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Ecology, Politics, and Economics. Standard -vs- Steady-State Economics. Standard economics ignores the importance of the natural world in generating resources Standard economics ignores the fate of wastes.
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Standard -vs- Steady-State Economics • Standard economics ignores the importance of the natural world in generating resources • Standard economics ignores the fate of wastes. • The steady-state view recognizes that economic systems are fully dependant on the natural world. • The economy is a subsystem of a finite and non-growing ecosystem
Ownership of Resources • Economics allocate resources differently depending on how wealth is distributed among people. • Peasants have little incentive to protect resources that they will never own. • Very wealthy land owners have little incentive to protect resources • The poor have little choice but to use the few resources at their disposal in an unsustainable manner.
Resources used as commons without regulation will be overexploited.
Value of Ecological Systems • The value of biodiversity is not included in market systems. • Urbanization distances people from the natural systems upon which they depend. • Transforming ecological knowledge into public practice is the domain of schools and universities, yet many students remain unaware of matters in ecology. • Poor design results from poorly equipped minds.