Natural Resources all the ‘original’ elements that comprise the Earth’s natural endowments or life- support systems: air, water, the Earth’s crust, and radiation from the Sun. Arable land, wilderness areas, mineral fuels and nonfuel minerals, watersheds, and the ability of the natural environment to degrade waste and absorb ultraviolet light from the Sun.

Renewable resources Natural Resources Non- renewable resources

Renewable Resources capable of regenerating themselves within a relatively short period. plants, fish, forests, soil, solar radiation, wind, tides, etc.

Biological resources various species of plants and animals can be irreparably damaged if they are exploited beyond a certain critical threshold Flow resources solar radiation, wind, tides, and water streams Renewable Resources

Nonrenewable Resources either exist in fixed supply or are renewable only on a geological timescale, whose regenerative capacity can be assumed to be zero for all practical human purposes.

Recyclable resources metallic minerals (iron, aluminum, copper, and uranium) Nonrecyclable resources fossil fuels Nonrenewable Resources

Environmental Economics originated in the 1960s one of the fastest-growing fields of study in economics. increasing recognition of the significant roles that nature plays in the economic process as well as in the formation of economic value.

primary focus is how to use or manage the natural environment (air, water, landmass) as a valuable resource for the disposal of waste. Environmental Economics

Economy and Environment economy is assumed to depend on the natural environment the extraction of nonrenewable resources and the harvest of renewable resources the disposal and assimilation of wastes the consumption of environmental amenities

Economy and Environment

Neoclassical Approach Natural resources are ‘essential’ factors of production Natural resources are scarce. The economic value of natural resources is determined by consumers’ preferences, and these preferences are best expressed by a freely operating private market system.

Market price can be used as an indicator of resource scarcity. Natural resources can always be replaced (partially or fully) by the use of other resources that are manufactured or natural. Technological advances continually augment the scarcity of natural resources. natural ecosystem is treated as being outside the human economy and exogenously determined Neoclassical Approach

Key issues: the market as a provider of information about resource scarcity resource (factor) substitution scarcity augmenting technological advance the nature of the relationships between the human economy and the natural environment Neoclassical Approach

Neoclassical Economics “Invisible Hand” theorem: idealized capitalist market economy Freedom of choice based on self-interest Perfect information Competition Mobility of resources Ownership rights

Price signals Free good – no price Free good – no price Scarce good – positive price Scarce good – positive price

Price as a signal of emerging resource scarcity decreasing resource scarcity over time

Factor substitution one kind of resource can be freely replaced by another in the production process. Input substitutability Constant factor substitution possibilities Diminishing factor substitution possibilities: the opportunity cost of using natural capital increases at an increasing rate as natural capital becomes scarce No factor substitution possibilities: to produce a given level of output a certain minimum of natural capital input is needed

Technological Advance the ability to produce a given amount of output by using less of all inputs the ability to produce a given amount of output by using less of all inputs conservation of resources conservation of resources the amount of resource conservation depend on the impact that technological advance has on the relative productivity of each of the inputs the amount of resource conservation depend on the impact that technological advance has on the relative productivity of each of the inputs

The human economy and the natural world

the human economy is composed of three entities: people, social institutions and commodities the value of resources is assumed to emanate exclusively from their usefulness to human matter and energy from the natural environment are continuously transformed to create an immaterial flow of value and utility

Ecological Perspective Environmental resources of the biosphere are finite Mutual interdependencies: everything is related to everything else Biosphere is characterized by a continuous transformation of matter and energy

Material recycling is essential for the growth and revitalization of all the subsystems of the biosphere Nothing remains constant in nature The human economy is a subsystem of the biosphere Ecological Perspective

the human economy is completely and unambiguously dependent on natural ecological systems for its material needs the growth of the economic subsystem is ‘bounded’ by a nongrowing and finite ecological sphere nature acts as both a source of and a limiting factor on the basic material requirements for the human economy

Ecology systematically studies the relationships between living organisms and the physical and chemical environment in which they live.

Ecosystem living organisms in a specified physical environment, the interactions among the organisms, the nonbiological factors in the physical environment that limit their growth and reproduction.

AtmosphereHydrosphere Litosphere Biosphere Components of the Ecosystem

Dynamic interaction between abiotic and biotic components Abiotic components habitat for organisms. reservoir of the six most important elements for life (C, H, O, N, S, P).

Biotic components Producers: organisms capable of photosynthesis. Consumers: organisms whose survival depends on the organic materials manufactured by the producers. Decomposers: micro-organisms and many other small animals that rely on dead organisms for their survival

A functioning natural ecosystem is characterized by a constant transformation of matter and energy. Material recycling is essential for the growth and revitalization of all the components of the ecosphere

Energy and thermodynamics The first law of thermodynamics: principle of conservation of energy - matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transformed. The second law of thermodynamics: energy transformations – in every energy conversion some useful energy is converted to useless (heat) energy (entropy)

In all conversion of energy to work, there will always be a certain waste or loss of energy quality. Useful energy cannot be recycled Natural ecosystems require continual energy flows from an external source

Ecology and the human economy The human economy is a subsystem of the biosphere Natural resources cannot be viewed merely as factors of production Humans lead to; Simplification of ecosystems Simplification of ecosystems Creation of industrial pollution (waste) Creation of industrial pollution (waste)

waste-absorptive capacity of the natural environment: ecological threshold trade-off between economic goods and environmental quality

Assimilative capacity of the natural environment the assimilative capacity of the environment is limited. the assimilative capacity of the natural environment depends on the flexibility of the ecosystem and the nature of the waste. pollution reduces the capacity of an environmental medium to withstand further pollution

Assume a linear relationship between waste and economic activity W = f (X, t) W: level of waste generated X: production of goods and services t: technological and ecological factors if t assumed constant; W = βX

Market Economy and Allocation of Environmental Resources Ownership of a resource: ownership rights are completely specified the rights are completely exclusive the ownership rights are transferable ownership is enforceable

When these four conditions are met, self- interest based behavior of individuals will ensure that resources are used where they are most valued. Environmental resources tend to be common property resources. Environmental resources tend to be common property resources. The ownership of environmental resources cannot be clearly defined. The ownership of environmental resources cannot be clearly defined.

for the common property resources, economic pursuit on the basis of individual self-interest would not lead to what is best for society as a whole the use of commons needs to be regulated by a ‘visible hand’

Externalities Positive and Negative Non-rivalry Lack of excludability In the presence of real externalities, there will be a divergence between private and social evaluations of costs and benefits

Positive Externality: Social benefits = Private benefits + External benefits External benefits > 0 Social benefits > Private benefits Negative Externality: Social costs = Private costs + External costs External costs > 0 Social costs > Private costs