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Books > Earth & environment > The environment > Environmental economics > General
This book rejects the idea that natural resource industries are doomed to slow growth. Rather, it examines the case of Norway to demonstrate that such industries can prove highly innovative and dynamic. Here, the case is compellingly made that a key empirical problem with the popular 'resource curse' argument is that some of the richest countries in the world - namely Norway, Sweden, Canada and Australia - have all developed fast-growing economies based on natural resources. Analysis of innovation and knowledge development in natural resource industries reveal important new insights about the role of learning and innovation. These insights are key to understanding variances in growth levels between natural resource-based economies. Ranestad illustrates how Norway's high economic performance is built on knowledge-based natural resource industries. While Norwegian industries may have originated because of foreign technology and expertise, they thrived due to further developments carried out by organisations within Norway. Ranestad looks at how these developments were possible due to the country's high level of human capital, capacity for knowledge absorption and ability to adapt to new global technological and economic circumstances.
Environmental policy may produce effects which go beyond the scope of the specific policy s initial aim. Reforestation, for example, generates positive benefits not only in the shape of climate protection but also in the shape of the combat of biodiversity loss and it may also raise the attractiveness of a region for tourists. There are several examples of environmental policies, generating initially unintended co-effects. These co-effects are not always positive, of course. This book addresses the wide range of (co-)effects associated with environmental policies which may increase or decrease the attractiveness of these policies. Therefore, the book s scope goes beyond the standard economic analyses, which regularly postulate a specific cause-and-effect chain. The complexity and wide range of benefits is investigated from different perspectives and by means of different methodologies. Among the environmental policies discussed are climate mitigation policies as well as adaptation policies. The inclusion of all relevant effects of environmental policy (and therefore not only of the primarily intended effects) tends to have a strong impact on the efficient policy design. The areas which are covered by the book will be of great interest mainly for economists (environmental economics, ecological economics), ecologists and political scientists as well as practitioners, scientists and policy makers.
Over the past decades, considerable debate has emerged surrounding the use of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) to analyze and make recommendations for environmental and safety regulations. Critics argue that CBA forces values on unquantifiable factors, that it does not adequately measure benefits across generations, and that it is not adaptable in situations of uncertainty. Proponents, on the other hand, believe that a well-done CBA provides useful, albeit imperfect, information to policymakers precisely because of the standard metrics that are applied across the analysis. Largely absent from the debate have been practical questions about how the use of CBA could be improved. Relying on the assumption that CBA will remain an important component in the regulatory process, this new work from Resources for the Future brings together experts representing both sides of the debate to analyze the use of CBA in three key case studies: the Clean Air Interstate Rule, the Clean Air Mercury Rule, and the Cooling Water Intake Structure Rule (Phase II). Each of the case studies is accompanied by critiques from both an opponent and a proponent of CBA and includes consideration of complementary analyses that could have been employed. The work's editors - two CBA supporters and one critic - conclude the report by offering concrete recommendations for improving the use of CBA, focusing on five areas: technical quality of the analyses, relevance to the agency decision-making process, transparency of the analyses, treatment of new scientific findings, and balance in both the analyses and associated processes, including the treatment of distributional consequences.
'The Jevons Paradox', which was first expressed in 1865 by William Stanley Jevons in relation to use of coal, states that an increase in efficiency in using a resource leads to increased use of that resource rather than to a reduction. This has subsequently been proved to apply not just to fossil fuels, but other resource use scenarios. For example, doubling the efficiency of food production per hectare over the last 50 years (due to the Green Revolution) did not solve the problem of hunger. The increase in efficiency increased production and worsened hunger because of the resulting increase in population. The implications of this in today's world are substantial. Many scientists and policymakers argue that future technological innovations will reduce consumption of resources; the Jevons Paradox explains why this may be a false hope. This is the first book to provide a historical overview of the Jevons Paradox, provide evidence for its existence and apply it to complex systems. Written and edited by world experts in the fields of economics, ecological economics, technology and the environment, it explains the myth of efficiency and explores its implications for resource usage (particularly oil). It is a must-read for policymakers, natural resource managers, academics and students concerned with the effects of efficiency on resource use.
Land has long been overlooked in economics. That is now changing. A substantial part of the solution to the climate crisis may lie in growing crops for fuel and using trees for storing carbon. This book investigates the potential of these options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, estimates the costs to the economy, and analyses the trade-offs with growing food. The first part presents new databases that are necessary to underpin policy-relevant research in the field of climate change while describing and critically assessing the underlying data, the methodologies used, and the first applications. Together, the new data and the extended models allow for a thorough and comprehensive analysis of a land use and climate policy. This book outlines key empirical and analytical issues associated with modelling land use and land use change in the context of global climate change policy. It places special emphasis on the economy-wide competition for land and other resources, especially;
By offering synthesis and evaluation of a variety of different approaches to this challenging field of research, this book will serve as a key reference for future work in the economic analysis of land use and climate change policy.
History tells us that industrial development with all of its pollution, inequity and exploitation is the inevitable destiny of human societies. Yet is this really the case or are we trapped in a prevailing 'develop-mentality' that demands an endless cycle of inputs, outputs, consumption and waste on a finite planet? And is there another, better way for humans and the biosphere? This incisive, epic work turns the dominant industrial development model and its economics upside down and argues for a new way of thinking about the meaning of development and the complexion of our economy. The book traces the origin and development of the concept of development in the economic context, and suggests a way to achieving post-industrial development with zero industrial growth. The book argues that sustainable development is possible only when concerns for biodiversity and human development are put at the centre of the economy and social policy. It both provides a theoretical foundation to sustainability and presents practical instances of sustainable production systems. Coverage is magisterial and includes history, ecology, economics, anthropology, policy analysis, population theory, sociology, the Marxian critique of capitalism, Orientalism, semiotics and sociology of science. These are interwoven in an accessible but challenging way that enables readers to look at development theory, economics, consumerism and environmentalism from a new vantage point. Distinguishing features includes a critique of development from a natural science perspective, a fresh and thorough account of the concept of sustainability both from a theoretical and empirical perspective and the application of an evolutionary biology metaphor to building a socially responsible alternative to the prevailing developmentality. This is the most sweeping coverage of critical issues in economics, environment, development and sustainability available. It is both an empowering and necessary read for students, academics, professionals and activists from across sustainability, development, economics and environmental studies and beyond, and an invaluable repository of information about the critical issues facing humanity as we continue to develop our over-crowded planet.
How did one group of indigenous societies, on the Northwest Coast of North America, manage to live sustainably with their ecosystems for over two thousand years? Can the answer to this question inform the current debate about sustainability in todaya (TM)s social ecological systems? The answer to the first question involves identification of the key institutions that characterized those societies. It also involves explaining why these institutions, through their interactions with each other and with the non-human components, provided both sustainability and its necessary corollary, resilience. Answering the second question involves investigating ways in which key features of todaya (TM)s social ecological systems can be changed to move toward sustainability, using some of the rules that proved successful on the Northwest Coast of North America. Ronald L. Trosper shows how human systems connect environmental ethics and sustainable ecological practices through institutions.
This book provides a comparative study of the role of international organizations in environmental governance. Whilst a growing body of literature considers global governance in a number of policy areas, this volume delivers one of the first comprehensive accounts of international organizations in relation to environmental policy. Providing the reader with key insights within this area of global governance, the book focuses on policies developing in relation to climate change, biodiversity and international environmental funding. Presenting a compelling and up-to-date account of developments within this burgeoning policy area, the volume: ? includes a range of case studies including the World Bank, UNEP and the OECD ? presents quantitative and qualitative research that advances understanding of international organizations in the field of international relations ? delivers contributions from a range of internationally renowned academics and specialists within the field International Organizations in Global Environmental Governance will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations theory, international economics, environmental policy, organizational theory and environmental studies.
The increasing demand for rural land and its natural resources is creating competition and conflicts. Many interested parties, including farmers, nature conservationists, rural residents and tourists, compete for the same space. Especially in densely populated areas, agriculture, recreation, urban and suburban growth and infrastructure development exert a constant pressure on rural areas. Because land is a finite resource, spatial policies which are formulated and implemented to increase the area allocated to one use imply a decrease in land available for other uses. As a result, at many locations, multi-purpose land use is becoming increasingly important. This notion of multi-purpose land use is reflected in the term 'multifunctionality'. This volume provides insights into viable strategies of sustainable management practices allowing multiple functions sustained by agriculture and natural resources in rural areas. It shows how the rural economy and policies can balance and cope with these competing demands and includes numerous case studies from Europe, North America and developing countries.
Groundwater is a vitally important resource and as its use increases, the available supply is depleted, creating a ripple effect of impacts on both the environment and the economy that need to be disseminated to a larger audience of students and practitioners. This second edition of Groundwater Economics accomplishes just that. This two-volume set is a comprehensive work focused on the economic values of groundwater resources and use, and it reinforces the need for a strong economic rationale in decision-making relating to that use. This new edition includes a new chapter on sustainability as well as updating all chapters with a focus on sustainability. It thoroughly explains the economic value of groundwater for sustainable use and needs, with practical examples, and includes thirteen new and updated case studies on the economics of groundwater data for decision-making. It also addresses both local and regional groundwater economic choices through a series of applications at an international level. This set, written by a sustainability professional with decades of experience in managing groundwater use and protection, is written for other professionals as well as students, who need to understand and evaluate water resources and mange their use from a variety of sustainable approaches.
Interest in biomass energy resources from forests, farms and
other sources has been rapidly increasing in recent years because
of growing concern with reducing carbon dioxide emissions and
developing alternatives to increasingly scarce, expensive and
insecure oil supplies. Renewable Energy from Forest Resources in the United States
includes a Foreword from Chris Flavin, President of the Worldwatch
Institute.
John Cage: Music, Philosophy, and Intention, 1933--1950 explores the early part of John Cagea (TM)s life and career, concentrating on the "pre-chance" period from roughly 1933 to 1950. These essays consider influences on Cagea (TM)s work, his early percussion pieces, his evolving aesthetic, and his movement toward an ideology that would later shape his own work, arguing that a reevaluation of this early period is crucial to understanding his later work. It includes contributions from an international group of music and art scholars.
In Complexity Economics for Environmental Governance, Jean-Francois Mercure reframes environmental policy and provides a rigorous methodology necessary to tackle the complexity of environmental policy and the transition to sustainability. The book offers a detailed account of the deficiencies of environmental economics and then develops a theory of innovation and macroeconomics based on complexity theory. It also develops a new foundation for evidence-based policy-making using a Risk-Opportunity Analysis applied to the sustainability transition. This multidisciplinary work was developed in partnership with prominent natural scientists and economists as well as active policy-makers with the aim to revolutionize thinking in the face of the full complexity of the sustainability transition, and to show how it can best be governed to minimize its distributional impacts. The book should be read by academics and policy-makers seeking new ways to think about environmental policy-making.
Ecosystem services can be broadly defined as the aspects of ecosystems that provide benefits to people. This book provides guidance on the valuation of ecosystem services, using the case of multifunctional wetlands to illustrate and make recommendations regarding the methods and techniques that can be applied to appraise management options. It provides a review of ecosystem service valuation rationale, including its importance from both a policy and project appraisal perspective, and a useful reference when considering policy and appraisal of ecosystem management options. It shows how legal obligations and other high-level management targets should be taken into account in valuation exercises, thus giving important policy context to the management options. The authors set out what they call an Ecosystem Services Approach to the full appraisal of the role of ecosystem services in the economy and society. Although concentrating on wetlands, the approaches suggested provide an assessment framework that can be applied to other types of ecosystem assets.
This book elaborates on how Norway has managed to convert a large fraction of its endowment of hydrocarbons below the seabed of Norwegian waters into financial wealth, invested in the world's capital markets. Further, it explains how this wealth is managed. Under the current guidelines, only the assessed return on investment may be allotted to public budgets. This ensures that the wealth will benefit both current and future generations. The capital is gathered in the Sovereign Wealth Fund - or State Pension Fund Global (SPF-G) -, which is intended to maximize capital value without exceeding acceptable risks. The book offers new insights into the history and management of the fund, examines its successes,and discusses future challenges. Given its scope, it appeals to scholars of economics, finance and political science, and to anyone interested in the sustainable investment of natural resource-based revenues.
A flexible and comprehensive framework for cost-effective pollution
prevention
This book provides an overview of the state of animal agriculture and present methodologies and proposals to develop policies that result in sustainable and profitable animal production that will protect human and environmental health, enhance livelihood of smallholders and meet consumer needs. The book combines lessons of the past, factual foundation to understand the present, analytical tools to design and improve policies, case studies that provide both empirical grounding and applications of some of the strategies suggested in this book, and finally, a proposal for the way forward.
EU-Russian energy dialogue represents a policy issue that forces us to take a serious look at several crucial questions related to the present and future of Europe such as: how can the EU area ensure its future energy security when it is running out of its own energy resources and at the same time incorporating new members who are also dependent on energy imports? This book not only outlines the overall characteristics of the energy dialogue, but also illustrates the involved policy implementation challenges by paying special attention to the regional context of northern Europe.Due to the many crucial policy issues, this study contributes to diverse fields such as international relations and political science, European studies, studies on energy politics, the international political economy, post-Soviet politics, and literature on regionalisation and regionalisms, with a special reference on northern Europe.
As demand for fresh water rises, together with population, water scarcity already features on the national security agenda of many countries. In this book, Dinar develops a theory to explain solutions to property rights conflicts over shared rivers. Through systematic analysis of available treaty texts, corresponding side-payment and cost-sharing patterns are gleaned. Geographic and economic variables are used to explain recurring property rights outcomes. Rather than focusing on a specific river or particular geographic region, the book analyzes numerous rivers, dictated by the large number of treaty observations, and is able to test several hypotheses, devising general conclusions about the manner in which states resolve their water disputes. Policy implications are thereby also gained.While the book simultaneously considers conflict and cooperation along international rivers, it is the focus on negotiated agreements, and their embodied side-payment and cost-sharing regimes, that justifies the use of particular independent variables.
'A brilliant synthesis of ecology and economics that provides a sure guide to a sustainable future. It is a must for all environmentalists and economists.' Charles Birch 'Written by an impressive list of experts across a number of disciplines, this readable text provides not only analysis but vigorous criticism-and answers.' Robyn Williams 'This book is such a useful guide to responsible decision-making that it should be supplied in bulk to senior government officials and managers in the private sector.' Ian Lowe 'This is a fine contribution to ecological economics coming from Australia, and of interest worldwide.' Herman E Daly Human well-being is wholly dependent upon the continued good health of the Earth s ecosystems. Human behaviour as it interacts with the biophysical environment is enormously complex, as governments (and individuals) who must make decisions about resource use are becoming increasingly aware. Human Ecology, Human Economy provides the basic concepts and tools for understanding how to analyse that interaction. The book is designed to be used as a text for undergraduate and graduate students in environmental studies, human and social ecology, ecological economics, futures studies, and science and technology studies. It is also intended for interested members of the public and for policy-makers working on environmental issues, especially where these intersect with economic policy. Human Ecology, Human Economy not only covers the basic concepts, but also moves to some of the frontiers of thinking in several case studies. It uses a problem and solution oriented approach which crosses disciplinary boundaries, drawing together elements from biology, economics, philosophy and political science. Professor Mark Diesendorf is Director of the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology, Sydney and Vice President of the Sustainable Energy Industries Council of Australia. Among the books he has edited are The Magic Bullet and Energy And People. Dr Clive Hamilton is Executive Director of the Australia Institute, Canberra and teaches in the Public Policy Program at the Australian National University. His books include Capitalist Industrialisation In Korea, The Mystic Economist and The Economic Dynamics Of Australian Industry.
Coordinating our use of the earth's natural resources is not easy. Resource users are many, their goals diverse, and their impacts on the environment often uncertain. How we use those resources depends on the signals and incentives we receive, from either the market or our governments. These systems encourage certain uses of natural resources, but they are not perfect. We harm the environment not out of malice, but because we do not know the consequences of our actions, or the incentives for harm are too great to ignore. Economics and the Environment argues that, by lowering the cost and improving the quality of the necessary signals and incentives, we can better reconcile our diverse interests in the environment. It introduces an economic way of thinking about environmental issues, without assuming a background in economics: * how the economy and the environment interact * how resource use is coordinated in ideal market and planned economies * the barriers to ideal signalling and incentives in real markets and real government planning * the economist's tools for dealing with natural resource issues * the uncertainty and complexity of environmental issues: climate change, water rights, air pollution and overharvesting of common resources. This second edition of Economics and the Environment is fully updated and includes new material on sustainability, valuation of environmental changes, the prospects for international cooperation under the Kyoto Protocol and the problems of defining and enforcing measures to protect biodiversity. It offers students in both economics and environmental studies programs a coherent framework for understanding our major environmental problems. 'Ian Wills succeeds in providing a fresh perspective . . . a very interesting and informative textbook.' Economic Record
The goal for consumer oriented business should be to make a profit and to do it without costing the Earth. Yet exactly how to satisfy the needs and wants of consumers without contributing to environmental degradation is proving to be the essential, but elusive goal for businesses in the 21st century. The leading solution is to substitute material consumption with the consumption of services that offer consumers convenience and value but eliminate much of the inefficiency and waste associated with our throwaway society. Sustainable consumer services for households - services that are delivered to consumers at the premises such as home delivery of organic food, appliance leasing, mobile laundry services, internet marketing of homeservices or car pool schemes - provide a key part of the answer of how to reduce material consumption and waste while still turning a profit. Yet until now there has been little information to guide the development of such business models and practices. This book, equally a practical business handbook and business course text, provides the missing link in sustainable household service competitiveness by examining the issues, looking at business models, providing dozens of real-life best-practice examples and presenting data from the first largescale consumer survey. It provides a wealth of business know-how on what works and what doesn t, how to avoid potential pitfalls, and how to provide consumer services at the household level that are profitable, environmentally sustainable and that add to consumers quality of life.
Water conflicts in India have now percolated to every level. They are aggravated by the relative paucity of frameworks, policies and mechanisms to govern the use of water resources. Based on the premise that understanding and documenting different types of water conflict cases in all their complexity would contribute to informed public debate and facilitate their resolution, Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India, a collaborative initiative of the WWF project 'Dialogue on Water, Food and Environment', documented a number of such case studies. One of its kind in India, this book brings together an impressive sixty-three case studies - summarized status of the conflicts, the issues involved and their current position - and gives us a glimpse into 'the million revolts' that are brewing around water. While recognizing that each conflict is a microcosm of wider conflicts, the editors have classified these cases into eight broad themes that try to capture the dominant aspect of the conflict. These are: contending water uses; dams and displacement; equity-access-allocations; micro-level conflicts; water quality; trans-boundary conflicts; privatization; sand excavation and mining. With a mix of academics and activists as contributors, the book makes an important contribution to a new discourse on water in general, and water conflicts and conflict resolution in particular.
The volume of relevant research and literature on this topic is growing but originates mainly from economists, sociologists, and political scientists; geographers have been slow to make contributions. One reason may be that geographers have been preoccupied with differentiation within the geography of production whereas this new field directs attention to the geography of consumption and a study of economies. This book aims to focus attention on the complex and inter-related problems--social, economic, political, and geographical--that come with development, placing particular emphasis on the problems which accompany attempts at industrialization. Focusing on the complex and interrelated social, economic, political, and geographic problems that attend under-development, this book presents one of the first contributions from a geographer on what has been called the most important economic problem of the modern world. Contending that industrialization is no answer for under-developed countries that are striving to maintain expanding populations and to strengthen their economy, Alan B. Mountjoy traces the distribution, causes, and problems of under-development and the difficulties with and possibilities for industrialization as an aid in solving those problems. He defines development and under-development, considers problems of industrialization (including environmental and human problems), discusses the forms industrialization takes, and analyzes the progress of industrialization in specific under-developed areas. The unique geographer's perspective and the ability of the author to select aspects of the study that most clearly reflect the problems of under-developed economies make this work a useful text and reference book for students and scholars of development, economic geography, and international relations. Alan B. Mountjoy was lecturer in geography at Bedford College, University of London, where he specialized in economic geography and the study of underdeveloped countries. Some of his other books include "Industrialization and Developing Countries, Africa" (with David Hilling), and "Developing the Underdeveloped Countries."
Survey based valuation techniques like the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) rely particularly on the premise of respondents' rationality when answering willingness to pay (WTP) questions. Results of CVM surveys have repeatedly put this fundamental assumption into question. This study adopts a more realistic view of rationality accounting for respondents' limited capacities to process information. Based on cognitive psychology a technique to detect and analyze the bounds of rationality inherent in WTP statements is developed. Using an empirical example, the influence of bounded rationality on the validity of CVM results is analyzed. It is shown that individual differences in information processing play a major role. From these results recommendations for future survey design are developed. |
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