Review of Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development, by Herman Daly Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development. Herman E. Daly. 253 pp. Although I've never met him, I must admit: economist Herman Daly has had a big impact on my life. Student-initiated seminars (like most forms of activism) were rare at Princeton University at the time, but our goals were ambitious: to uncover the limits of growth economies, from the Soviet to the U.S. model. In spring 1981, Isles was born. Beyond the quixotic story of Isles' founding, why should Daly's work be important to community builders? What is the goal of the economy? As a former economist at the World Bank, Daly takes them head on in Beyond Growth with reasoned arguments and increasingly intellectual elegance. Daly clarifies that the economy is only a subset of the larger environment. Daly is the grandfather of steady state economic theory (increasingly called environmental economics). If growth is not going to lift us out of poverty, what will? Perhaps Daly's message is working.
Restoration ecology Recently constructed wetland regeneration in Australia, on a site previously used for agriculture Restoration ecology emerged as a separate field in ecology in the 1980s. It is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human intervention and action. The term "restoration ecology" is therefore commonly used for the academic study of the process, whereas the term "ecological restoration" is commonly used for the actual project or process by restoration practitioners. Definition[edit] E. History[edit] Restoration needs[edit] On a more anthropocentric level, natural ecosystems provide human society with food, fuel and timber. Conservation biology and restoration ecology[edit] With regard to biodiversity preservation, it should be noted that restoration activities are not a substitute, but are complementary for conservation efforts.
Earth Economics U.S. non-profit organization Approach[edit] Earth Economics' current mission states, "We quantify and value the benefits nature provides. Our work drives effective decisions and systemic change through a combination of education, natural capital analysis, and policy recommendations."[2] According to its website, Earth Economics offers "a pragmatic, collaborative approach to help organizations make sound investment and policy decisions that mitigate risk, add value, and build resilience by taking nature into account Earth Economics offers five types of services: Workshops & Trainings: Earth Economics offers hands-on workshops, trainings, and presentations that aim to raise awareness about ecological economics concepts and cost-effective solutions that build resilience, biodiversity, and equity.Ecosystem Services Valuation: Earth Economics is best known for their expertise in natural capital valuation. History[edit] See also[edit] References[edit]
Circular economy A major argument in favour of the circular economy approach is that achieving a sustainable world does not require changes in the quality of life of consumers, nor does it require loss of revenues or extra costs for manufacturers and other economic agents. The argument is that circular business models can be as profitable as linear models and allow consumers to keep enjoying similar products and services.[citation needed] To achieve models that are economically and environmentally sustainable, the circular economy focuses on areas such as design thinking, systems thinking, product life extension, and recycling.[3][4] Origins[edit] As early as 1966 Kenneth Boulding already raised awareness of an "open economy" with unlimited input resources and output sinks in contrast with a "closed economy", in which resources and sinks are tied and remain as long as possible a part of the economy. Other early schools of thought include Professor Walter R. Moving away from the linear model[edit]
The economic heresy of Herman Daly If economics is a religion, the World Bank is perhaps its grandest church. For the last half century, the venerable institution at 1818 H Street in Washington, D.C., has been dispatching its missionaries around the globe, spreading the theology of the free market to the heathens. And if economics is a religion, Herman Daly is its arch-heretic, a member of the high priesthood turned renegade. From 1988 to 1994, Daly was the World Bank’s senior environmental economist, a lonely voice of dissent in an organization that frowns on unbelievers. During his six-year tenure, Daly, the economist-turned-ecovisionary whose works established ecological economics as a discipline, succeeded in getting the World Bank to take notice of the environment in its policies and programs. At last, frustrated with the institution’s unwieldy bureaucracy and antiquated policies, he resigned. It was Daly’s parting shot not only at the World Bank, but at the entire edifice of neoclassical economics. Don’t Bank on It
Environmental engineering Environmental Engineering is the integration of science and engineering principles to improve the natural environment, to provide healthy water, air, and land for human habitation and for other organisms, and to remediate pollution sites.[citation needed] Furthermore, it is concerned with finding plausible solutions in the field of public health, such as arthropod-borne diseases, implementing law which promote adequate sanitation in urban, rural and recreational areas. It involves waste water management and air pollution control, recycling, waste disposal, radiation protection, industrial hygiene, environmental sustainability, and public health issues as well as a knowledge of environmental engineering law. It also includes studies on the environmental impact of proposed construction projects. Environmental engineers study the effect of technological advances on the environment. Most jurisdictions also impose licensing and registration requirements. Development[edit] Scope[edit] The U.S.
Ecoleasing Ecoleasing is a system in which goods (mainly from the technical cycle, i.e. appliances, ...) are rented to a client for a certain period of time after which he returns the goods so the company that made it can recycle the materials. Terminology[edit] The term ecoleasing has been used by William McDonough and Michael Braungart in their book Cradle_to_Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things.[1] It is used to distinct itself from regular leasing in that: the operation is similar to regular purchasing of goods, so not requiring a contract to be made up as with leasingit is done with appliances and other products used for the household, rather than with land or very expensive products (cars, ...)the period of time the product is rented would be about the same as the lifespan of the product, so it can only be rented once before it is taken back by the company to recover the materials (and to create another product with it) Examples[edit] An example of ecoleasing is a lease of a TV set.
Most Downloaded Ecological Economics Articles The most downloaded articles from Ecological Economics in the last 90 days. Safa Motesharrei | Jorge Rivas | Eugenia Kalnay Serenella Sala | Biagio Ciuffo | Peter Nijkamp Jouni Korhonen | Antero Honkasalo | Jyri Seppälä Kang-Soek Lee | Richard A. David Pimentel | Rodolfo Zuniga | Doug Morrison Yannis Dafermos | Maria Nikolaidi | Giorgos Galanis Rudolf S de Groot | Matthew A Wilson | Roelof M.J Boumans Per Bolund | Sven Hunhammar Fredrik Moberg | Carl Folke M.M.G.T. Erik Gómez-Baggethun | David N. M. Julian Kirchherr | Laura Piscicelli | Ruben Bour | Erica Kostense-Smit | Jennifer Muller | Anne Huibrechtse-Truijens | Marko Hekkert Brendan Fisher | R. Nicola Gallai | Jean-Michel Salles | Josef Settele | Bernard E. Joan Martínez-Alier | Unai Pascual | Franck-Dominique Vivien | Edwin Zaccai Jasper O. Erik Gómez-Baggethun | Rudolf de Groot | Pedro L. M.S. Dominik Wiedenhofer | Tomer Fishman | Christian Lauk | Willi Haas | Fridolin Krausmann
Time to Stop Worshipping Economic Growth There are physical limits to growth on a finite planet. In 1972, the Club of Rome issued their groundbreaking report—Limits to Growth (twelve million copies in thirty-seven languages). The authors predicted that by about 2030, our planet would feel a serious squeeze on natural resources, and they were right on target. In 2009, the Stockholm Resilience Center introduced the concept of planetary boundaries to help the public envision the nature of the challenges posed by limits to growth and physical/biological boundaries. They defined nine boundaries critical to human existence that, if crossed, could generate abrupt or irreversible environmental changes. (Click image for larger view)The global economy must be viewed from a macro-perspective to realize that infringement of the planetary boundaries puts many life support ecosystems in jeopardy. These boundaries apply to the economy because the economy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the ecosystems that make life on earth possible.
Integrated geography Environmental geography (also, integrative geography,[1] or integrated geography) is the branch of geography that describes and explains the spatial aspects of interactions between human individuals or societies and their natural environment,[2] so-called coupled human–environment systems. Origins[edit] It requires an understanding of the dynamics of geology, meteorology, hydrology, biogeography, ecology, and geomorphology, as well as the ways in which human societies conceptualize the environment (cultural geography). Thus, to a certain degree, it may be seen as a successor of Physische Anthropogeographie (English: "physical anthropogeography")—a term coined by the Vienna Geographer Albrecht Penck in 1924—and geographical cultural or human ecology (Harlan H. Barrows 1923). Focus[edit] References[edit]
Ecological modernization School of thought in social sciences Ecological modernization is a school of thought that argues that both the state and the market can work together to protect the environment.[1] It has gained increasing attention among scholars and policymakers in the last several decades internationally. It is an analytical approach as well as a policy strategy and environmental discourse (Hajer, 1995). Origins and key elements[edit] One basic assumption of ecological modernization relates to environmental readaptation of economic growth and industrial development. There are different understandings of the scope of ecological modernization - whether it is just about techno-industrial progress and related aspects of policy and economy, and to what extent it also includes cultural aspects (ecological modernization of mind, value orientations, attitudes, behaviour and lifestyles). Ecological modernization shares a number of features with neighbouring, overlapping approaches. Additional elements[edit]