The cost of pollution is much higher than we think
Glen Hodgson is senior fellow at the Conference Board of Canada. Brent Dowdall is senior manager at the Conference Board of Canada. Economists measure the performance of the overall economy through the level of and changes to gross domestic product (GDP), which is the sum of all spending and output generated. However, GDP doesn't adequately measure all the impacts of economic activity, notably things that erode our nation's long-term wealth – such as pollution. The United Nat