1 Development of Ideas on Natural Resources and the Environment -- 1.1 Malthusian Problem -- 1.2 Ricardian Stagnation -- 1.3 J.S. Mill -- 1.4 W.S. Jevons -- 1.5 A.C. Pigou and Other Authoritarians -- 1.6 The United States Presidential Material Commission -- 1.7 Scarcity and Historic Price Trends for Natural Resources -- 1.8 The United States Bureau of Mines -- 1.9 Speculative Estimates -- 1.10 Spaceship Earth -- 1.11 The Club of Rome -- 1.12 Sustainable Development Debate -- 1.13 On the Brightest Side -- 1.14 Pessimists and Optimists -- 1.15 Religion, Ethics and the Environment -- 2 Economics and Policies in Fisheries -- 2.1 Property Rights -- 2.2 Common Access -- 2.3 A Comparative Static Economic Theory of Fishery -- 2.4 A Dynamic Economic Theory of Fishery -- 2.5 The Situation in World Fishery -- 2.6 The Law of the Sea Conferences -- 2.7 Fishing in the Waters of the European Community -- 2.8 Some Aspects of Fishing in United States waters -- 2.9 Rights-Based Fishery Management -- 3 Economics and Policies in Forestry -- 3.1 Regeneration of the Forestry Sector - A Long and Painful Process -- 3.2 Afforestation in the British Isles -- 3.3 Basic Principles of Cost-Benefit Analysis for Forestry -- 3.4 A Case Study in Northern Ireland -- 3.5 Private Sector Forestry in the UK -- 3.6 A Planting Function for Private Afforestation Projects -- 3.7 The Optimum Rotation Problem -- 3.8 Forestry Policy in the European Community -- 3.9 Forestry in the United States -- 3.10 Forest Destruction in the Tropics -- 4. Agriculture and the Environment -- 4.1 Inorganic Nitrate Pollution -- 4.2 Pesticide Pollution -- 4.3 Animal Waste and Pollution -- 4.4 Soil Erosion -- 4.5 Salination -- 4.6 Multipurpose Land Use -- 4.7 Future Prospects -- 5. Economics and Policies in Mining, Petroleum and Natural Gas -- 5.1 Determining Extraction Level and Resulting Price Path over Time -- 5.2 Factors Affecting Depletion Levels -- 5.3 Further Points -- 5.4 A Test of Fundamental Principle -- 5.5 Market Structure and Resource Use -- 5.6 Some Trends in Fossils Fuel Use -- 6. Economics of Environmental Degradation and Policies -- 6.1 Externalities -- 6.2 The Optimum Level of Environmental Degradation -- 6.3 Methods of Obtaining Optimum Levels of Pollution -- 6.4 Public Policy in the UK -- 6.5 Public Policy in the United States -- 6.6 The European Community and the Environment -- 6.7 Transition in Eastern Europe and the Future of Environmental Policies -- 7. International Environment Problems -- 7.1 Acid Rain -- 7.2 Destruction of the Ozone Layer -- 7.3 The Greenhouse Effect -- 7.4 Destruction of Biological Diversity -- 7.5 International Gatherings and Institutes on the Environment -- 8. Valuation Methods for Environmental Costs and Benefits -- 8.1 Cost-Benefit Analysis -- 8.2 Cost-Effectiveness Analysis -- 8.3 Hedonistic Price -- 8.4 Contingent Valuation -- 8.5 Travel Cost Analysis -- 8.6 Existence Value -- 8.7 Bequest Value -- 8.8 Option Value -- 8.9 Risk and Uncertainty in Valuation of Environmental Attributes -- 9 Economics of Natural Wonders -- 9.1 Some Natural Wonders -- 9.2 A Theory of Natural Wonders -- 9.3 Demand for Natural Phenomena -- 10 Economics and Policies in Nuclear Waste Disposal -- 10.1 A Brief History of Nuclear Power -- 10.2 Nuclear Wastes -- 10.3 Types of Radiation -- 10.4 Disposal Methods -- 10.5 The United States' First Nuclear Waste Repository -- 10.6 Repository Costs -- 10.7 Long-Term Costs -- 10.8 Nuclear Waste Disposal Policies -- 11 Ordinary and Modified Discounting in Natural Resource and Environmental Policies -- 11.1 Private Versus Social Rate of Interest -- 11.2 Foundation for the Choice of a Social Rate of Discount -- 11.3 Isolation Paradox -- 11.4 Ordinary Discounting -- 11.5 Modified Discounting Versus Ordinary Discounting -- 11.6 The Modified Discounting Method (MDM) -- 11.7 Debates on Modified Discounting -- 11.8 Some Applications of the Modified Discounting Method -- Appendix 1 The Ordinary Discount Factors -- Appendix 2 Discount Factors for the United Kingdom on the Basis of MDM -- References -- Author Index.

The economic activities of humanity, particularly during the last couple of cen­ turies, have had a profound impact on the natural environment. Fast depletion of the world's forest resources, fish stocks, fossil fuels and mine deposits have raised many moral as well as practical questions concerning present and future generations. Furthermore, a number of global environmental problems such as acid rain, the 'greenhouse effect' and depletion of the ozone layer are causing concern throughout the world. What does economics say about the exploitation of nature's scarce resources? This book, which is a much expanded version of an earlier publication, Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment, aims mostly at final-year undergraduates reading subjects such as economics, business studies, environ­ mental science, forestry, marine biology, agriculture and development studies. There is also a good deal of material - especially in the chapters on fisheries, forestry, valuation and discounting - that post-graduate students may find useful as stepping-stones. The material presented stems from my lectures to final-year students at the University of Ulster during the last 12 years, and some of my ongoing research work. When I moved to Northern Ireland in 1982 I was given a course called 'Economics of Exhaustible Resources' to teach. This has changed its title and focus a number of times along with the structure of the University. My early reading lists included a number of journal articles and books written on the sub­ ject.