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Oil is the lifeblood of the global economy, and its misuse carries the risk of heavy economic and environmental penalties. This book is a collection of essays bearing on economic growth and environmental concerns for a world that will continue to be dependent on oil throughout the next century. Topics include the outlook for petroleum demand and supply, the potential for alternatives to a petroleum-based economy, the costs of controlling automobile emissions, the environmental costs of moving oil by tanker and pipeline, and competition issues in the production and distribution of petroleum products. The wide range of topics reflects the many different ways in which petroleum and use affect the quality of our lives. The essays are the end results of an initiative by the University of California Energy Institute and reflect careful research into the costs and benefits of the petroleum economy. Together, they offer new insights into the critical task of living with oil, for today and for the future.
Describes the economic, scientific, and social factors that will influence the future of biotechnology in agriculture. Shows that both private and public sector R&D are contributing significantly to the development of biotechnologies. A review of 23 published studies on the subject.
Changing the Global Environment: Perspectives on Human Involvement focuses on the extent of global environmental changes and the extent to which technology can be employed to improve the global environment. This book is divided into three sections. Section I sets forth a broad perspective on specific conceptual issues of concern such as the sustainable use of the global ocean; deforestation and extinction of species; large-scale alteration of biological productivity due to transported pollutants; and soil degradation and conversion of tropical rainforests. The second section discusses technologies of remote sensing, computer-based data systems, and advanced chemical analytical techniques. The interactions among social, environmental, and economic goals and the role that technological advances might play in attaining these goals are deliberated in Section III. This publication is valuable to environmentalists and students interested in how technologies can change man’s perception of the environment.
Centralized, top-down management of water resources through regulations has created unnecessary economic burdens upon users. More flexible decentralized controls through the use of economic incentives have gained acceptance over the past decade. The theme of this book is the increasing efforts throughout water-scarce regions to rely upon economic incentives and decentralized mechanisms for efficient water management and allocation. The book begins with a section of introductory chapters describing water systems, institutions, constraints, and similarities in the following regions: Israel and the Middle East, Turkey, California, Florida, and Australia. Four of these regions face similar clima...
Flexible Incentives for the Adoption of Environmental Technologies in Agriculture identifies and structures more flexible economic incentives for the achievement of environmental goals in agriculture. It provides a conceptual framework and presents case studies that analyze how flexible incentives can address environmental problems that are caused by agricultural production. The book brings together economists, agency personnel and political economists for the purpose of exploring how new cutting-edge economic tools could be developed and applied to environmental problems. The goal of the book is to complement and to expand the economic theory of environmental regulation and technology adopt...
Jan van Schilfgaarde, USDA Agricultural Research Service and National Research Council Committee on Irrigation-Induced Water Quality Problems In 1982, a startling discovery was made. Many waterbirds in Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge were dying or suffering reproductive failure. Located in the San Joaquin Valley (Valley) of California, the Kesterson Reservoir (Kesterson) was used to store agricultural drainage water and it was soon determined that the probable cause of the damage to wildlife was high concen trations of selenium, derived from the water and water organisms in the reservoir. This discovery drastically changed numerous aspects of water management in California, and especially affected irrigated agriculture. In fact, the repercussions spilled over to much of the Western United States. For a century, water development for irrigation has been a religiously pursued means for economic development of the West. The primary objective of the Reclamation Act of 1902 was, purportedly, the development ofirrigation water to support family farms which, in turn, would enhance the regional economy (Worster, 1985).