry plays an important role in the U.S. economy. By the same token, the impact of such widespread automobile usage in the U.S. has implications for both economics and environmental science. For instance, some college environmental economics courses discuss the impact of the industry on the development of biofuels. A 2008 syllabus for a course offered at Colby College indicated that the development of biofuels was necessary for reducing dependency on foreign oil and reducing climate change. The suggestion was that economic evidence supports the idea that biofuel development was having a positive impact. Another related topic is how efficiency standards for automobiles impact the environment and what the economic repercussions are for the automobile industry.
A second topic in environmental economics is the impact of attempts by various governments around the world to manage pollution. By putting controls in place to lessen the impact of pollution on the environment, governments can be forced to spend money that might otherwise be used for other purposes. Furthermore, government policy might also force businesses to spend money that might otherwise be spent on other aspects of sustaining the business. Environmental economics researchers look into this topic to ascertain both the positive and negative consequences for attempting to manage the environment. Another related topic concerns the overall impact of greenhouse gases and how these may affect changes in the economy because of perceived climate change. Environmental economics studies can also examine the impact that pollution and climate change have had at the local level.
The World Bank lists topics of ongoing research in the field of environmental economics as well. Among those topics, the issue of poverty and the environment has several different areas of potential exploration. The World Bank website notes ongoing research in areas like poverty reduction strategies and the environment, challenges and opportunities in policy management that has environmental and economic consequences, the economic impact of natural resource management at the community level and environmental health issues that have arisen in the face of environmental policy.