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The Economics of the Environment and Natural Resources covers the essential topics students need to understand environmental and resource problems and their possible solutions. Its unique lecture format provides an in-depth exploration of discrete topics, ideal for upper-level undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral study. Each chapter depicts the key theoretical insights, major issues, and real-life problems that motivate the subject. In addition, the chapters feature practical applications and case studies, a list of annotated further reading, and extensive references. The book also includes an extensive glossary of key terms used in the chapters.

The book’s broad treatment of the field includes discussions of general theoretical approaches, particular natural resources, the theory and practice of environmental valuation, and larger-scale environmental issues. This book challenges the reader through its rigorous coverage of these topics, while also provoking further exploration. ... Read more

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In order to really see the forest, what's the best way to count the trees? Understanding how the economy interacts with the environment has important implications for policy, regulatory, and business decisions. How should our national economic accounts recognize the increasing interest in and importance of the environment? "Nature's Numbers" responds to concerns about how the United States should make these measurements. The book recommends how to incorporate environmental and other non-market measures into the nation's income and product accounts. The panel explores alternative approaches to environmental accounting, including those used in other countries, and addresses thorny issues such as how to measure the stocks of natural resources and how to value non-market activities and assets. Specific applications to subsoil minerals, forests, and clean air show how the general principles can be applied. The analysis and insights provided in this book will be of interest to economists, policymakers, environmental advocates, economics faculty, businesses based on natural resources, and managers concerned with the role of the environment in our economic affairs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Accessible information on "Greening" the NIPA
Nature's numbers is the work ofthe Panel on Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting chaired by William Nordhaus (Economist) to "address the question of whether the U.S. National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA) should be broadened to include activities involving natural resources and the environment" p.1.

The book has five sections, the Introduction, a brief history of NIPA and its application to the environment, accounting for subsoil mineral resources, accounting for renewable and environmental resources and an overall appraisal. It also includes useful appendices giving data sources, mathematical formulae for forestry accounting and an explanation of the Output-sustainability correspondence principle.

This book is very accessible, and requires only minimal familiarity with national income accounting, and environmental economics.Chapter 1 is a short history of national income accounts. Chapter 2 discusses the deficiencies of the traditional measures and how economists are trying to incorporate non-economic forms of capital into the accounting framework. Chapter 3 is a brief discussion of how to account for subsoil minerals and what the current problems are that face those who try to measurethese resources, not only measurement problems, but conceptual as well, such as appropriate discount rates when valuing mineral stocks. Chapter 4 discusses renewable and environmental resources focusing on forests and air quality; again the authors discuss the valuation issues both within the U.S (B.E.A) and also overseas. The final chapter deals with recommendations from the panel about what the B.E.A should do, and not surprisingly requests extra funding for the B.E.A to carry out this task. Among the other recommendations, the panel suggests that the B.E.A should work on a comprehensive set of accounts rather than the staged-approach that it had previously followed till it was ordered to cease work on its task.

Those who would find this book useful are mostly students of economics and/or the environment. It is quite informative and gives the flavor of what it is those involved in the collection, interpretation and distribution of statistics are involved in. There is not much math (for the math averse) and whatever math is involved is in the Appendix. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Good Reference
I found this book to be very informative and easy to follow if you decide to build a Chimney Swift tower.I built my tower in March 2007 so that I can attract the Swifts to control flying insects like mosquitos and I am still waiting for my first Swift to take residence.My neighbors were very curious about what I was building and I enjoyed educating them about the value of Chimney Swifts. I am sure the Swifts will find the tower eventually.

informative book
good book about Chimney swifts, their habitat loss and constructing "Chimneys" for them to raise young in. The book describes the construction of these small towers using modern methods and materials. I think this book will be the definitive Chimney Swift work of our time.Buy it and build a tower. You and these gregarious little flying insect eaters will be better for it. Watching Chimney swifts reminds me greatly of watching a Quiditch match as described in the Harry Potter books.

The book to have to make a chimney swift tower!!
Kyle and Georgean have put together "the book" on how to build a chimney swift tower. What I especially love about this book is that they provide a numb er of different designs - three different types of wooden towers as well as different types of masonry/cement block towers - so you have options.There are pictures - photographs and drawings throughout to help with the building and the materials/instructions are very clear.I haven't convinced my husband to build one (yet)and we already have swifts in our chimney but I am working with a local park and some eagles scouts to put one up.Another thing I really like about this book is that it goes beyond just putting up a swift tower.It also gives guidance on monitoring the tower (to include electronic monitoring like putting a camera inside) and report forms.It also has great pictures so that at a park, for example, you can create an educational evironment as well.Another neat thing is to also host a "swift night out" in the fall, where people gather to watch the swifts (babies all fledged and practicing their flight maneuvers)as they fly around the tower, dive in and more.Its so amazing to see them flying at incredible speeds and then dive into the chimney or tower.What a sight.I've also ready that when the young are learning to fly, if one is having trouble, the adults will flying in circles below them, creating an updraft to help lift them higher.They are such amazing birds, deserving of our attention and preservation.This book really helps us not only provide a nesting site but also opportunities for our own education.....as the saying goes....we conserve what we love, we love what we understand, we understand what we are taught. ... Read more

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Publisher: George Banta publishing companyPublication date: 1918Subjects: Human geographyHuman beingsManHistory / GeneralNature / EcologyScience / GeneralScience / Environmental ScienceSocial Science / Human GeographyNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

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As an introductory text aimed at those having little background knowledge of the field and requiring only a modest background in science, Understanding Our Environment is unparalleled.

This third edition enhances the standing of the title by developing a more international approach. Bridging all the important environmental media such as the atmosphere, fresh waters, oceans and solid earth, it also emphasizes the inter-linkages between these media. The major human and environmental impacts of pollution are summarized, and case studies are included as illustrations of the measures needed for control. Worked examples and questions are included to facilitate both teaching and learning of the subject.

This book will be essential reading for students in environmental science and related areas, as well as scientists and engineers in industry, public service and consultancy who require a basic understanding of environmental processes. ... Read more

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Physics of Societal Issues is a textbook those who seek to understand fundamental issues of energy use, nuclear weapons, and the environment using facts and figures instead of slogans and postures. Taking inspiration from Fermi's famous "back of the envelope" calculations, author David Hafemeister shows how to capture the essence of a problem with rough estimates of important parameters, and use those estimates to gauge the effects of policy decisions.

Customer Reviews (2)

Mediocre
Poor quality book binding - pages falling out.Heavy emphasis on nuclear issues.Less emphasis on relevant timely topics.

Excellent textbook for Energy, Environment, and Arms Control
Bravo for an excellent textbook!The book contains many concentrated explorations of topics ranging from renewable energy to nuclear weapons to pollution. Because each subtopic is addressed so efficiently, even less advanced and non-physics students can benefit from some of the examples and problems. More advanced students can absorb the whole book. Some of the examples and calculations are even fun.This semester I assigned one chapter from the book for my graduate class.Next semester I will use the whole book for my graduate class. I expect to use this regularly in both graduate and advanced undergraduate classes. ... Read more

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Two experts assess the planet's environmental health. ... Read more

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Much is written in the popular literature about the current pace of technological change. But do we have enough scientific knowledge to properly inform policymaking in technology-dependent domains such as energy and the environment? While it is agreed that technological change does not "fall from heaven like autumn leaves," the theory, data, and models are deficient. The specific mechanisms that govern the rate and direction of inventive activity, the drives and scope for incremental improvements that occur during technology diffusion, and the spillover effects that cross-fertilize technological innovations remain poorly understood.

In a work that will interest serious readers of history, policy, and economics, the editors and their distinguished contributors offer a unique, single volume overview of the theoretical and empirical work on technological change. Beginning with a survey of existing research, they provide analysis and case studies in contexts such as medicine, agriculture, and power generation, paying particular attention to what technological change means for efficiency, productivity, and reduced environmental impacts. The contributors empirically test hypotheses of induced innovation and theories of institutional innovation. They propose ways to model induced technological change and evaluate its impact, and they consider issues such as uncertainty in technology returns, technology crossover effects, and clustering. ... Read more

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Agriculture in the United States today increasingly operates in two separate spheres: large, corporate-connected commodity production and distribution systems and small-scale farms that market directly to consumers. As a result, midsize family-operated farms find it increasingly difficult to find and reach markets for their products. They are too big to use the direct marketing techniques of small farms but too small to take advantage of corporate marketing and distribution systems. This crisis of the midsize farm results in a rural America with weakened municipal tax bases, job loss, and population flight. Food and the Mid-Level Farm discusses strategies for reviving an "agriculture of the middle" and creating a food system that works for midsize farms and ranches. Activists, practitioners, and scholars from a variety of disciplines, including sociology, political science, and economics, consider ways midsize farms can regain vitality by scaling up aspects of small farms' operations to connect with consumers, organizing together to develop markets for their products, developing food supply chains that preserve farmer identity and are based on fair business agreements, and promoting public policies (at international, federal, state, and community levels) that address agriculture-of-the-middle issues.

Food and the Mid-Level Farm makes it clear that the demise of midsize farms and ranches is not a foregone conclusion and that the renewal of an agriculture of the middle will benefit all participants in the food system—from growers to consumers.

Contributors:
Elizabeth Barham, Sandra S. Batie, Eileen Brady, Fred Buttel, Peter Carstensen, Ken Dahlberg, Mike Duffy, Thomas Gray, Shelly Grow, Amy Guptill, William Heffernan, Mary Hendrickson, Elizabeth Higgins, Fred Kirschenmann, David Lind, Thomas Lyson, Caitlin O’Brady, Rich Pirog, Daryll Ray, Harwood D. Schaffer, G. W. Stevenson, Rick Welsh. ... Read more

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The essays and poems collected in Crosscurrents North offer thoughtful meditations on the Alaska environment and the relationship between humans and nature. By distinguished writers such as John Haines, Nick Jans, Marjorie Kowalski Cole, Sherry Simpson, and Bill Sherwonit, these sixty-one compelling pieces celebrate the wildness and wonder of nature as well as the human impact on it. The writers tackle weighty topics such as the changing Alaska landscape and the impact of humans on its wild inhabitants, the effects of climate change, and the environmental side effects of architectural development, as well as tranquil meditations on the iconic bear and wolf or the plant world of berries, moss, and mushrooms. Jay Hammond, the former governor of Alaska, also contributes a foreword.

A clarion call for environmentalists and lovers of literature alike, Crosscurrents North challenges us to reconsider our relationship to the natural world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

literary, smart Alaskans speak out with a different take
This is a brilliant collection that has been too long in coming, and offers non-Alaskans an important counterpoint to prominent voices coming out of there recently that made world news and gave an impression that shamed me as an Alaskan.
The preface and introduction tell it all: Alaskans exist (Alaskans with brains and sophistication and literary skill) who care urgently about the environment and don't want to plunder it, despoil it or pave it like everywhere else. Some of these writers are treehuggers and some have guns and kill and eat animals, some are men and some women, some poets and some essayists, some have lived in Alaska ten years and came from large cities while others are indigenous or were born in Alaska to "Outsider" parents, and they all still care, they still feel a profound spiritual connection and want to preserve the Great Land and its nonhuman life. And they articulate so well.
Bravo to the writers and to the editors and publisher!
~ Lesley Thomas, author of arctic novel Flight of the Goose

A beautiful tribute to the wonderful wilderness of Alaska
The largest state in the country, Alaska's natural state has more to offer than its stereotypical tundra. "Crosscurrents North: Alaskans of the Environment" is a large collection of essays and poems based on the natural beauty that Alaska brings to the table with its large wilderness and massive assortment of wild animals that provoke much inspiration into its writers. With a foreword by late former governor Jay Hammond, "Crosscurrents North" is a beautiful tribute to the wonderful wilderness of Alaska.
... Read more

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James Carrier and his group of international researchers tackle the complex factors affecting people's understandings of their environment-not just the natural environment, but landscapes shaped by humans, and the social and cultural contexts. The authors consider the impact of local events with detailed analyses, but also evaluate the political-economic forces that operate at regional and global levels. This book will be an excellent resource for policy-makers, researchers and instructors in environmental use and conservation, anthropology, geography, and political ecology. ... Read more

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Challenging conventional wisdom on the virtues of a consumer economy, this provocative book explores the nexus between growth and environment sustainability. The miracle of the modern affluent economy is an ever-swelling cornucopia of consumer goods, leading to expanding consumption as the essential underpinning of economic growth in more and more parts of the globe. Douglas Booth contends that expansion in this form amounts to an addiction. Are we as a society hooked on economic growth of a kind that carries with it significant threats to the natural environment? A critical dilemma for the modern economy is that growth is required to prevent the pain of unemployment. As growth continues, the environment declines, but if growth slows, unemployment rises. We seem trapped in a spiraling predicament like that of the addict. This accessible work explores whether getting _unhooked_ from growth to meet the needs of the environment is possible. Giving the environment priority over growth may seem to some like a radical idea, yet the author argues that it can be accomplished using marketable emissions allowances, transferable development rights, and other tools popular with conventional economists. It can also be achieved by creating more interesting and environmentally friendly urban landscapes less beholden to the automobile. The key problem a less growth-oriented society will face is ensuring that everyone who wants employment can find it. This will require something that many people wish for anyway, a shorter workweek. More leisure, a higher-quality environment, and more attractive cities and towns are the potential rewards of a less consumption-oriented society.Yet powerful economic interests that benefit from a high-growth economy are arrayed against changes in the status quo. Under what circumstances can the power of special interests be overcome in the name of environmental conservation? This is the author's critical final question as he offers a clear path to a sustainable economic and environmental future. ... Read more

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Since colonial times, the sense of encountering an unseen, transcendental Presence within the natural world has been a characteristic motif in American literature and culture. American writers have repeatedly perceived in nature something beyond itself-and beyond themselves. In this book, John Gatta argues that the religious import of American environmental literature has yet to be fully recognized or understood. Whatever their theology, American writers have perennially construed the nonhuman world to be a source, in Rachel Carson's words, of "something that takes us out of ourselves." Making Nature Sacred explores how the quest for "natural revelation" has been pursued through successive phases of American literary and intellectual history.And it shows how the imaginative challenge of "reading" landscapes has been influenced by biblical hermeneutics.Though focused on adaptations of Judeo-Christian religious traditions, it also samples Native American, African American, and Buddhist forms of ecospirituality.It begins with Colonial New England writers such Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards, re-examines pivotal figures such as Henry Thoreau and John Muir, and takes account of writings by Mary Austin, Rachel Carson, and many others along the way.The book concludes with an assessment of the "spiritual renaissance" underway in current environmental writing, as represented by five noteworthy poets and by authors such as Wendell Berry, Annie Dillard, Marilynne Robinson, Peter Matthiessen, and Barry Lopez. This engaging study should appeal not only to students of literature, but also to those interested in ethics and environmental studies, religious studies, and American cultural history. ... Read more

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This is a  wide-ranging and persuasive book written by an undisputed expert. Beginning with a broad history of the Universe, Earth, Life and Man, it considers the origins and rise of science and technology, before moving on to discuss the present state of the world and its/our possible futures.  Humans on Earth: Past, Present and Future then addresses the main challenges for social and economic development in the 21st century in the context of global change. It presents a detailed but non-technical analysis of questions relating to climate change, our dependence on fossil fuels, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, desertification, air, water, soil, and ocean pollution as well as problems related to overpopulation, poverty, social and economic inequities and conflict potential. The main emphasis is on the risks and uncertainties of the short-term future – the next 50 to 100 years – with regard to environmental degradation and the sustainability of our growth paradigm.

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This book covers some of the most relevant issues in the newenvironmental economics. Its main emphasis is on the internationaldimension of environmental phenomena, which implies the necessity ofdesigning properly coordinated economic/environmental policies. Theissue of policy coordination is analysed both in the case whereenvironmental externalities arise because of cross-country and globalpollution flows, and in the case where trade and competitivenesseffects induced by environmental regulation affect countries' relativeeconomic performance. The context in which these issues are analysedrelies on recent developments of game theory, industrial economics,international trade where imperfect competition and governments'strategic interactions are accounted for. Recognizing that traditional environmental policy tools are notsufficient to regulate the present environment--economy interactionsleads to appraise the effects of more sophisticated policy mixes. Inparticular, policies to stimulate technological innovation, toregulate industrial markets, to offset negative trade effects areexamined. Attention is also devoted to the issue of economic growth.Under which conditions is endogenous growth consistent withenvironmental protection? Which policy mix can loosen the traditionaltradeoff between environment and growth? These are two of the manycritical questions which are addressed, and which find veryinteresting, albeit preliminary, answers. ... Read more

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Until recently, mainstream American environmentalism has been a predominantly white, middle-class movement, essentially ignoring the class, race, and gender dimensions of environmental politics. In this provocative collection of original essays, the environmental dimensions of the Chicana/o experience are explicitly expressed and debated. Employing a variety of genres ranging from poetry to autobiography to theoretical and empirical essays, the voices in this collection speak to the most significant issues of environmentalism and social justice, recognizing throughout the need for a pluralism of Chicana/o philosophies. The contributors provide an excellent basis for understanding how multiple Chicana/o views on the environment play out in the context of dominant social, political and economic views. Chicano Culture, Ecology, Politics examines a number of Chicana/o ecological perspectives. How can the ethics of reciprocity present in Chicana/o agropastoral life be protected and applied on a broader scale? How can the dominant society, whose economic structure is invested in "placeless mobility," take note of the harm caused to land-based cultures, take responsibility for it, and take heed before it is too late? Will the larger society be "ecologically housebroken" before it destroys its home?Grounded in actual political struggles waged by Chicana/o communities over issues of environmental destruction, cultural genocide, and socioeconomic domination, this volume provides an important series of snapshots of Chicana/o history. Chicano Culture, Ecology, Politics illuminates the bridges that exist—and must be understood—between race, ethnicity, class, gender, politics, and ecology.CONTENTS
Part 1: IndoHispano Land Ethics
Los Animalitos: Culture, Ecology, and the Politics of Place in the Upper R¡o Grande, Devon G. Peña
Social Action Research, Bioregionalism, and the Upper Río Grande, Rubén O. Martínez
Notes on (Home)Land Ethics: Ideas, Values, and the Land, Reyes García
Part 2: Environmental History and Ecological Politics
Ecological Legitimacy and Cultural Essentialism: Hispano Grazing in Northern New Mexico, Laura Pulido
The Capitalist Tool, the Lawless, and the Violent: A Critique of Recent Southwestern Environmental History, Devon G. Peña and Rubén O. Martínez
Ecofeminism and Chicano Environmental Struggles: Bridges across Gender and Race, Gwyn Kirk
Philosophy Meets Practice: A Critique of Ecofeminism through the Voices of Three Chicana Activists, Malia Davis
Part 3: Alternatives to Destruction
The Pasture Poacher (a poem), Joseph C. Gallegos
Acequia Tales: Stories from a Chicano Centennial Farm, Joseph C. Gallegos
A Gold Mine, an Orchard, and an Eleventh Commandment, Devon G. Peña
... Read more

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"The Global Environment Outlook" (GEO) series are the flagship publications of the world's leading environmental organization.They present comprehensive and authoritative reviews and analyses of worldwide environmental conditions and trends and the policies and policy instruments available to address them.
"GEO-3," which includes a CD, is published 10 years after the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 and in time for its successor, the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. It sets an action-oriented environmental agenda for the future.
Continuing the global and regional focus of the series, it complements the detailed assessment of the state of the global environment set out in "GEO-2000". "GEO-3" examines environmental trends over the past 30 years to provide an integrated explanation of the developments that have occurred. It not only examines the state of the environment over that period, but also the full range of social, economic, political and cultural drivers that have brought about change. Highlighting human vulnerability to environmental deterioration, it assesses effects of the spectrum of policy measures adopted.
From this retrospective analysis, "GEO-3" then projects future outcomes. It develops a range of scenarios for the next 30 years, from 2002-2032, with detailed exploration of the policies and instruments available at different levels for improving environmental conditions.
Clearly organized and in accessible non-technical language, in full color with extensive graphics, statistics, boxes and quick highlights, "GEO-3" will be an essential tool for teaching and research as well as a vital guide for policy-makers and stimulus to future action. ... Read more