Natural Resource Economics

Book Description

Barry Field is an authority on natural resource economics and has a successful Irwin/McGraw-Hill book Environmental Economics: An Introduction, 0-07-021498-0 (©1997). Natural Resource Economics will be a companion to that book. This new text will examine how we as humans decide to use our natural resources, will highlight some of the mistakes we have made in doing so, and will teach students to analyze these decisions. Students will become more informed about the choices we make in shaping and managing our natural world. The guiding principle of the book is to present the necessary concepts in an accessible, but rigorous way at the introductory level, and then see how they apply to some of the important questions we face about natural resource use.

Cooperating With Nature: Confronting Natural Hazards With Land-Use Planning for Sustainable Communities (Natural Hazards and Disasters)

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Cooperating With Nature: Confronting Natural Hazards With Land-Use Planning for Sustainable Communities (Natural Hazards and Disasters)

Manufacturer: National Academy Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0309063620

Customer Reviews:

Good Service.......2007-01-10

I ordered this book for school and I was worried that it wouldn't make it in time to start class, so I ordered early. When I emailed the supplier about it's delivery I received no response, but the book arrived in the next day or two, good service!

The No-Nonsense Guide to Climate Change (No-Nonsense Guides)

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A bit too much nonsense
Not "Bad Science" Anymore!

The No-Nonsense Guide to Climate Change (No-Nonsense Guides)
Dinyar Godrej , and Dinya Godrej
Manufacturer: Verso
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1859843352

Book Description

A Canadian Mounties boat negotiates the Arctic Northwest Passage without coming up against pack ice. Floods devastate Mozambique, and tinder-dry forests of the American Northwest go up in a blaze. Just blips in the world's weather systems or unmistakable signals that human influence is to blame? As billion-dollar catastrophes pile up, insurance giants are beginning to take warnings by the scientific community seriously. Meanwhile governments rarely match promises with action that can deal with the problems. But what is fact, what is plain disinformation—and what can be done?

About the No Nonsense Guides: Major issues facing the world today, complex as they are, are further obfuscated—often deliberately—by political and corporate jargon and media spin. By contrast, New Internationalist Magazine has been a leading source of reliable information and clear analysis for the last twenty years. This new Verso series of No Nonsense Guides, published in conjunction with New Internationalist, cuts through the confusion to present the facts and arguments concerning contemporary global issues as accessibly as possible. Concise, comprehensive, and affordable, the No Nonsense Guides will be of interest to busy people, from school age on, who want to know how the world works.

Customer Reviews:

A bit too much nonsense.......2007-04-19

Unfortunately the author has gotten some of the science wrong, stating for example that carbon is radioactive and mislabeling important graphs. Since this is the 3rd edition one would have hoped the editors would have glanced at the book since it was written in 2001. The author (an immigrant from India) has a very strong anti developed-world bias. He argues vehemently against carbon trading and offsets, not acknowledging that these mechanisms reduce CO2 buildup. He wants instead, I think, punishment to be meted out to the developed countries for their success and rewards to be given to developing countries for their lack of success. He does not appear to want emission controls on developing countries, but prefers that the developed world gift the developing world with free solar power plants. For a no-nonsense guide, there is too much of this nonsense.
I do like the chart on top of page 138 on tips to personally cut emissions (like becoming a vegetarian).

Not "Bad Science" Anymore!.......2002-12-26

Even conservatives now admit that global warming is a reality and that it's primarily the result of fossil fuel use (see the EPA document on global warming published earlier this year). But the extent of the problem is only beginning to sink in. The twentieth century was the hottest century, the 1990s the hottest decade of the millennium, and 1998 the hottest year of the 1990s (we know this from analyzing atmospheric gases trapped in Arctic ice). And we're only feeling the effects of CO2 emissions from 35 years ago! The nasty effects of all the emissions since then haven't even kicked in yet. Moreover, global warming will also lead to "feedback"--the official term for extreme weather. Tornadoes out of season, violent thunderstorms and hail, droughts, floodings, blizzards: all of these are already occuring as wind currents and meterological conditions feel the effects of overall global warming.

Book Description

Hugo... Andrew... Felix... Fran... The names of hurricanes that have devastated the Caribbean region are firmly implanted in the minds of those who survived them. Beyond the scrutiny of the press and television cameras, those survivors often struggle not only with the destruction left in the hurricane's wake but also with the chaotic and disruptive circumstances brought about by massive infusions of well-intentioned "aid." In After the Hurricane, Philip R. Berke and Timothy Beatley present state-of-the-art research on recovery programs that work -- programs that provide immediate aid to victims and lay the basis for sustainable development and growth.

Drawing on three years of extensive field research on Jamaica, Antigua, Montserrat, and St. Kitts and Nevis, Berke and Beatley offer detailed analysis of the effects of two recent major hurricanes -- Gilbert in 1988 and Hugo in 1989.

Paying the Price: The Status and Role of Insurance Against Natural Disasters in the United States (Natural Hazards and Disasters)

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Excellent resource that is a must for non-insurance people!

Paying the Price: The Status and Role of Insurance Against Natural Disasters in the United States (Natural Hazards and Disasters)

Manufacturer: National Academy Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0309063612

Customer Reviews:

Excellent resource that is a must for non-insurance people!.......1998-12-04

Kunreuther, et al have made a major leap forward in helping to educate and inform insurance and non-insurance people alike on the threats associated with natural hazards of all kinds, how insurance companies historically and are now reacting to how those hazards affect their business as they seek to help their insureds manage the risks they face, to demystify the complex world of insurance, and to offer some well reasoned suggestions for all who have a stake in managing the risk of damage from catastrophic natural hazards like hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, etc. Whether the reader is: an individual homeowner; a member of the scientific or academic community; an interested federal, state or community official; an insurance or reinsurance company employee; or one of the other parties who should be concerned about how catastrophes might impact their customers and constituents, this book is a must! Read it to understand the extent of the problem. Read it to understand how mitigation of future damage may be a key part of the solution for the risk that the individual homeowner whose home is located in harm's way (nature's fury) faces. Read it to understand what's been tried and what's suceeded or failed. But mostly read it to seriously consider how you can participate in the solution. The responsibility rests with the individual homeowner to make sure that his or her home is as safe and strong as it should be - for the sake of his or her loved ones (including the family pets), his or her irreplaceable or prized possessions, and that their psychological well-being and lifestyle are not significantly disturbed after a major catastrophic event. And he or she must see themselves as part of a safe and strong community that can similarly weather what Mother Nature can (and at some time certainly will, regardless of how small the probability) throw at them so that the goods and services it provides can be continued after such an event. This book provides a balanced approach to helping the reader understand the role insurance can, should, and does play. But it also helps place it into perspective and suggests some next steps. It explores the reasons for why the different stakeholders act the way they do. Why do people not react to the risk they face by demanding and then paying to make their homes stronger and safer? Why do insurance companies not offer premium incentives? How do various public policies and practices get in the way of efforts to invest significant tax dollars to promote stronger, safer homes and communities, when the original objective of that investment was to avoid spending significantly more tax dollars every year to bail out people and communities living in areas at risk to hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and other natural hazards (sometimes repeatedly) because they either didn't fully understand the risk or they simply chose not to act to avoid or reduce the subsequent damage? Read this book to learn. Read this book to capture a vision of what needs doing. Seek more information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or from the Institute for Business and Home Safety on how to retrofit your own home or how to contribute to community based programs. Both have very good web sites that are mentioned in the book. And finally carefully evaluate your own risk to natural hazards and take action to protect your family (both physically and psychologically), your irreplaceable and prized possessions, and get involved with others in your community to do the same thing for the environment in which you live, work, and recreate. Thanks to Kunreuther, et al for giving us such a wonderful resource to get us thinking about the status and role of insurance against the adverse impacts of natural disasters in the United States, but also for helping awaken us to our own status and role in protecting our families, our homes, and our communities because it should now be clear that insurance is only part of the solution. Keeping it affordable and available requires us to begin seeing insurance as just one, albeit very important, part of our arsenal for managing our individual and corporate risk of loss from natural hazards that threaten us where we live. Respectfully submitted, Dennis Fasking

Disaster Prevention for Sustainable Development: Economic and Policy Issues : A Report from the Yokohama World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduct

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Disaster Prevention for Sustainable Development: Economic and Policy Issues : A Report from the Yokohama World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduct
Mohan Munasinghe
Manufacturer: World Bank
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Living with the Unexpected: Linking Disaster Recovery to Sustainable Development in Montserrat

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Living with the Unexpected
Montserrat's predicament - the comprehensive picture

Living with the Unexpected: Linking Disaster Recovery to Sustainable Development in Montserrat
Anja K. Possekel
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

This study deals with complexity and uncertainty, thereby focusing on appropriate methods which enable vulnerable communities to cope effectively with natural hazards and disasters. The central goal of the study is an applicable combination of hazard management and development planning. Therefore, the reconstruction process following a disaster is understood as an opportunity for structural changes and self-organisation processes that can foster sustainable development. In this context the potential of scenario planning as an evolutionary and participatory learning approach is addressed. The empirical research concentrates on the time before and during the volcanic crisis on the Caribbean island Montserrat. Particular methods used are a systematic analysis of the case study, more than 200 interviews with stakeholders and citizens - concentrating on resource and hazard perception, as well as the organisation and execution of various scenario workshops.

Customer Reviews:

Living with the Unexpected.......2000-09-02

Living with the Unexpected is an interesting attempt to examine the continuing volcanic emergency on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, which began in 1995, within the twin contexts of the latest developments in the social theory of disasters and sustainable development. Anja Possekel was awarded a doctorate from the University of Hamburg in 1998, and Living with the Unexpected represents a development of ideas contained in her thesis.

Following an introductory section, in Chapter 2 the author provides a fine and detailed overview of hazard theory. Some of the material has a familiar ring as the author discusses issues such as: the distinction between hazards and disasters and differing approaches to hazard research. Here a well-known cast list of authors makes an appearance as the author contrasts the approaches adopted by the 'founding fathers' of hazard research (e.g. Burton, Kates and White), with more recent development associated with such authors as Hewitt, Susman, Blaikie, Mitchell and Palm. Since much of this material is probably well known to potential readers, much more severe editing could have been carried out, without any sacrifice in clarity. A welcome innovation is that the author also and for the first time in context of volcanic hazards, examines recent developments in complexity and uncertainty theory and links these to a discussion of chaos. For the present reviewer, this section provided an excellent primer to these increasing prominent themes in disaster theory and of itself would justify library purchase of this volume. Chapter 3, which is devoted to strategic planning in disaster zones, also has a theoretical hue. Again the quality of the reviewing is exemplary and, what is particularly noteworthy, is the careful discussion of both the potentials and possible pitfalls of scenario planning. The latter as many practising hazard analysts can attest are often forgotten.

Much has been written about the 1995 eruption of Montserrat, but much of this literature is located in specialised journals and unpublished reports. Anja Possekel is to be congratulated for compiling and editing this material so effectively. Entitled, Montserrat - A Complex System, Chapter 4 first examines Montserrat before the volcanic crisis using notions of certainty and uncertainty as a framework, the author goes on to look at the severe impact of the disaster on the island and, in Chapter 5, outlines various strategies for reconstruction and recovery. A real and welcome innovation of Possekel's work is that her discussion does not conclude at this point, but continues and examines recovery scenarios through a number of workshops attended by both local citizens and decision makers. The author concludes (page 262), that in the context of Montserrat 'resilience is the normative goal of sustainability, whilst sustainability is the process that eventually leads to resilience'. More specifically what us required is a scenario to: 'reduce vulnerability; improve the quality of life, especially with reference to the environment, education, economy and social health care; encourage the partnership between .... individuals, the private sector, NGOs and governments; (and to) blend planning and management'. The author suggest a scenario to achieve these goals, which is acceptable to local people.

Unlike many academic texts, I enjoyed reading Living with the Unexpected and, indeed, read most of it in one session. Although probably too expensive for purchase by any but the most affluent academic, Anja Possekel's book is an essential library purchase for institutions of higher education and government departments. It is a ground breaking work of applied scholarship and is highly recommended.

Montserrat's predicament - the comprehensive picture.......2000-04-08

This carefully written, 287-page hardback book illustrated with many photographs, maps, and charts - a factual book which will appeal particularly to those with a professional, academic, or personal interest in Montserrat's economy, geography, and future development, as well as to people who may be involved in preparation for other potential disasters elsewhere. I don't think it is possible to find a better comprehensive summary of Montserrat's current situation anywhere.

It opens with three chapters which set the stage, rather than being focused on Montserrat specifically. These are of more interest to professional geographers, social scientists, or economists. First, it places Montserrat in the context of the United Nations' International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. The second chapter outlines the theoretical basis of the study, discussing the principle of sustainable development, the nature of complexity and uncertainty, the uses of systems theory, and the tasks of hazard management and hazard planning. Chapter 3 discusses strategic planning in general, and the use of the scenarios in this - the heading to this chapter quotes Pericles: "It is less important to foresee the future than to be prepared for it" - a dictum which would serve everyone well who lives in areas at risk of hurricanes, volcanoes, earthquakes, and floods!

The fourth chapter gets into the meat of the subject of Montserrat, starting with a comprehensive description of Montserrat. It quotes Davy (John Davy from 1854? The reference is not included in the bibliography):

"No island in these seas is bolder in its general aspect, more picturesque and I think I might add without exaggeration, more beautiful in the detail of its scenery - indeed might be tempted to say considering its fortunes, that it has the fatal gift of beauty".

The settlement, geological, and ecological maps of Montserrat are excellent, and the summary of Montserrat's history from pre-Columbian times, through a detailed description of the recovery from Hugo, up to the present, is very informative - it includes details and histories of the social, demographic, economic and political structure of Montserrat which are summarized better than I have ever seen elsewhere (where else can you find a diagram of the political structure of Montserrat, with the names and village of origin of every senior civil servant and the location of the 23 departments under the four ministries?). This chapter, like much of the book, also reports the findings of surveys and interviews conducted with a substantial number of people in Montserrat.

The chapter gives a blow-by-blow (or should I say flow-by-flow?) account of each stage of the volcanic crisis, with reproductions of every one of the series of risk zone maps produced by the MVO, together with an account of the economic, social, and political upheavals, and several photographs by the author, Doug Darby, David Lea and others. For anyone who wants a review and summary of the events, this must be the best account yet, and it combines on-island and off-island sources in a very useful way - with quotations from interviews with ordinary people, lyrics by Arrow, Cupid, and Rachel Collis, poems, and charts to boot!

Chapter 5 sets the scene for the author's "scenarios" methodology in hazard management, and Chapter 6 starts by describing a "dry run" of this methodology using a group in Hamburg, before it gets down to the nitty-gritty, exploring the different development scenarios envisioned for Montserrat by a varied group of Montserratians who were convened for the purpose. The scenarios included such varied vision as Montserrat as "the small Caribbean Jaguar", "Business as usual" (if only that were possible! It is accompanied by a drawing of taxi drivers playing dominoes by the War Memorial) and "Sustainable Development". Political scenarios, including independence or closer integration with the UK are also explored.

Book Description

Natural disasters are a clear example of people living in conflict with the environment. Disasters cause human, social and environmental losses and, sometimes, even threaten geopolitical stability, as in many less developed countries. They are also a problem of global concern, even when damage is local: the mechanisms are often dependent on global meteoro-climatic circulation. Losses frequently affect several countries, as could be seen in the floods in central Europe in 2002. It is obvious that there is a clear need for a new approach, capable of incorporating the prevention of natural disasters, whilst mitigating strategies within the cycle of sustainable development. There are no thematic disciplines or political boundaries limitating initiatives: the integration of data providers, data users/information providers and information users, in a global and holistic manner, is the desired outcome of the new frontier. This book falls into this new category: multidisciplinary interventions and socio-economic point of views are the basic inputs for a changing science, implementing sustainable development for the benefit of citizens and society. It is comprised of studies and investigations which explain natural processes and modelling, as well as assessing hazards and risks and is rounded of with suggestions for sustainable development. Thus reflecting the best results of research on this topic funded by the European Commission.

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Redefining Sustainable Development
Neil Middleton , and Phil O'Keefe
Manufacturer: Pluto Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0745316107

Book Description

Development and assistance in disasters is about helping people to help themselves. It is to do with facilitating 'sustainable livelihoods' and addressing the ills of social discrimination. These seem to be self-evident propositions, in fact they are a minefield.

If development workers intervene to assist in the creation of environmentally sustainable livelihoods, what judgmental codes are contained in the everyday cultural and linguistic assumptions of development practitioners? What account do they give of the environment and people's relationship to it? If livelihoods are to be economically sustainable, by which economic criteria is the judgement made? Is the objective to keep projects going until the funds run out, or, like cancer patients, to survive for five years, or to knit people into the world's trading systems? If projects are to be sustainable, they must be socially just. By whose justice do we judge? At present much development and disaster relief work derives its importance solely from providing opportunities for honing survival skills.

The authors of this book examine these questions and others in some detail and argue that the assumptions of the social-democratic world, including those of international NGOs, are tied to the perpetuation of capitalism. Middleton and O'Keefe suggest that the issue, in the face of anarchic global financial power, is to re-think the nature of class in a late capitalist world and to recognize indigenous NGOs as the new political vehicles for its struggle.

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