Throughout its ~4.5 billion year history, the Earth has experienced periods of warming and cooling. However, the current drastic increase in global temperatures is well outside of the Earth’s cyclic norms, and evidence for human-caused global climate change is compelling. Paleoclimatology, the study of ancient climate conditions, provides ample evidence for human-caused global climate change by comparing recent conditions with those in the past.

A tax is a mandatory financial charge levied by the government on the quantity of a good sold in the market. An excise tax targets specific goods, often to curb the consumption of certain harmful products.
When an excise tax is imposed on good X, the supply curve shifts leftward by the amount of the tax, reflecting higher production costs for sellers. This shift results in a new equilibrium where the price consumers pay increases while the quantity of good X sold decreases.
The increase in the...

Inelastic demand refers to a situation where the quantity demanded of a good changes minimally in response to price fluctuations. Goods with inelastic demand, such as essential commodities like rice, exhibit this behavior because consumers prioritize these goods regardless of price changes. In economic terms, the demand curve for these goods is steep, reflecting minimal sensitivity to price.
When a tax is imposed on a good with inelastic demand, such as rice, the supply curve shifts leftward...