One world, one experiment: addressing the biodiversity--economics conflict

Abstract The self-organizing principles of markets that have emerged in human cultures over the past 10 000 years are inherently in conflict with the self-organizing principles of ecosystems that have evolved over the past 3.5 billion years. The rules governing the dynamics of ecosystems, within which all human activity takes place, are ultimately a function of biological laws, not a function of human-created economic systems. The conflict between these systems is illustrated by the fact that economic indicators have shown vigorous growth during the last century while a variety of environmental indicators have exhibited negative trends. Ultimately, however, the growth of human economies faces the constraints that limit all biological systems. In this article we outline the bases for the conflict between biological and economic activity and suggest policy approaches that will enhance the chances for creating cultures that are economically and environmentally sustainable.

[1]  N. Georgescu-Roegen.  The Entropy Law and the Economic Process , 1973 .

[2]  Charles C. Mann,et al.  The high cost of biodiversity. , 1993, Science.

[3]  A. Schnaiberg,et al.  Environment and Society the Enduring Conflict , 1994 .

[4]  N. Middleton.  Drought follows the plow: M H Glantz (ed) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1994) 197 pp £25.00 hardback; £12.95 paperback , 1995 .

[5]  John M. Gowdy,et al.  Coevolutionary Economics: The Economy, Society and the Environment , 1994 .

[6]  J. Lawton,et al.  Declining biodiversity can alter the performance of ecosystems , 1994, Nature.

[7]  C. Walters,et al.  Uncertainty, resource exploitation, and conservation: lessons from history. , 1993, Science.

[8]  E. Streller.  [De gustibus (non) est disputandum]. , 1962, Rontgen- und Laboratoriumspraxis.

[9]  D. Meadows,et al.  Beyond the Limits , 1992 .

[10]  Victor S. Kennedy,et al.  The estuary as a filter , 1984 .

[11]  N. Myers.  The Sinking Ark: A New Look at the Problem of Disappearing Species , 1979 .

[12]  G. Hardin,et al.  The Tragedy of the Commons , 1968, Green Planet Blues.

[13]  Michael Taylor.  Diversity of life , 1994, Nature.

[14]  Herman E. Daly,et al.  Allocation, distribution, and scale: towards an economics that is efficient, just, and sustainable , 1992 .

[15]  Clive Ponting,et al.  A green history of the world , 1991 .

[16]  Trevor Pinch,et al.  Book-Review - the Golem - what Everyone Should Know about Science , 1993 .

[17]  M. Sagoff.  The Economy of the Earth: Philosophy, Law, and the Environment , 1988 .

[18]  S. Pimm.  The Balance of Nature?: Ecological Issues in the Conservation of Species and Communities , 1992 .

[19]  Paul R. Ehrlich,et al.  Termination of Pregnancy bill , 1966 .

[20]  M. Friedman,et al.  Capitalism and Freedom. , 1963 .

[21]  Douglas E. Booth.  Valuing Nature: The Decline and Preservation of Old-Growth Forests , 1993 .

[22]  J. Bongaarts.  Population policy options in the developing world. , 1994, Science.

[23]  C. Nilsson,et al.  Fragmentation and Flow Regulation of River Systems in the Northern Third of the World , 1994, Science.

[24]  John F. Richards,et al.  The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution.@@@The Earth as Transformed by Human Action: Global and Regional Changes in the Biosphere Over the Past 300 Years. , 1993 .

[25]  D. Pimentel,et al.  CONSERVING BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY IN AGRICULTURAL/FORESTRY SYSTEMS , 1992 .

[26]  D. Orr.  Ecological literacy : education and the transition to a postmodern world , 1991 .

[27]  Paul R. Ehrlich,et al.  Population, Sustainability And Earth's Carrying Capacity , 1992 .

[28]  W. Reid,et al.  Keeping Options Alive: The Scientific Basis for Conserving Biodiversity , 1989 .

[29]  Steven L. Yaffee,et al.  The Wisdom of the Spotted Owl: Policy Lessons For A New Century , 1994 .

[30]  E. Schrödinger.  What Is Life , 1946 .

[31]  J. B. Callicott,et al.  The river of the mother of God and other essays , 1992 .

[32]  J. Kasting,et al.  Effects of fuel and forest conservation on future levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. , 1992, Global and planetary change.

[33]  N. Hanley,et al.  Cost–Benefit Analysis and the Environment , 1993 .

[34]  L. Harris,et al.  Everglades: The Ecosystem and its Restoration. , 1995 .

[35]  V. Geist.  Wildlife conservation as wealth , 1994, Nature.

[36]  P. Ehrlich,et al.  Biodiversity Studies: Science and Policy , 1991, Science.

[37]  R. S. D. Motta.  Economics of natural resources and the environment , 1990 .

[38]  James Gleick,et al.  Chaos, Making a New Science , 1987 .

[39]  M. Glantz.  Drought follows the plow : cultivating marginal areas , 1994 .

[40]  Steven M. Davis,et al.  Everglades. The Ecosystem and Its Restoration , 1995 .

[41]  D. Klein.  The introduction, increase, and crash of reindeer on St. Matthew Island. , 1968 .

[42]  J. Downing,et al.  Biodiversity and stability in grasslands , 1996, Nature.

[43]  R. Krauss,et al.  American Institute of Biological Sciences , 1968 .

[44]  B Robey,et al.  The fertility decline in developing countries. , 1993, Scientific American.

[45]  Pamela A. Matson,et al.  HUMAN APPROPRIATION OF THE PRODUCTS OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS , 1986 .

[46]  G. R. Corey,et al.  Discounting for Time and Risk in Energy Policy , 1982 .

[47]  T. Homer-Dixon,et al.  Environmental change and violent conflict : growing scarcities of renewable resources can contribute to social instability and civil strife , 1993 .

[48]  Susan C. Walls,et al.  UV repair and resistance to solar UV-B in amphibian eggs: a link to population declines? , 1994, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[49]  J. Kerr,et al.  Evidence for Large Upward Trends of Ultraviolet-B Radiation Linked to Ozone Depletion , 1993, Science.

[50]  Edward H. Graham,et al.  Resource Conservation: Economics and Policies , 1953 .

[51]  A. Leopold.  Some Fundamentals of Conservation in the Southwest , 1979 .

[52]  N. Keyfitz,et al.  The growing human population. , 1989, Scientific American.