Is There Any Economic Value to "Sustainability?"

1. Is There Any Economic Value to "Sustainability?" Brian Czech

2. Is There Any Economic Value to "Sustainability?" What the hell kind of a question is that?

3. Is There Any Economic Value to "Sustainability?" Is anything unsustainable really valuable?

4. Is There Any Economic Value to "Sustainability?" Is anything unsustainable really valuable?

5. Is There Any Economic Value to "Sustainability?" Devil’s in the “ “” ”s.

6. " "" " • Linguistic questioning? • Rhetorical insinuation? • With “sustainability,” both.

7. Other Potential Uses of Quotation Marks • Is there “any” …? • … any “economic” value…? • … any… “value”…?

8. "Sustainability" Having the properties to last a long time (Czech 2010).

9. What is a "long time?" • Seven Generations • Approximately 150 years • Highly relevant to forestry • Culturally rich

10. Is anything unsustainable really "valuable?" • Heroin rush? • Housing bubble? • Forest liquidation?

11. But short-lived is not equivalent to unsustainable . • Meal • Real estate transaction • Sustainable timber harvest

12. Meanwhile, the unsustainable may seem valuable for a short time. • Heroin rush • Housing bubble • Forest liquidation

13. Intertemporal Discounting • Few truly new issues here • Little resolution

14. "Is There Any Economic Value to Sustainability?" Of What? • Nonvaluables – no. • Valuables – yes.

15. If it's "worth" having, it's worth sustaining. • Food • Fun • Forests

16. Or is it? • For society, yes. • For an individual, maybe.

17. "Is There Any Economic Value to Sustainability?" To Whom? • Society – yes, lots. • Individuals – some, less.

18. Is there any "economic" value to sustainability? • In monetary terms? • As conducive to efficient allocation of resources?

19. Monetary Terms • Market goods and services – yes. • Timber • Recreation • Nonmarketable – no. • Climate regulation • Biodiversity conservation

20. Is There Any Economic Value to "Sustainability?" Ask the makers of Viagra!

21. As Conducive to Efficient Allocation • In an instant, no. • Among generations, yes. • The value of sustainability for efficient allocation increases with time.

22. "Sustainability" in the vernacular implies... • Inter-generational interests • Concern with public goods (especially ecological) • Value/scarcity of sustainability

23. Remember what the philosopher says... “Nothing is necessary.”

24. Remember what the philosopher says... “Nothing” is necessary.

25. Juncture Micro Macro Discounting Limits to growth Forest examples Forests’ context Forest policy Economic policy

26. www.steadystate.org

27. Most important to get right Most ignored (vis-à-vis forestry) Horse before the cart Reasons to Focus on Macro

28. Ecological Macroeconomics Non-Human Species as Canaries in the Coalmine of Sustainability

29. Perfect Storm in Political Economy • Henry George • Progress and Poverty, 1879 • George vs. land barons • Incipient tax code at stake • “Marginalist Revolution” • Establishment of American economics • The Corruption of Economics • (Gaffney, 1994)

30. Production Function Y = ¦(K, L) Czech, B. 2009. The neoclassical production function as a relic of anti-George politics: implications for ecological economics. Ecological Economics 68:2193-2197.

31. Neoclassical Economy $ Business Household

32. With Economic Growth $ Household Business

33. Ecological economics movement Laws of thermodynamics Principles of ecology Ecological Economics Herman Daly

34. Natural Capital Pollutants Natural Capital Heat Ecological Economy

35. Natural Capital Pollutants Natural Capital Heat With Economic Growth

36. Increase in the production and consumption of goods and services in the aggregate Typically expressed in terms of GDP Entails increasing population and/or per capita consumption Economic Growth

37. Urbanization 247 Agriculture 205 Water diversions (e.g., reservoirs) 160 Recreation, Tourism Development 148 Pollution 143 Domestic livestock, ranching 136 Mining, oil, gas activities 134 Non-native species 115 Harvest 101 Road construction/maintenance 83 Industrial Development 81 Causes of Endangerment Czech et al. 2000. Bioscience 50(7):593-601.

38. Making Sense of the Who’s Who Trophic Theory and Economic Structure

39. Economy of Nature Super- Carnivores Service Providers Consumers Producers (i.e., plants)

40. Human Economy Light manufacturing Heavy manufacturing Service Sectors Producers (i.e., agriculture, extraction)

41. Human-inclusive Economy of Nature Humans Service Providers Animals Plants

42. With Economic Growth Human Economy Service Providers Animals Plants

43. Biodiversity and Natural Capital An Allocation Model

44. K Natural capital allocated to economy of nature GDP Natural capital allocated to human economy Time Czech, B. 2000. Wildlife Society Bulletin 28(1):4-14.

45. Fisheries Volume 30 Series Logo

46. Therefore K To conserve biodiversity... GDP ...maintain steady state economy sufficiently belowK. Time

47. But what about technological progress?

48. But what about technological progress? Czech, B. 2008. Prospects for reconciling economic growth and biodiversity conservation with technological progress. Conservation Biology 22(6):1389-1398.

49. "Chicken-Egg Spiral" K TP3 TP2 Biodiversity loss TP1 GDP-TP

50. Moving Toward a Steady State Economy Academics, Policies, and Politics