Economics is conventionally considered to be a social science that examines the allocation of scarce resources among various potential uses that are in competition with each other. As such, economics attempts to predict and understand the patterns of consumption of goods and services by individuals and society. A core assumption of conventional economics is that individuals and corporations seek t…
Humans have an absolute dependence on a continuous flow of natural resources to sustain their economic systems. There are two basic types of natural resources: nonrenewable and renewable. By definition, sustainable economic systems and sustainable human societies cannot be based on the use of nonrenewable resources, because these are always depleted by usage, a process referred to as "minin…
As noted above, sustainable economic systems can only be based on the wise use of renewable resources. However, the most common way in which humans have used potentially renewable resources is by "overharvesting," that is, exploitation that exceeds the capacity for renewal so that the stock is degraded and sometimes made extinct. In other words, most use of potentially renewable reso…
The challenge of ecological economics is to design systems of resource harvesting and management that are sustainable, so that human society can be supported forever without degrading the essential, ecological base of support. Ecologically sustainable systems must sustain two clusters of values: (1) the health of economically valuated, renewable resources, such as trees, fish, and agricultural soi…
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