Ecology, Economics, Ethics

Ecology, Economics, Ethics

Author: F. Herbert Bormann

Publisher:

Published: 1991

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 9780300049763

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In this book a distinguished group of environmental experts argues that in order to solve global environmental problems, we must view them in a broad interdisciplinary perspective that recognizes the relations, the interconnected circle, among ecology, economics, and ethics. Currently the circle is broken, they say, because environmental policy is decided on short-term estimations of material return that take little account of the economic or moral burdens that will be borne by future generations if we deplete our resources now.


Ecological Economics for the Anthropocene

Ecological Economics for the Anthropocene

Author: Peter G. Brown

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2015-09-01

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 0231540426

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Ecological Economics for the Anthropocene provides an urgently needed alternative to the long-dominant neoclassical economic paradigm of the free market, which has focused myopically—even fatally—on the boundless production and consumption of goods and services without heed to environmental consequences. The emerging paradigm for ecological economics championed in this new book recenters the field of economics on the fact of the Earth's limitations, requiring a total reconfiguration of the goals of the economy, how we understand the fundamentals of human prosperity, and, ultimately, how we assess humanity's place in the community of beings. Each essay in this volume contributes to an emerging, revolutionary agenda based on the tenets of ecological economics and advances new conceptions of justice, liberty, and the meaning of an ethical life in the era of the Anthropocene. Essays highlight the need to create alternative signals to balance one-dimensional market-price measurements in judging the relationships between the economy and the Earth's life-support systems. In a lively exchange, the authors question whether such ideas as "ecosystem health" and the environmental data that support them are robust enough to inform policy. Essays explain what a taking-it-slow or no-growth approach to economics looks like and explore how to generate the cultural and political will to implement this agenda. This collection represents one of the most sophisticated and realistic strategies for neutralizing the threat of our current economic order, envisioning an Earth-embedded society committed to the commonwealth of life and the security and true prosperity of human society.


Business Within Limits

Business Within Limits

Author: László Zsolnai

Publisher: Peter Lang

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 9783039107032

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The book explores the Deep Ecology perspective and Buddhist Economics for transforming business toward a more ecological and human form. It argues that ecology and ethics provide limits for business within which business is legitimate and productive. By transgressing ecological and ethical limits business activities become destructive and self-defeating. Today's business model is based on and cultivates narrow self-centeredness. Both Deep Ecology and Buddhist Economics point out that emphasizing individuality and promoting the greatest fulfillment of the desires of the individual conjointly lead to destruction. Happiness is linked to wholeness, not to personal wealth. We need to find new ways of doing business, ways that respect the ecological and ethical limits of business activities. Acting within limits provides the hope and promise of contributing to the preservation and enrichment of the world.


Greenhouse Economics

Greenhouse Economics

Author: Clive Spash

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-10-28

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 100014285X

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Examining one of the most crucial issues in the modern world: human induced climate change, here Clive Spash provides a refreshing interdisciplinary perspective, pulling together strands of natural science, economics and ethics. Described by John Gowdy as ‘the best exposition to date on the political economy of climate policy’, this remarkable volume poses serious questions and gives intelligent answers. The issues it addresses are relevant to a range of environmental problems, and it covers themes such as: How do we deal with uncertainty and ignorance? What roles do science and economics play in policy formation? To what extent should individuals take responsibility for the society in which they and their descendants live? By rigorously examining international and governmental sources, and key contemporary issues, Spash provides an up-to-date and informative analysis. A well-organized study (including a glossary and helpful acronym list), this book will be of strong interest to students and academics in the fields of ecological and environmental economics, and is essential reading for all those to whom climate change is a professional or personal concern.


Valuing Nature?

Valuing Nature?

Author: John Michael Foster

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 9780415129787

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This collection of essays and reviews represents the most significant and comprehensive writing on Shakespeare's A Comedy of Errors. Miola's edited work also features a comprehensive critical history, coupled with a full bibliography and photographs of major productions of the play from around the world. In the collection, there are five previously unpublished essays. The topics covered in these new essays are women in the play, the play's debt to contemporary theater, its critical and performance histories in Germany and Japan, the metrical variety of the play, and the distinctly modern perspective on the play as containing dark and disturbing elements. To compliment these new essays, the collection features significant scholarship and commentary on The Comedy of Errors that is published in obscure and difficulty accessible journals, newspapers, and other sources. This collection brings together these essays for the first time.


Transformative Ecological Economics

Transformative Ecological Economics

Author: Ove Jakobsen

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2017-04-21

Total Pages: 279

ISBN-13: 1351794019

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This volume develops a synthesized interpretation of ecological economics integrating different levels; (economic) system, (business) practice and the (economic) actor. It discusses how changes on a systems level are connected to changes in practise and development of individual consciousness. Transformative Ecological Economics delves into the insight and knowledge from different sources of inspiration (Thermodynamics, Darwinism, Anthroposophy and Buddhism) as well as into an integrated story describing and illustrating the core ideas, principles and values which characterize a utopian society anchored in ecological economics.


Integrating Economics, Ecology and Thermodynamics

Integrating Economics, Ecology and Thermodynamics

Author: Matthias Ruth

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-04-17

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 9401718997

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Economies are open systems embedded in an ecosystem with which they exchange matter and energy. Interactions among these systems are vital for each system's performance and are constrained by the laws of physics. This volume pays tribute to economy--environment interactions simultaneously from an economic, ecological and physical perspective. Integrating Economics, Ecology and Thermodynamics provides a first step in identifying and combining the principles of economics, ecology and thermodynamics on a fundamental level. Part I lays out the general context for the approach chosen. Part II familiarizes readers with core concepts of, and methods used in, the three disciplines of economics, ecology and thermodynamics. Part III assesses ways in which these disciplines can be integrated to provide an improved understanding of economy--environment interactions. Part IV illustrates the integration of the three disciplines with a dynamic model of a human community interacting with its environment. In Part V the volume closes with a brief summary and a set of conclusions on the relevance of integrated, interdisciplinary approaches to economy--environment interactions.


Time and the Generations

Time and the Generations

Author: Partha Dasgupta

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2019-06-25

Total Pages: 484

ISBN-13: 0231550030

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How should we evaluate the ethics of procreation, especially the environmental consequences of reproductive decisions on future generations, in a resource-constrained world? While demographers, moral philosophers, and environmental scientists have separately discussed the implications of population size for sustainability, no one has attempted to synthesize the concerns and values of these approaches. The culmination of a half century of engagement with population ethics, Partha Dasgupta’s masterful Time and the Generations blends economics, philosophy, and ecology to offer an original lens on the difficult topic of optimum global population. After offering careful attention to global inequality and the imbalance of power between men and women, Dasgupta provides tentative answers to two fundamental questions: What level of economic activity can our planet support over the long run, and what does the answer say about optimum population numbers? He develops a population ethics that can be used to evaluate our choices and guide our sense of a sustainable global population and living standards. Structured around a central essay from Dasgupta, the book also features a foreword from Robert Solow; correspondence with Kenneth Arrow; incisive commentaries from Joseph Stiglitz, Eric Maskin, and Scott Barrett; an extended response by the author to them; and a joint paper with Aisha Dasgupta on inequalities in reproductive decisions and the idea of reproductive rights. Taken together, Time and the Generations represents a fascinating dialogue between world-renowned economists on a central issue of our time.


Ecological Economics

Ecological Economics

Author: Michael Common

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2005-10-13

Total Pages: 600

ISBN-13: 9781139445436

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Taking as its starting point the interdependence of the economy and the natural environment, this book provides a comprehensive introduction to the emerging field of ecological economics. The authors, who have written extensively on the economics of sustainability, build on insights from both mainstream economics and ecological sciences. Part I explores the interdependence of the modern economy and its environment, while Part II focuses mainly on the economy and on economics. Part III looks at how national governments set policy targets and the instruments used to pursue those targets. Part IV examines international trade and institutions, and two major global threats to sustainability - climate change and biodiversity loss. Assuming no prior knowledge of economics, this textbook is well suited for use on interdisciplinary environmental science and management courses. It has extensive student-friendly features including discussion questions and exercises, keyword highlighting, real-world illustrations, further reading and website addresses.