How might nature value man?

Bruce Hannon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

While much time and effort is spent attempting to quantify environmental services for inclusion in the economic system, no one seems to ask how nature might value us. An ecological accounting process is devised to accommodate ecosystem flows, allowing for the computation of ecological prices, and leading to the calculation of net ecosystem output and the efficiency of its production. The process is somewhat similar to economic accounting, but allows us to consider the ecosystem as open, conforming to thermodynamic laws. Examples, such as intervention to reduce soil erosion, illustrate how humans might be appreciated by the ecosystem. In some instances, the net output might be higher with some human presence than with no human presence.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)265-279
Number of pages15
JournalEcological Economics
Volume25
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1998

Keywords

  • Ecological accounting
  • Ecosystem
  • Environmental services

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Environmental Science
  • Economics and Econometrics

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