Natural Capital and Human Economic Survival, Second Edition

Thomas Prugh, Herman Daly, Robert Goodland, John H Cumberland, Richard B Norgaard

CRC Press, May 20, 1999 - Science - 208 pages

Most people love nature and consider themselves environmentalists, but nature isn't just pretty and lovable, it is indispensable to our survival and economic activity. That is the most compelling reason for environmental protection.
The conventional economic wisdom views land (natural capital) as a small part of the economy, along with capital, labor, technology and so on. The authors argue that this is backwards: that the economy nests within the environment (land) and not the other way around.
The authors give a brief history of the origins of conventional economic wisdom and critique it from a the standpoint of ecological economics. They explain what natural capital -our life support system - is and does, and describe the severe strains that have been put on it. They conclude with some policy options, such as green taxes and suggestions for personal action that would conserve natural capital and thus make conserve resources for present and future generations.
Natural Capital and Human Economic Survival is written for environmentalists, environmental studies majors and anyone concerned about the flaws of mainstream economics - how it has led us into unsustainable ways of living - and who would like to learn about alternatives that are more sustainable.

Contents

• The Origins of Our Economic Worldview: 3
• Classical Economics Key Figures Assumptions: 8
• The Birth of Neoclassicism: 13
• The Neoclassical Legacy: 16
• The Ecological Economics Perspective: 19
• The Coevolutionary Paradigm: 21
• Scale Throughput and Carrying Capacity: 24
• The Mostly Invisible City: 26
• Substitutability vs Complementarity: 31
• Technological Optimism vs Prudent Skepticism: 34
• Entropy and Economics: 40
• What Sustainability Means: 43
• THE DEFINITION FUNCTION AND VALUATION OF NATURAL CAPITAL: 47
• What Natural Capital Is and Does: 49
• What Does Natural Capital Do?: 51
• Biodiversity Ecosystem Function and the Economy: 53
• Four Functions of Natural Capital: 54
• Depletion and Valuation: 67
• Some Evidence of Natural Capital Depletion: 69
• The Green Devolution: 74
• Accounting for Natural Capital: 78
• The Monetary Valuation of Natural Capital: 88
• When Discounted Doesnt Mean a Bargain: 89
• An Alternative: 95
• MANAGING NATURAL CAPITAL FOR SUSTAINABILITY: 99
• Investing in Natural Capital Incentives and Obstacles: 101
• The Nutshell Case for Natural Capital Investment: 102
• Why We Ignore Natural Capital: 105
• CommandandControl Regulation: 111
• IncentiveBased Systems: 114
• Some Investment Strategies: 119
• Green Taxes: 121
• Graded Ecozoning: 124
• Natural Capital Depletion Taxes: 126
• The Link Between Human and Natural Capital: 128
• The Precautionary PolluterPays Principle: 129
• Ecological Tariffs: 132
• Natural Capital and International Trade: 135
• Property Rights Regimes: 137
• Resource Utilities: 141
• Two Sustainability Profiles: 144
• Afterword: 151
• Some Tools for Personal and Community Action: 161
• Glossary: 163
• References: 167
• Index: 173

Bibliographic information

• Title: Natural Capital and Human Economic Survival, Second Edition; Ecological Economics
• Authors: Thomas Prugh, Herman Daly, Robert Goodland, John H Cumberland, Richard B Norgaard
• Edition: 2, illustrated, revised
• Publisher: CRC Press, 1999
• ISBN: 1420048325, 9781420048322
• Length: 208 pages
• Subjects: Business & Economics / Environmental Economics; Law / Environmental; Nature / Environmental Conservation & Protection; Science / Life Sciences / Ecology; Technology & Engineering / Environmental / General