Environmental Economics - Mathematics and Statistics for the Environment - page 221

10 Environmental Economics

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The NBER Environmental Economics Working Group undertakes theoretical or empirical studies of
the economic effects of national or local environmental policies around the world…. Particular issues
include the costs and benefits of alternative environmental policies to deal with air pollution, water
quality, toxic substances, solids waste, and global warming.
—National Bureau of Economic Research (2013)

10.1 ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICE AND ECONOMICS *
Environmental practitioners don't necessarily have to be economists, but they should have a basic
understanding of various economic principles. This makes sense when we consider that most envi-
ronmental decisions are based on economic considerations—a situation that is unlikely to change
in the years ahead. Moreover, it is also important to consider that maintaining or sustaining our
environment along with preventing environmental harm and correcting harmful situations cannot
be achieved without incurring some cost. Unfortunately, even the most conscientious environmental
practitioner often forgets or overlooks the financial implications when designing measures to mini-
mize environmental impact or when formulating corrective actions for mitigation; unfortunately, by
doing so, the plan may not get funded or may be underfunded.
In addition, the current trend in environmental practice (basically the mantra these days) is that
a number of long-term economic, social, and environmental trends—Elkington's (1997) so-called
triple bottom line (people, planet, profit)—are evolving around us. Many of these long-term trends
are developing because of us and specifically for us or simply to sustain us. They all follow a general
course and can be described by the jargon of the day; that is, they can be referred to by specific buzz-
words in common usage today. We frequently hear such buzzwords in general conversation (espe-
cially in abbreviated texting form)—buzzwords such as empowerment, outside the box, streamline,
wellness, synergy, generation X, face time, exit strategy, clear goal, and so on and so forth.
A popular buzzword that environmentalists and others are concerned with is sustainability , a
term often used in business. However, in environmental practice, sustainability is much more than
a buzzword; it is a way of life (or should be). The numerous definitions of sustainability are usually
either overwhelming or too vague. For our purposes, we can come up with a long definition and short
definition of sustainability. The long definition is ensuring that environmental practices and opera-
tions occur indefinitely without negative impact . The short definition is the capacity of our environ-
ment to endure . Note, however, that sustainability in environmental operations can be characterized
in broader terms than these simple definitions. Under the triple bottom line scenario, the social, envi-
ronmental, and economic aspects of sustainability can better define today's and tomorrow's needs.

* The material presented in this chapter is adapted from Spellman, F.R. and Whiting, N.E., The Handbook of Safety
Engineering: Principles and Applications , Government Institutes Press, Lanham, MD, 2010.

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