Environmental economics may hold the key to the successful management of the world's accelerating environmental problems, from transport and pollution to the wholesale degradation of much of the Third World, climate change and loss of the ozone layer. Increasingly a range of professionals and policy makers as well as environmentalists and the economists themselves are turning to it to show how to arrive at decisions on these complicated and vital issues. This reader brings together the most important contributions to the subject. Sections of it cover the theoretical issues, the different ways of valuing the environment, economic instruments of environmental policy, environment and development and global environmental problems. An extensive introduction by the editors maps out the area and the development of the arguments within it. As a whole the volume makes an indispensable sourcebook for those in any way involved with these questions. Anil markandya is one of the authors of Blueprint for a Green Economy and Blueprint 2: Greening the Global Economy.

Environmental economics may hold the key to the successful management of the world's accelerating environmental problems, from transport and pollution to the wholesale degradation of much of the Third World, climate change and loss of the ozone layer. Increasingly a range of professionals and policy makers as well as environmentalists and the economists themselves are turning to it to show how to arrive at decisions on these complicated and vital issues. This reader brings together the most important contributions to the subject. Sections of it cover the theoretical issues, the different ways of valuing the environment, economic instruments of environmental policy, environment and development and global environmental problems. An extensive introduction by the editors maps out the area and the development of the arguments within it. As a whole the volume makes an indispensable sourcebook for those in any way involved with these questions. Anil markandya is one of the authors of Blueprint for a Green Economy and Blueprint 2: Greening the Global Economy.

First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First Published in 2006. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Such a huge number of books, journals and papers have been devoted to defining, assessing and implementing 'sustainable development' that students and other readers face information overload. Earthscan alone has published hundreds of essays and books on the subject. Now, though, the most authoritative writings have been carefully assessed and collected together in the Earthscan Reader in Sustainable Development. The contributions included span five years of the debate, and cover all the principal themes: the history of the concept; the problems in defining it; the issues surrounding it; and national and international policies and schemes to implement it. For ease of use, the essays have been split into key subject areas - such as agriculture, population and the commons - and they include practical case studies and examples, together with analyses from a number of different viewpoints from both the North and South. These seminal essays will provide readers with a unique overview of the subject, as well as the long-awaited basic course material for students of environmental studies, economics, geography, politics, planning and the social sciences.

Environmental economics can be controversial, but it is also central to some key policy issues facing governments and society today, including industrial pollution, global warming, and waste/recycling. Stephen Smith looks at how economic activity affects the environment in which we live, and how environmental policies can most effectively be used.

"Daly is turning economics inside out by putting the earth and its diminishing natural resources at the center of the field . . . a kind of reverse Copernican revolution in economics." --Utne Reader "Considered by most to be the dean of ecological economics, Herman E. Daly elegantly topples many shibboleths in Beyond Growth. Daly challenges the conventional notion that growth is always good, and he bucks environmentalist orthodoxy, arguing that the current focus on 'sustainable development' is misguided and that the phrase itself has become meaningless." --Mother Jones "In Beyond Growth, . . . [Daly] derides the concept of 'sustainable growth' as an oxymoron. . . . Calling Mr. Daly 'an unsung hero,' Robert Goodland, the World Bank's top environmental adviser, says, 'He has been a voice crying in the wilderness.'" --G. Pascal Zachary, The Wall Street Journal "A new book by that most far-seeing and heretical of economists, Herman Daly. For 25 years now, Daly has been thinking through a new economics that accounts for the wealth of nature, the value of community and the necessity for morality." --Donella H. Meadows, Los Angeles Times "For clarity of vision and ecological wisdom Herman Daly has no peer among contemporary economists. . . . Beyond Growth is essential reading." --David W. Orr, Oberlin College "There is no more basic ethical question than the one Herman Daly is asking." --Hal Kahn, The San Jose Mercury News "Daly's critiques of economic orthodoxy . . . deliver a powerful and much-needed jolt to conventional thinking." --Karen Pennar, Business Week Named one of a hundred "visionaries who could change your life" by the Utne Reader,Herman Daly is the recipient of many awards, including a Grawemeyer Award, the Heineken Prize for environmental science, and the "Alternative Nobel Prize," the Right Livelihood Award. He is professor at the University of Maryland's School of Public Affairs, and coauthor with John Cobb, Jr., of For the Common Good.

This volume presents the results of a three-year collaborative effort involving research institutions in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Case studies demonstrate the diversity of environmental problems to which a variety of economic instruments can be applied - air and water pollution, packaging, deforestation, over-grazing, wildlife. They also show what is needed for them to work successfully and the pitfalls to avoid in introducing them, providing guidance for future applications. Written to be accessible to non-economists, the book offers source material for students and academic economists, as well as for professionals working with economic instruments.

"Understanding Environmental Issues provides an excellent foundation for developing critical thinking about contemporary environmental concerns and the ways in which these are debated, represented and managed. The book should achieve its aim of stimulating students to engage with how ideas of sustainability and environmental justice can be applied both in policy and in practical action." - Gordon Walker, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University "The arena of environmental issues is a minefield for undergraduate students seeking clarity about key problems and solutions. This is where Understanding Environmental Issues will play a major role, providing a stimulating guide through the wealth of material and complex ideas. In particular the unification of social and physical science in the case studies provides a holistic approach to the subject that is essential for students and a refreshing innovation for environmental textbooks." - Anna R. Davies, Trinity College, University of Dublin There is now an unprecedented interest in, and concern about, environmental problems. Understanding Environmental Issues explains the science behind these problems, as well as the economic, political, social, and cultural factors which produce and reproduce them. This book: Explains, clearly and concisely, the science and social science necessary to understand environmental issues. Describes - in section one - the philosophies, values, politics, and technologies which contribute to the production of environmental issues. Uses cases on climate change, waste, food, and natural hazards in section two to provide detailed illustration and exemplification of the ideas described in section one. The conclusion, a case study of Mexico City, draws together the key themes Vivid, accessible and pedagogically informed, Understanding Environmental Issues will be a key resource for undergraduate and taught postgraduate students in Geography, Environment, and Ecology; as well as students of the social sciences with an interest in environmental issues.

'Sustainable development' is the catchphrase of the 1990s. Governments around the world, international institutions, local organizations and NGOs have committed themselves to its principles and have adopted policies to promote it. But 'sustainable development' is difficult to define - let alone implement - and its proponents and advocates may all interpret it in very different ways. This introductory guide provides a clear and accurate account of what sustainable development actually is. David Reid gives an overview of the history of the concept and how it has evolved in recent years, describes the obstacles to achieving sustainable development, and looks at recent progress towards implementing it - and at how much we have still to do.