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According to the publisher:

This timely book offers a fresh view on how oceans and coasts are, and should be, managed. The urgency of this issue is increasingly being recognized, as critical limits to the economic exploitation of our oceans and coasts are reached. The authors argue that ecological economics is in a unique position to address this problem given its particular focus on interconnected ecological and economic systems.

Four ‘cornerstones’ of this ecological economics approach to the oceans and coasts are presented; most importantly, sustainability is the overarching policy goal, rather than economic efficiency, as I soften emphasized in mainstream economics. Secondly, recognizing the biophysical limits and thresholds of marine systems is fundamental. Thirdly, a complex systems view is adopted, which has profound implications for managing marine systems in the face of intrinsic uncertainty, irreversibility and interdependent behaviour. Finally, the approach is necessarily methodologically pluralistic, given the complexity and multi-faceted character of marine ecological–economic systems.

Ecological Economics of the Oceans and Coasts is a unique book that will be warmly welcomed by ecological economists, researchers and academics of coastal and marine management and policy as well as natural resource and environmental economists. Policy advisors on oceans and coasts, coastal and marine managers will also find this book of great interest and value.

Contents:
Preface
Part I: Foundational Ecology, Complexity and Science Issues
Part II: Economic and Other Values of the Marine Environment
Part III: Marine Sustainability: Integrating Ecology, Economics and Social Dimensions Part IV: Implementing an Ecological Economics of the Oceans and Coasts

Index
Contributors: C. Batstone, A. Cole, M. Gibbs, B. Glavovic, D. Hardy, S. Liu, G. McDonald, B. McNeil, M. Patterson, K. Probert, M. Ruth, B. Sharp, N. Smith, C. unde, M. Wilson

Commentary:
‘This timely book is enhanced by its provision of diverse fresh perspectives on ways to better manage our deteriorating oceans and coastlines. It will be welcomed by all those who value a holistic approach to environmental policy and who appreciate the need for urgent but well thought out improvements in ocean and coastal management.’
– Clem Tisdell, University of Queensland, Australia

‘This book covers a wide spectrum of issues of practical significance to those concerned about the state of the world’s oceans. Its principal contribution is to bring together an ecological economics perspective to the ocean world. In so doing, it broadens the vision of how we should understand the marine environment and, perhaps, what we can do to mitigate or even resolve these challenges.’
– Quentin Grafton, The Australian National University

Edited by Murray Patterson 1 and Bruce Glavovic 2
1. New Zealand Centre for Ecological Economics, Massey University, Palmerston North
2. School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Edward Elgar Publishing www.e-elgar.com
May 2008; 384 pages hardcover, ISBN: 978 1 84542 319 3
$140.00

As Ed Daley, ICMA President and city manager of Hopewell, Va., put it during an April 22 ICMA hosted- webcast, "Improving the energy efficiency of our own operations is only part of what we, as local government leaders, can do to better our environment and economy, and build sustainable communities. We are in a unique position to lead by example, educate our citizens about the benefits of energy efficiency, and motivate private sector organizations to make energy efficiency improvements."

During the webcast, entitled Leading Your Community and Saving Money, Energy, and the Environment, Susan Scott, Deputy County Manager, Sarasota County, Fla., described energy efficiency programs that the county is implementing as a part of its "Roadmap to Sustainability". These programs include:

* 2006 Change a Light campaign in which 1,037 county employees pledged to save energy, preventing 467,550 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.
* Partnership with Florida Power & Light for the largest solar array in Florida, a 250 kW solar operation located at Sarasota County’s Rothenbach Park, a former landfill. This solar facility, built to support FPL’s Sunshine Energy green power pricing program, is expected to prevent more than 680,000 pounds of CO2 emissions each year.
* Requirement that all new county construction and renovation must be 50 percent more energy efficient than standard code requirements.

Unfortunately, delaying energy efficiency projects and opportunities can be very expensive. The Cash Flow Opportunity (CFO) Calculator, a tool offered by the US EPA ENERGY STAR, can help quantify the cost of delaying investment in upgrades by addressing three critical questions: how much new energy efficiency equipment can be purchased from the anticipated savings; should this equipment purchase be financed now, or is it better to wait and use cash from a future budget; and is money being lost by waiting for a lower interest rate? The CFO Calculator is designed so that managers who are not financial specialists can use it to make informed decisions, yet it is sophisticated enough to satisfy financial decision-makers. Learn how this tool helps model financing alternatives through sensitivity analysis.

All of the materials used during the webcast are available in the ICMA Resource Center.

For more information on ICMA’s energy program, contact Barbara Yuhas at byuhas@icma.org. For further information on U.S. EPA's ENERGY STAR® Programs visit www.energystar.gov or contact Kudret Utebay at kutebay@cadmusgroup.com.

International City/County Management Association (ICMA) www.icma.org
http://www.icma.org/main/ns.asp?nsid=3780&LGM=1

Global production of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells increased 51 percent in 2007, to 3,733 megawatts, according to the latest Vital Signs Update from the Worldwatch Institute, produced in collaboration with the Prometheus Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

More than 2,935 megawatts (MW) of solar modules were installed in 2007, according to early estimates, bringing cumulative global installations of PVs since 1996 to more than 9,740 MW-enough to meet the annual electricity demand of more than 3 million homes in Europe.

"Thanks to strong, smart policies in countries like Germany and Spain, the PV industry is making great strides in efficiency and cost, bringing solar power closer to price parity with fossil fuels," says Janet Sawin, Worldwatch Senior Researcher and author of the update.

Over the past year, Europe-led by Germany-surpassed Japan to lead the world in solar cell manufacturing, producing an estimated 1,063 MW in 2007. Thanks to government policies that guarantee high payments for solar power fed into the electric grid, Germany remains the world leader in solar PV installations, accounting for almost half the world total in 2007. About 40,000 people are now employed in the PV industry in Germany.

Spain ranked second after Germany for total installations in 2007, but accounts for only an estimated 3 percent of global production. As in Germany, the Spanish market is being driven by a strong guaranteed price for PV electricity.

Despite a dramatic increase in solar cell production in the United States, up 48 percent to 266 MW, the nation's share of global production and installations continued to fall in 2007.

In contrast, China raced past the United States for PV cell manufacturing in 2006 to place third globally, and it now ranks second only to Japan for national production. Over the past two years, China's PV production has increased more than sixfold, to 820 MW in 2007. Despite these impressive numbers, the domestic market remains small and most PV cells made in China are exported to Europe.

"With billions of dollars invested in the solar energy technologies in the last 12 months, the PV sector is primed for accelerating its impact in both centralized and distributed generation at increasingly competitive costs," says Travis Bradford, President of the Prometheus Institute. "As it reaches widespread cost parity in the next few years, demand will flourish in many places around the world simultaneously."

Solar PV prices declined slightly in 2007, with even greater reductions held back by the hot pace of demand and a continued shortage of polysilicon, an essential ingredient for conventional solar cells. Analysts expect much more dramatic price drops-perhaps as much as 50 percent in the next two years-as more polysilicon becomes available, production and installation are further scaled up, manufacturing efficiencies increase, and more advanced technologies are introduced. As a result, solar electricity could soon be a competitive alternative to conventional retail power in many regions, including California and southern Europe.

According to Sawin, "PV and other renewables offer significant potential to meet global energy needs while addressing climate change, enhancing energy security, and creating jobs. Scaling up renewables is primarily a matter of political will and enacting strong, consistent policies that create demand."

Worldwatch Institute www.WorldWatch.org
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5738

May 15 , 2008

Washington, D.C. -- It's the U.S. energy boom that no one knows about. Energy efficiency may be the farthest-reaching, least-polluting, and fastest-growing energy success story of the last 50 years. But it also is the most invisible, the least understood, and in serious danger of missing out on needed future investments. In the first attempt to quantify the overall impact of the hidden U.S. energy efficiency boom, a major new report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) shows that U.S. energy consumption (as measured per dollar of economic output) will have been slashed by the end of 2008 to half of what it was in 1970, from 18,000 Btus to about 8,900 Btus.

However, the ACEEE report, The Size of the U.S. Energy Efficiency Market: Generating a More Complete Picture, concludes that "…our nation is not aware of the role that energy efficiency has played in satisfying our growing energy-service demands…the contributions of efficiency often go unrecognized. The contributions of energy efficiency often remain invisible..." The report also notes that although efficiency is a proven resource, it remains underdeveloped. "In short, the evidence suggests that efficiency can make an even larger contribution towards stabilizing energy prices and reducing greenhouse gas emissions – should we choose to fully develop it."

The ACEEE report was prepared with major support from the Civil Society Institute (CSI). Additional support was provided by the Kendall Foundation and the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association.

Key report findings include:

* Given the right choices and investments in the many cost-effective but underutilized energy efficiency technologies, the United States can cost-effectively reduce energy consumption by an additional 25-30% or more over the course of the next 20-25 years.
* Annual investments in energy efficiency technologies currently support 1.6 million U.S. jobs. The $300 billion invested in energy efficiency in 2004 was three times the amount invested in traditional energy infrastructure.
* Investments in energy efficiency technologies are estimated to have generated approximately 1.7 quads of energy savings in 2004 alone – roughly the equivalent of the energy required to operate 40 mid-sized coal-fired or nuclear power plants.
* Since 1970, energy efficiency has met about three-fourths of the demand for new energy-related services while conventional energy supply has covered only one-fourth of this demand.
* Total investments in more energy efficiency technologies could increase the annual energy efficiency market by nearly $400 billion by 2030, resulting in an annual efficiency market of more than $700 billion – and total additional investments over the period 2008-2030 of nearly $7 trillion.

ACEEE Director of Economic Analysis John A. "Skip" Laitner, co-author of the new report, said: "The greatest American success story in dealing with energy in recent decades is also the least understood and the most invisible. This report shows that energy efficiency is among the most cost-effective solutions available to consumers, businesses, policymakers, and investors. Energy efficiency has made great strides, but we need to look at picking up the pace. The energy-related challenges of the 21st century require a dramatic shift in direction – from an emphasis on energy supply to an emphasis on energy efficiency."

Lloyd Jeff Dumas, Professor of Political Economy, Economics and Public Policy at The University of Texas at Dallas, and chair, Civil Society Institute Working Group on the Economy and Global Warming, said: "In effect, energy efficiency is buying the time that America needs to develop new clean energy sources that will reduce the greenhouse gases linked to global warming. This study sends a powerful message that members of the public, elected officials, and corporations need to squeeze out even more of the potential of energy efficiency as part of a comprehensive energy strategy that looks to our future, rather than the past."

Dumas, author of Seeds of Opportunity: Climate Change Challenges and Solutions, noted that study sponsor Civil Society Institute is a co-convener of the Citizens Lead for Energy Action Now (CLEAN) Call to Action (http://www.cleanenergyaction.net) that urges, among other things, a significantly stepped-up focus on more energy efficiency.

Other Key Report Findings

* Energy savings. The report notes: "Investments in energy efficiency technologies are estimated to have generated approximately 1.7 quads of energy savings in 2004 alone. In other words, had the nation maintained the same level of energy productivity as it had achieved in the year 2003, total primary energy use in 2004 would have reached 101.8 to 102.0 quads compared to the actual level of 100.3 quads documented in the databases maintained by the Energy Information Administration.…By the end of 2008, these investments will have saved roughly 6.6 quads of energy on a cumulative basis or the equivalent of at least $77.4 billion (in 2004 dollars)."

* Energy efficiency by industry. The size of energy efficiency investments varies considerably across U.S. sectors. In the buildings sector, investments in energy efficiency totaled about $178 billion, or nearly 60% of total energy efficiency investments in 2004. Of these investments, nearly half (49%) were made in energy-efficient appliances and electronics, while 29% were made in energy-efficient commercial building structures and 22% were made in energy-efficient residential building structures. In the industrial sector, investments reached roughly $75 billion in 2004, representing one quarter of total efficiency investments for the year. In the transportation sector, investments represented approximately 11% of total efficiency investments, or $33 billion in 2004. Interestingly, this pattern of investments does not mirror the patterns of energy use across sectors. While the buildings sector accounts for 39% of total U.S. energy consumption, it received 62% of total efficiency investments. Within the buildings sector, investments in appliances and electronics (48%) far exceeded the proportion of energy consumed by these devices (8%). In the industrial sector, the proportion of investments was lower than the proportion of energy use (25% and 34%, respectively). Notably, the transportation sector also proved to be significantly unbalanced, representing only 11% of efficiency investments but 28% of overall energy use.

* Jobs by industry. The largest share of related jobs is found in the buildings sector, which generated approximately two-thirds of all efficiency-related jobs (more than one million). Within the buildings category, investments in the appliance and electronics sector generated the most jobs (more than 380,000), followed by efficiency-related jobs in residential construction and renovation (348,000) and commercial construction and renovation (332,000). Other significant levels of employment are associated with investments in the industrial sector, which generated an estimated 416,000 jobs. Investments in energy efficiency in transport were lower, generating an estimated 151,000 jobs in 2004.

ACEEE Research Associate Karen Ehrhardt-Martinez, lead author of the report, said: "While these figures indicate that, as a nation, we are clearly making positive strides toward increasing our energy productivity and reducing our carbon footprint, we have only begun to scratch the surface of the potential savings that additional investments in energy efficiency technologies could provide. While current investments in energy efficiency are having an important impact on our economy, efficiency remains under-funded, and the potential benefits of efficiency remain unrealized."

The Size of the U.S. Energy Efficiency Market: Generating a More Complete Picture can be downloaded for free at http://aceee.org/pubs/e083.htm or purchased for $30 plus $5 postage and handling from ACEEE Publications, 1001 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 801, Washington, D.C. 20036-5525, phone: 202-429-0063, fax: 202-429-0193, e-mail: aceee_publications@aceee.org.

A list of comments from experts about the ACEEE report is available at http://www.aceee.org/pubs/e083.htm.

A streaming audio replay news event will be available on the Web at http://www.aceee.org as of 6 p.m. EDT on May 15, 2008.

American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy www.aceee.org
http://aceee.org/press/e083pr.htm

...Los Angeles plans to begin using heavily cleansed sewage to increase drinking water supplies, joining a growing number of cities considering similar measures.

Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, who opposed such a plan a decade ago over safety concerns, announced the proposal ... as part of a package of initiatives to put the city, ... on a stricter water budget. The other plans include increasing fines for watering lawns during restricted times, tapping into and cleaning more groundwater, and encouraging businesses and residents to use more efficient sprinklers and plumbing fixtures.

The move comes as California braces for the possibility of the most severe water shortages in decades.

Snowfall in the Sierra Nevada, which supplies about a third of Los Angeles’s water, is short of expectations. At the same time, the Western drought has lowered supplies in reservoirs, while legal rulings to protect endangered species will curtail water deliveries from Northern California.

[In addition], Los Angeles is expected to add 500,000 people by 2030
...
San Diego and South Florida are also considering or planning to test the idea, and Orange County, Calif., opened a $481 million plant in January, without much community resistance, that is believed to be the world’s largest such facility.
...
It will cost about $1 billion to retool the water works to treat the sewage, capture more rainfall and make other improvements. The money ... will come in part from state grants and fees on polluters, though they have not ruled out increases in water bills ....

By Randal C. Archibold
FOR FULL STORY GO TO:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/us/16water.html?th&emc=th
The New York Times www.NYTimes.com
Published: May 16, 2008

The concept of "irreversibility" plays a large role in the theory and practice of environmental protection. Indeed, the concept is explicit in some statements of the Precautionary Principle. But the idea of irreversibility remains poorly defined. Because time is linear, any loss is, in a sense, irreversible. On one approach, drawn from environmental economics, irreversibility might be understood as a reference to the value associated with taking precautionary steps that maintain flexibility for an uncertain future ("option value"). On another approach, drawn from environmental ethics, irreversibility might be understood to refer to the qualitatively distinctive nature of certain environmental harms – a point that raises a claim about incommensurability. The two conceptions fit different problems. For example, the idea of option value best fits the problem of climate change; the idea of qualitatively distinctive harms best fits the problem of extinction of endangered species. These ideas can be applied to a wide assortment of environmental problems.

by Cass R. Sunstein

http://www.reg-markets.org/admin/authorpdfs/page.php?id=1464
The AEI Center for Regulatory and Market Studies, The "Reg-Markets Center" www.reg-markets.org
The Center was founded by Bob Hahn in 2008 as the successor to the AEI-Brookings Joint Center. A primary aim of the Reg-Markets Center is to gain a deeper understanding of how markets, laws and regulation contribute to economic well-being. The Center will be an independent voice in policy debates.
min/authorpdfs/page.php?id=1464
Working Paper 08-16; May 2008

2. How to be an ecological economist
Pages 1-7
by Malte Faber
Abstract: To answer the question “How to be an Ecological Economist”, we must start by defining the field of Ecological Economics. Mainstream Economics altogether lacks the concepts required to deal adequately with nature, justice and time. It was the absence of these three concepts in this otherwise great social science that led to the establishment of Ecological Economics. The interest in nature, justice and time is its defining characteristic. The main thesis of this paper is that our field is a fragile institution and that the professional existence of an ecological economist is no less fragile. However, this very fragility also represents freedom, scope for free thinking, conceptualising and research. Nevertheless, to be able to really use and in turn enjoy the full scope of this freedom, an ecological economist needs certain specific characteristics, in particular what is termed in the German philosophical tradition “Urteilskraft” and in English “power of judgement”. A description of these characteristics is developed in this paper, providing an answer to the question “How to be an ecological economist?”

3. A comment on “Economy-wide estimates of the implications of climate change: Human health”
Pages 8-13
by Frank Ackerman and Elizabeth A. Stanton
Abstract: In a recent article in this journal, Francesco Bosello, Roberto Roson, and Richard Tol make the remarkable prediction that one degree of global warming will, on balance, save more than 800,000 lives annually by 2050. They introduce enormous, controversial monetary valuations of mortality and morbidity, varying with income; they then focus primarily on modeling the much smaller, indirect economic effects of the changes in health outcomes. Their calculations, large and small, are driven by the huge projected reduction in mortality — an estimate that Bosello et al. fail to substantiate. They rely on research that identifies a simple empirical relationship between temperature and mortality, but ignores the countervailing effect of human adaptation to gradual changes in average temperature. While focusing on small changes in average temperatures, they ignore the important health impacts of extreme weather events. They extrapolate the effects of small changes in average temperature far beyond the level that is apparently supported by their principal sources, and introduce arbitrary assumptions that may bias the result toward finding net health benefits from warming.

4. Economy-wide estimates of the implications of climate change – a rejoinder
Pages 14-15
Fby rancesco Bosello, Roberto Roson and Richard S.J. Tol
Abstract:

5. Integrated hydro-economic modelling: Approaches, key issues and future research directions
Pages 16-22
by Roy Brouwer and Marjan Hofkes
Abstract: Integrated hydro-economic models aim to capture the complexity of interactions between water and the economy. Three main approaches are distinguished: modular, holistic and computable general equilibrium models. The latter top-down models counterbalance the traditional emphasis on bottom-up water engineering approaches. Key issues and future research directions in integrated hydro-economic modelling are discussed and illustrated through a variety of case study applications worldwide. Although the interaction works both ways, feedback effects of water changes on the economy and changes in the economy on the water system are often missing in practice. The link between water and ecology is another important future research direction.

6. Efficiency, equity, and sustainability in a water quantity–quality optimization model in the Rio Grande basin
Pages 23-37
by Frank A. Ward and Manuel Pulido-Velázquez
Abstract: Integrated hydrologic and economic optimization models at the basin scale provide a framework for policy design, implementation, and evaluation in water-stressed basins. Despite the considerable potential that basin scale analysis offers, few basin-wide studies have examined tradeoffs among efficiency, equity, and sustainability when analyzing the design of water resource programs. This paper develops a basin scale framework to identify hydrologic and economic impacts of alternative water pricing programs that comply with environmental regulations for protecting water quality. Key issues are examined that confront integrated hydroeconomic basin models: linking water and economics, spatial and temporal scale integration, and quantity–quality relationships. Economic efficiency is defined and measured for each of two urban water pricing arrangements that comply with urban water quality protection regulations. Alternative measures of equity are analyzed in both spatial and temporal dimensions. Sustainability is evaluated physically for protecting the water supply and financially for long-term revenue viability. The approach is illustrated from results of a dynamic nonlinear programming optimization model of water use in North America's Rio Grande basin. The model optimizes the net present value of the basin's total economic benefits subject to constraints on equity, sustainability, hydrology, and institutions. It is applied to assess impacts of a two-tiered pricing program that complies with recently implemented drinking water quality standards for the basin's two largest U.S. cities: Albuquerque, New Mexico, and El Paso, Texas. Results suggest that two-tiered pricing of urban water supply has considerable potential to perform well in meeting the aims of efficiency, equity, and sustainability. Findings provide a general framework for designing water pricing programs that comply with environmental regulations.

7. Substitution between water and other agricultural inputs: Implications for water conservation in a River Basin context
Pages 38-50
by Ximing Cai, Claudia Ringler and Jiing-Yun You
Abstract: Substitution of irrigation water with other agricultural inputs could be an important means to conserve water in the face of growing pressures on water resources from both nonagricultural water demands and environmental water requirements. This paper discusses the potential of such substitution through an empirical analysis based on a multiple-input crop production function at the field and farm scales complemented with a numerical modeling exercise at the basin scale. Results from the crop production function analysis show that under both crop yield and net profit maximization, water is a substitute to other crop inputs for high-value crops, and is a complement to water for low-valued crops. At the basin scale, an integrated economic–hydrologic river basin model is used to analyze the role of other factors in crop input substitution, including the spatial connections among water sources and demands, hydro-agronomic conditions, and institutional settings for water allocation. Results show that in the case study area, the Maipo River basin in Chile, where water is very scarce, moving from the current, input-constrained, situation to full optimization of water resources leads to an increase in all crop inputs, including water. In that case, 301 million m3 of additional water use results in additional net profits of USD 11 million. However, if the water fee is raised by a factor of eight while overall basin irrigation profits are maintained at the original, baseline level, a reduction of water withdrawals by 326 million m3 is traded off with costs of USD 43.2 million for other inputs. Irrigation districts with a high share of low-value crops have a low potential for substituting water with other crop inputs. Therefore, investments for water substitution should also be kept low in these areas.

8. Hydro-economic river basin modelling: The application of a holistic surface–groundwater model to assess opportunity costs of water use in Spain
Pages 51-65
by Manuel Pulido-Velazquez, Joaquín Andreu, Andrés Sahuquillo and David Pulido-Velazquez
Abstract: Combined hydro-economic models of river basins are fundamental tools for assessing management and infrastructure strategies to improve the economic efficiency of water use in a context of competition over scarce water resources. Integrated hydro-economic models have to be capable to properly reproduce the physical behavior of the system, with a realistic representation of the different surface and groundwater resources, including their interaction, and the spatial and temporal variability of resource availability. On the other hand, such models must incorporate the value of water for different urban, agricultural and industrial uses and users. Economic values for water use are defined according to the marginal residual value of water for production (for agricultural and industrial uses) or the aggregated willingness-to-pay (WTP) for urban supply and other final water uses. In this paper, we present a systematic approach to estimate the marginal economic value of surface and groundwater resources at different locations within a complex water resources system. Based on a holistic conjunctive optimization model applied to the Adra river system in Spain we asses the total and marginal opportunity costs of capacity and operation constraints, including the opportunity cost of imposing environmental constraints on water use as foreseen in future Spanish water policy following the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive. The resulting opportunity costs provide important information to water managers about economic inefficiencies of current water allocation policy or infrastructure design, and about the resource opportunity costs to be considered in the design of efficient pricing policies in regions with water scarcity issues.

9. Integrated ecological-economic modelling of water pollution abatement management options in the Upper Ems River Basin
Pages 66-76
by Martin Volk, Jesko Hirschfeld, Alexandra Dehnhardt, Gerd Schmidt, Carsten Bohn, Stefan Liersch and Philip W. Gassman
Abstract: This paper presents the results of the FLUMAGIS project, in which we developed a spatial decision support system (SDSS) to support the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). The modelling approach is based on the integration of ecological and socio-economic assessment methods, scale-specific and GIS-based data and knowledge modelling and visualization techniques. The project study area is the intensively cropped Upper Ems River Basin in north-western Germany. A method was developed that enables the transfer of scale-specific data and information. Analyses were performed for baseline conditions and specific management and planning scenarios to improve water quantity and quality at micro-, meso- and macro-scale. The results of the study indicate that substantial, expensive water and land management changes at different scales would be necessary to achieve the WFD water quality targets in this basin. Ecological-economic analysis of cost-effectiveness reveals that the costs of achieving certain goals of the WFD can vary more than tenfold depending on which measure is chosen out of the pool of management alternatives. Moreover, the study shows that the differentiation between landscapes and other regional characteristics although considered essential to the successful implementation of WFD measures is very data intensive.

10. Integrated hydrodynamic and economic modelling of flood damage in the Netherlands
Pages 77-90
by S.N. Jonkman, M. Bočkarjova, M. Kok and P. Bernardini
Abstract: This paper presents a model developed in the Netherlands for the estimation of damage caused by floods. The model attempts to fill the gap in the international literature about integrated flood damage modelling and develop an integrated framework for the assessment of both direct hazard-induced damages and indirect economic damages such as the interruption of production flows outside the flood affected area, as well as loss of life due to flooding. The scale of damage assessment varies from a specified flood-prone area in a river basin or a coastal region to the country's entire economy. The integrative character of the presented model is featured by the combination of information on land use and economic data, and data on flood characteristics and stage-damage functions, where the geographical dimension is supported by modern GIS to obtain a damage estimate for various damage categories. The usefulness of the model is demonstrated in a case study estimating expected flood damage in the largest flood-prone area in the Netherlands.

11. Bayesian belief networks as a meta-modelling tool in integrated river basin management — Pros and cons in evaluating nutrient abatement decisions under uncertainty in a Norwegian river basin
Pages 91-104
by D.N. Barton, T. Saloranta, S.J. Moe, H.O. Eggestad and S. Kuikka
Abstract: A Bayesian network approach is used to conduct decision analysis of nutrient abatement measures in the Morsa catchment, South Eastern Norway. The paper demonstrates the use of Bayesian networks as a meta-modelling tool in integrated river basin management (IRBM) for structuring and combining the probabilistic information available in existing cost-effectiveness studies, eutrophication models and data, non-market valuation studies and expert opinion. The Bayesian belief network is used to evaluate eutrophication mitigation costs relative to benefits, as part of the economic analysis under the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). Pros and cons of Bayesian networks as reported in the literature are reviewed in light of the results from our Morsa catchment model. The reported advantages of Bayesian networks in promoting integrated, inter-disciplinary evaluation of uncertainty in IRBM, as well as the apparent advantages for risk communication with stakeholders, are offset in our case by the cost of obtaining reliable probabilistic data and meta-model validation procedures.

12. Integrated water and economic modelling of the impacts of water market instruments on the South African economy
Pages 105-116
by Jan H. van Heerden, James Blignaut and Mark Horridge
Abstract: A static computable general equilibrium model of South Africa is adapted to compare new taxes on water demand by two industries, namely forestry, and irrigated field crops. Comparisons are made with respect to both the short and the long run, in terms of three target variables, namely (i) the environment; (ii) the economy; and (iii) equity. Since the taxes on the two industries do not raise the same amount of revenue, the target variables are calculated per unit of real government revenue raised by the new taxes (also referred to as the marginal excess burdens of the taxes). The model results are robust for moderate values of the water elasticity of demand in the two industries, in both the long and the short run. The tax on irrigated field crops performs better in terms of all three the target variables in the short run. In the long run the tax on irrigated filed crops is better in terms of water saving, but reduces real GDP and the consumption by poor households.

13. The value of the high Aswan Dam to the Egyptian economy
Pages 117-126
by Kenneth M. Strzepek, Gary W. Yohe, Richard S.J. Tol, Mark W. Rosegrant
Abstract: The High Aswan Dam converted a variable and uncertain flow of Nile river water into a predictable and controllable water supply stored in Lake Nasser. We use a computable general equilibrium model of the Egyptian economy to estimate the economic impact of the High Aswan Dam. We compare the actual 1997 economy to the 1997 economy as it would have been if historical pre-dam Nile flows (drawn from a 72 year portrait) had applied (i.e., the Dam had not been built). The steady water supply sustained by the High Aswan Dam increased transport productivity, and year round availability of predictable and adequate water sustained a shift towards more valuable summer crops. These static effects are worth EGP 4.9 billion. Investments in transport and agriculture increased as a consequence; these investments, assuming that Egypt is a small open economy, added another EGP 1.1 billion to the value of the Dam. The risk premium on the reduced variability is estimated to be EGP 1.1 billion for a modest risk aversion, and perhaps EGP 4.4 billion for a high risk aversion. The total gain of EGP 7.1 billion to 10.3 EGP billion equals 2.7% to 4.0% of annual GDP in 1997.

14. General equilibrium modelling of the direct and indirect economic impacts of water quality improvements in the Netherlands at national and river basin scale
Pages 127-140
by Roy Brouwer, Marjan Hofkes and Vincent Linderhof
Abstract: The main objective of the study presented in this paper is to estimate the direct and indirect economic impacts of water quality policy scenarios in the Netherlands focusing on the reduction of emission levels of nutrients and a number of eco-toxicological substances. For this purpose, an Applied General Equilibrium (AGE) model consisting of 27 production sectors is extended to water through the inclusion of substitution elasticities between labour, capital and emissions to water in the sectors' production functions. The macro-economic costs of a 10, 20 and 50% reduction of the emission levels in the year 2000 of ten priority substances in the EU Water Framework Directive vary between 0.2 and 9.4% of Net National Income (NNI). A large share of the total economic costs are borne by important sources of pollution like commercial shipping, the chemical and metal industry. However, important spin-off effects due to adaptation take place in the tertiary service sector. Besides the estimation of the economy-wide impacts of water quality improvements, the novelty of the study presented here is found in the downscaling of national and sector results to river basin level and the estimation of shadow prices for water-polluting substances through the introduction of an emission permits market.

15. The determinants of EST adoption by manufacturing plants in developing countries
Pages 141-152
by Ralph Luken, Frank Van Rompaey and Katarína Zigová
Abstract: This article reports on the findings of a survey undertaken in late 2001–early 2002 on the determinants of environmentally sound technology (EST) adoption by 98 plants in eight developing countries. We review the literature on technology diffusion and technology capabilities as well as empirical studies with an exclusive focus on developing countries that explicitly addressed environmental performance or EST adoption to formulate our heuristic model that guided our investigation. We examine in some detail the determinants of both prevention and abatement technologies, which has seldom been investigated, in developing countries.

In full recognition of literature that cites a host of reasons that cause plants to adopt EST we take into account both contextual and plant-specific factors. We use an ordered choice model that revealed that plant-specific factors assume a pre-dominant role in explaining the adoption of higher order of complexity EST. Plant-specific factors, specifically environmental commitment, technological capabilities, and ownership, and market factors, specifically foreign involvement and water and energy price perception, matter in determining the type of technological response and thus in explaining the adoption of higher-order complexity EST. Two governmental factors, regulatory implementation strategy and international donor assistance, also play a role in the adoption of EST. However, civil society, in particular community pressure that has been identified as an important determinant of environmental performance, does not play a role because of the way the dependent variable is constructed to capture higher orders of technological complexity.

16. What triggers environmental management and innovation? Empirical evidence for Germany
Pages 153-160
by Manuel Frondel, Jens Horbach and Klaus Rennings
Abstract: It is frequently hypothesized that environmental management systems (EMSs) may improve firms' environmental innovation performance. Whether this hypothesis is true is as critical for environmental policy as questions pertaining to the relevant incentives for (1) a firm's voluntary adoption of an EMS and (2) its environmental innovation behavior. Based on ample empirical evidence for German manufacturing, this paper addresses the simultaneity of these issues on the basis of a recursive bivariate probit model that explores the hypothesis that a facility's decision on innovation activities is correlated with the decision on EMS adoption. Our empirical results, indicating that environmental innovation activities are not associated with EMS implementation nor any other single policy instrument, reflect the perceptions of the survey respondents and, hence, should be interpreted as correlations rather than causal relationships. According to these perceptions, innovation behavior seems to be mainly correlated with the stringency of environmental policy.

17. Poverty and resource dependence in rural India
Pages 161-176
by Urvashi Narain, Shreekant Gupta and Klaas van 't Veld
Abstract: Previous studies of rural households in developing countries have tended to find that the dependence of these households on common-pool resources declines with income. Our study of households in Jhabua, India, finds a more complex relationship. Using the share of resource income in total long-run or “permanent” income as our dependence measure—which we argue is more appropriate than the short-run income-based measure commonly used in the literature—we find that for households that collect any resources at all, dependence exhibits a U-shaped relationship with income. That is, the poorest and richest households depend more on resources than households with intermediate incomes. The poorest and richest households are also found to be least likely to collect, however, indicating that resource use at the income extremes is bimodal—either zero or above average. Moreover, the observed trends for resources as a whole are not mirrored in those for individual resources. Dependence on fuelwood and dung declines with income, for example, while dependence on fodder and construction wood increases. These findings suggest that common-pool resources are a productive source of income not just for the poor but also for the rich, and that improvements in the stocks of these resources can potentially form the basis of poverty reduction efforts in these economies.

18. The economics of biotechnology under ecosystem disruption
Pages 177-183
by Diemuth E. Pemsl, Andrew P. Gutierrez, Hermann Waibel
Abstract: Economic analysis of chemical pesticide use has shown that the interactions between plants, pests, damage control technology and state of the ecosystem are important variables to be considered. Hence, a bio-economic model was developed for the assessment of Bt variety and pesticide-based control strategies of the cotton–bollworm in China. The model simulates plant growth, the dynamics of pest populations and of natural enemies. The model predictions are used as major inputs for a stochastic micro-level profit model of alternative control strategies.

Results show that: (1) productivity effects of Bt varieties and pesticide use depend on the action of natural control agents, and (2) the profitability of damage control measures increases with the severity of ecosystem disruption. The findings highlight the importance of the choice of the counterfactual scenario in the assessment of the impact of agricultural biotechnology. Also, some doubts are raised whether the high benefits of Bt cotton varieties claimed by previous studies based on cross section comparisons are realistic.

19. Using choice experiments to assess smallholder farmers' preferences for pig breeding traits in different production systems in North–West Vietnam
Pages 184-192
by Regina Roessler, Adam G. Drucker, Riccardo Scarpa, André Markemann, Ute Lemke, Le T. Thuy, Anne Valle Zárate
Abstract: Livestock form key components of the livelihood strategies of many of the world's poorest people. However, despite the potential to alleviate poverty and improve food security through livestock development interventions, the lack of smallholders' participation in the planning and design of breeding programs has often been a major cause of the failure of such programs. Particularly in developing countries where livestock production is still mostly subsistence-oriented and livestock fulfil manifold functions a considerable number of livestock breeding programs have failed. The development of adequate tools to characterise these functions, bearing in mind that these are expressed only rarely in properly functioning markets, is therefore important.

This paper seeks to advance the application of such methodologies to the smallholder pig sector in Vietnam. A choice experiment was applied across 140 households involved in pig breeding in order to assess farmers' preferences and the trade-offs for a list of adaptive and productive traits. These included growth, reproduction, disease resistance, feed requirements and appearance.

The findings indicate that smallholders highly value both adaptive and performance traits, particularly in resource-driven (i.e. subsistence) production systems. Performance traits were more highly valued in the demand-driven (i.e. market-oriented) systems. These findings have implications for breeding program breed choice and breeding objectives.

20. Trade-offs between conservation and socio-economic objectives in managing a tropical marine ecosystem
Pages 193-210
by William W.L. Cheung and U. Rashid Sumaila
Abstract: Understanding the trade-off relationships between ecological, economic and social objectives is important in designing policies to manage or restore ecosystems. Using the northern South China Sea (NSCS) as a case study, we explore the trade-offs between conservation and socio-economic objectives in managing fisheries in tropical marine ecosystems. Using a numerical optimization routine and ecosystem modelling (Ecopath with Ecosim), the study shows that current management of the NSCS is sub-optimal both in terms of conservation and economic objectives. Therefore, improvement in both conservation status and economic benefits can be achieved by reducing fishing capacity. However, the implementation of conservation plans may be hindered by the reduced number of fisheries-related jobs and the lack of alternative livelihoods. Similar trade-offs are apparent in many tropical marine ecosystems. Thus, this paper supports claims from previous studies that solving the alternative livelihood problems appears to be a priority for improving management and conservation in these ecosystems. A buy-back scheme that is funded by fishers might be effective in reducing fishing capacity. However, public funds are required if management objectives focus strongly on conservation. This might be justified by the direct or indirect benefits to society that could be provided by well-conserved ecosystems. This study highlights the conflict between maximizing conservation and social objectives, although win–win solutions between conservation and economic objectives may be possible.

Book Reviews
21. Phillip Lawn, Frontier issues in ecological economics , Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK (2007) ISBN 978 1 84542 840 2 374 pages.
Pages 211-212
by John Gowdy
22. Environmental valuation in developed countries .David Pearce, Editor, Case Studies, Edward Elgar (2006) ISBN-13:978 1 84064 147 9, 458 pages.
Page 212
by Glenn-Marie Lange
23. Susanne Stoll-Kleemann and Martin Welp, Editors, Stakeholder Dialogues in Natural Resources Management Theory and Practice XXVIII, Springer Verlag (2006) ISBN 978-3-540-36916-5 386 p. 20 illus.
Pages 213-214
by Frank Wätzold

Ecological Economics via Elsevier Science Direct www.ScienceDirect.com
Volume 66, Issue 1; May 15, 2008; pages 1-214
Special Section: Integrated Hydro-Economic Modelling for Effective and Sustainable Water Management
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=PublicationURL&_cdi=5995&_pubType=J&_auth=y&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=2db33f53d1556950baca7799008c110b&view=f

Abstract: In debating sustainable development issues such as climate changes and nuclear waste disposal, policymakers usually base their decisions on cost-and-benefit analysis (CBA), which evaluates tradeoffs between costs and benefits spanning over a century. Fundamental to this approach is the choice of an intergenerational discount rate for a society. Observable market rates, however, are mostly available up to 30 years only (e.g. US bonds), which do not necessarily reflect the long-term discount rate for a society to deal with sustainable development. A number of studies have demonstrated that a small change in the discount rate can drastically alter the CBA's outcome. This paper seeks to unveil the market's intergenerational discount rate by analyzing a very “long-lived” and inheritable asset—land property. By examining a mix of lease tenures (50, 75, 99, and 999 years) and their transactions, we found that 999-year property commands a significant premium of 5.74% over 99-year property from 1992 through 2006. The premium implies an intergenerational discount rate of 4.31% p.a. on average, which is significantly lower than the intragenerational discount rate. The discount rate so unveiled would contribute to a more informed intergenerational decision analysis, such as evaluating the cost-effectiveness of environmental legislation and assessing very long-term pollution damages in court. The result also has important implications for real estate valuation practices in China, as all land in Mainland China and Hong Kong is leasehold.

Keywords: Sustainable development; Discount rate; Land value; Land tenure
Article Outline

by S.K. Wong 1, K.W. Chau 1, C.Y. Yiu 1 and M.K.W. Yu 2
1. Department of Real Estate and Construction, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
2. The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, University College London, UK

Habitat International via Elsevier Science Direct www.ScienceDirect.com
Volume 32, Issue 3; September, 2008; Pages 283-292
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2007.08.015

Abstract: We examined the reliability of a large set of paired comparison value judgments involving public goods, private goods, and sums of money. As respondents progressed through a random sequence of paired choices they were each given, their response time decreased and they became more consistent, apparently fine-tuning their responses, suggesting that respondents tend to begin a hypothetical value exercise with relatively imprecise preferences and that experience in expressing preference helps reduce that imprecision. Reliability was greater for private than for public good choices, and greater for choices between a good and a monetary amount than for choices between two goods. However, the reliability for public good choices was only slightly lower than for the private goods.

Keywords: Valuation; Reliability; Public goods; Response time; Preference learning

by Thomas C. Brown 1, David Kingsley 2, George L. Peterson 1, Nicholas E. Flores 2, Andrea Clarke 3 and Andrej Birjulin 4
1. Rocky Mountain Research Station, U.S. Forest Service, 2150-A Centre Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado 80526 USA
2. Department of Economics, University of Colorado, Boulder USA
3. Natural Resources Conservation Service, Washington, DC 20250 USA
4. OMNI Institute, Denver, CO 80203 USA

Journal of Public Economics via Elsevier Sales Direct www.SalesDirect.com
Volume 92, Issue 7; July, 2008; Pages 1595-1606
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2008.01.004

Abstract: This study examines the cost-effectiveness of alternative methods for diffusing integrated pest management practices in Bangladesh. Methods compared include farmer field schools, field days, and extension agent visits. Farmer field school participants were more likely to adopt integrated pest management practices than recipients of messages from field days and agent visits. However, due to lower costs per participant, field days were the most cost-effective means for stimulating adoption of simpler practices and extension agent visits were the most cost-effective for extending more complex practices.

by Jacob Ricker-Gilbert, George W. Norton, Jeffrey Alwang, Monayem Miah and Gershon Feder
1. Economist, U.S. Department of Agriculture/Economic Research Service.,
2. Professor, Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics, Virginia Tech.,
3. Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech.,
4. Scientific Officer, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute., and
5. Economist, Development Research Group, The World Bank.

Review of Agricultural Economics via Blackwell-Publishing www.Blackwell-Synergy.com
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9353.2008.00403.x
Online Early 2008
doi:10.1111/j.1467-9353.2008.00403.x

...
With the shutdown this year, a slow year in 2007 and the partial closing in 2006, salmon fishermen in Oregon and California are facing the third straight year of trying to find other ways to make a living in the summer. Some have gotten out of fishing altogether, while others have tried to stretch out the winter crab season or go after typically less reliable and profitable black cod or tuna....

One fisherman said he would spend at least $15,000 to convert his boats.

In a strong season, a top-performing salmon fisherman might gross as much as $100,000. But the forecast for next year is dim, too, and questions over ocean temperatures, the health of Northwest rivers, environmental restrictions and disputes over water rights make some fishermen and economists question what kind of future commercial salmon fishing has here.
...
The number of commercial salmon boats bringing in significant catches has shrunk. Of the 1,200 or so boats licensed to fish for salmon in Oregon, only about 150 have caught more than $30,000 worth of salmon each year in the decade before 2006, according to Hans Radtke, an economist who analyzes commercial fishing in Oregon.
...
Unlike in 2006, when the partial shutdown affected only commercial fishermen, the shutdown this year also applies to recreational fishermen.
...
Wages in the new tourist/retirement community economy are much lower than they were in fishing and logging, economists said, even as housing, gasoline and grocery prices have risen.
...
Since late last summer, nearly $60 million in federal money has been dispensed to about 1,200 fishermen in Oregon and California, an unprecedented payout, according to Randy Fisher, executive director of the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, which administered the program. The direct payments have ranged from a few thousand dollars to more than $60,000 in some cases.

This year, the governors of the three West Coast states, citing what they say will be a $290 million economic loss due to declines in the number of salmon, have asked Congress to provide more disaster relief.
...
In addition, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is proposing to raise the cost of commercial fishing licenses, to $350 from $200.

by William Yardley
FOR FULL STORY GO TO:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/09/us/09salmon.html?th&emc=th
The New York Times www.NYTimes.com
Published: May 9, 2008

Abstract: Energy supply and use is of fundamental importance to society. Although the interactions between energy and environment were originally local in character, they have now widened to cover regional and global issues, such as acid rain and the greenhouse effect. It is for this reason that there is a need for covering the direct and indirect economic and environmental impacts of energy acquisition, transport, production and use. In this paper, particular attention is directed to ways of resolving conflict between economic and environmental goals by encouraging a power plant to consider co-firing biomass and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) with coal simultaneously. It aims at reducing the emission level of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in an uncertain environment, using the power plant in Michigan City, Indiana as an example. To assess the uncertainty by a comparative way both deterministic and grey nonlinear mixed integer programming (MIP) models were developed to minimize the net operating cost with respect to possible fuel combinations. It aims at generating the optimal portfolio of alternative fuels while maintaining the same electricity generation simultaneously. To ease the solution procedure stepwise relaxation algorithm was developed for solving the grey nonlinear MIP model. Breakeven alternative fuel value can be identified in the post-optimization stage for decision-making. Research findings show that the inclusion of RDF does not exhibit comparative advantage in terms of the net cost, albeit relatively lower air pollution impact. Yet it can be sustained by a charge system, subsidy program, or emission credit as the price of coal increases over time.

Keywords: Power production; Coal-fired power plant; Biomass; Refuse-derived fuel; Clean technology; Industrial ecology; Optimization; Grey programming

by Andi Setiady Ko 1 and Ni-Bin Chang 2
1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX, USA
2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA

Journal of Environmental Management via Elsevier Science Direct www.ScienceDirect.com
Volume 88, Issue 1; July, 2008; Pages 11-27
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2007.01.021

Abstract: Antimicrobial drugs are fed to hogs at subtherapeutic levels to prevent disease and promote growth. However, there is concern that the presence of antimicrobial drugs in hog feed is a factor promoting the development of antimicrobial drug-resistant bacteria. This study uses a treatment-effects sample-selection model to examine the impact that feeding antibiotics has on the productivity of U.S. hog operations. No relationship was found between productivity and antibiotics fed during finishing, but productivity was significantly improved when antibiotics were fed to nursery pigs. Restrictions on feeding antimicrobial drugs during the nursery phase would likely impose significant economic costs on U.S. hog producers.

by William D. McBride, Nigel Key and Kenneth H. Mathews Jr all Economists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.

Review of Agricultural Economics via Blackwell Publishing www.Blackwell-Synergy.com
Online Early 2008
doi:10.1111/j.1467-9353.2008.00404.x
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9353.2008.00404.x

Abstract: Cities across the United States that have considerable vacant land are debating whether to foster community gardens on that land, while cities with land shortages are debating when to replace gardens with other uses. Meanwhile, many cities are looking for new ways to finance green spaces. Little empirical evidence about the neighborhood impacts of community gardens is available, however, to inform the debate or to help cities design financing schemes. This article estimates the impact of community gardens on neighborhood property values, using rich data for New York City and a difference-in-difference specification of a hedonic regression model. We find that gardens have significant positive effects, especially in the poorest neighborhoods. Higher-quality gardens have the greatest positive impact.

by Ioan Voicu 1 and Vicki Been 2
1. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Washington, DC 20219; email: Ioan.Voicu@occ.treas.gov
2. New York University School of Law, New York, NY 10012; email: vicki.been@nyu.edu

Real Estate Economics via Blackwell Publishing www.Blackwell-Synergy.com
Volume 36, Issue 2; Summer, 2008; Pages 241-283
doi:10.1111/j.1540-6229.2008.00213.x
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-6229.2008.00213.x

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has reached an agreement with Black Beauty Coal Co., Evansville, Ind., and with its subsidiary Arclar Co., Equality, Ill., for filling in streams and wetlands without a permit while mining in Indiana and Illinois. Black Beauty Coal is a subsidiary of Peabody Energy. Black Beauty Coal and Arclar will pay a total fine of $75,000, and Black Beauty Coal has agreed to spend $292,344 to create a forested wetland near its Farmersburg mine in Indiana.

EPA alleges that over the last several years, while mining in Sullivan, Vigo and Gibson counties, Ind., and Gallatin and Saline counties, Ill., the companies' operations adversely affected ditches, streams, creeks and wetlands near their mines. About 164,179 linear feet of streams were affected at all three sites with about 17 acres of wetlands affected at the Indiana sites. The companies did not have the required permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to place fill material in the waterways. Under the federal Clean Water Act, a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is required to fill in waters of the United States.

"In order to reduce its penalty, Black Beauty Coal has agreed to carry out a supplemental project to benefit the environment," added Mathur. "It will create a forested wetland that will improve water quality by reducing soil erosion, filtering pollutants and providing habitat for animals and aquatic life."

Black Beauty Coal will create 36.3 acres of forested wetland and 5.5 acres of forested buffer around the perimeter of the wetland. Planning, design, tillage and tree planting will be completed by Oct. 31, 2010. The company will monitor the wetland for an additional seven years and place the entire property into a perpetual conservation easement held by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

Copies of the agreements with Black Beauty Coal and Arclar are available at: http://www.epa.gov/region5/publicnotices/index.htm.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) www.EPA.gov
Press Release date: May 8, 2006
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d/5048a29926cca3f285257443006f81cf!OpenDocument

Abstract: Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) vegetables will likely be commercialized in India soon. The technology could reduce pesticide residues in foods. Yet it is unclear whether consumers will appreciate this health advantage, or whether potential GM crop risks will dominate their attitudes. Using contingent valuation methods and a sample of urban households, we find that almost 60% of consumers would purchase Bt vegetables at current conventional vegetable prices, indicating a high acceptance level. The rest would purchase at a certain price discount. Strikingly, the required discount increases for people particularly concerned about pesticide residues, demonstrating that risk-averse consumers do not easily offset technology benefits against perceived risks.

by Vijesh V. Krishna11 1 and Matin Qaim 2
1. Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Berkeley.
2. Matin Qaim is a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Germany.

Review of Agricultural Economics via Blackwell Publishing www.Blackwell-Synergy.com
doi:10.1111/j.1467-9353.2008.00402.x
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9353.2008.00402.x