I am an environmental economist – but what does that mean? When people ask me what I do for a living I tell them I am an environmental economist with Ohio State University Extension. In response, I get a lot of intense reactions generally involving a combination of: (a) that sounds impressive! and (b) what does an environmental economist do? Whether it is impressive is a matter of one’s perspective and is subject to debate at another time and place, so let’s instead go over what environmental economics is all about.
Name any environmental topic you have ever thought of or read about. There’s recycling, global climate change, pollution, preservation of sensitive lands, fracking, water quality, endangered species; the list goes on and on. Now consider that any time you discuss one of these topics or read about any of them, you might initially focus on some of the technical, physical or biological issues at the center, but it will not take very long before you begin to address the economic dimension. It is simply unavoidable. Try it and see.
Take the issue of climate change . . . read complete article.
(Submitted by Tom Blaine, Associate Professor)