Assigning Economic Value to Natural Resources


Book Description

There has been a lot of discussion among policymakers, particularly within the Clinton Administration, about how to make U.S. economic indicators, such as GNP, more accurately reflect the state of the environment. This book explores the major issues and controversies involved in incorporating natural resources and the environment into economic accounts. The first section of the volume, based largely on a three-day workshop of experts in the field, explains the possibilities and pitfalls in so-called "green" accounting. This is followed by a selection of nine individually authored papers, including one by Nobel prize winner Robert Solow, that probe scientific aspects of this issues in greater depth.




Soil Quality for Crop Production and Ecosystem Health


Book Description

Soil is a complex body that exists as many types, each with diverse properties that may vary widely across time and space as a function of many factors. This complexity makes the evaluation of soil quality much more challenging than that of water or air quality. Evaluation of soil quality now considers environmental implications as well as economic productivity, seeking to be more holistic in its approach.Thus, soil quality research draws from a wide range of disciplines, blending the approaches of biologists, physicists, chemists, ecologists, economists and agronomists, among others.This book presents a broad perspective of soil quality that includes these various perspectives and gives a strong theoretical basis for the assessment of soil quality.A short glossary provides definitions for terms used throughout the book.







Soil Processes and the Carbon Cycle


Book Description

World soils contain about 1500 gigatons of organic carbon. This large carbon reserve can increase atmospheric concentrations of CO2 by soil misuse or mismanagement, or it can reverse the 'greenhouse' effect by judicious land use and proper soil management. Soil Processes and the Carbon Cycle describes soil processes and their effects on the global carbon cycle while relating soil properties to soil quality and potential and actual carbon reserves in the soil. In addition, this book deals with modeling the carbon cycle in soil, and with methods of soil carbon determinations.




Green Economy Implementation in the Agriculture Sector


Book Description

This book, focusing on the agriculture sector, provides useful analysis of the green economy implementation context and a practical framework for implementing vegetable crop production green economy projects. The book addresses a distinct gap, as there are currently no guidelines available for planning and implementing green economy projects in the agriculture sector. The book combines information from desktop reviews and field research on vegetable production in a green economy context in South Africa in order to bridge the gap between the theoretical green economy concept and practical implementation issues that would be encountered at the project level. It includes a step-by-step process for translating abstract green economy principles into tangible projects on the ground, so that the potential benefits of a green economy are realizable.