What is an Ecological Economist?

Ecological economists are not members of the community of mainstream economists and their work has been routinely dismissed or ignored by mainstream economists. The primary objective of the ecological economists is to enlarge the framework of the neoclassical economic paradigm to include scientifically valid measures of the environmental costs of economic activities. Continue reading →

A Land Economist is one who practises in the field of Land Economics.

Land economics is a branch of the economics field which focuses on the use of land and the role of land in economics. It often intersects with environmental economics, since land use policies have an impact on the health of the environment, and many land economics trade journals focus on the environmental ramifications of land use around the world. Specialists in this branch of economics work in a number of places, from university campuses to public utilities. Continue reading →

The task of a valuer is to use as many approaches as are possible under a particular set of circumstances to weigh all the evidence and determine a value that can be supported in a court of law. Continue reading →

Ecosystem goods and services in Leard State Forest found to be worth $490,000 per annum. Leard State Forest is a Grassy Box Woodland at the southern edge of Mt Kaputar National Park. Unfortunately up to 60% of this EPBC listed critically endangered community is being clear-felled for an open cut coal mine.

Apparently the NSW State Govt has completely ignored the protected status of this forest and the native vegetation clearing laws, to allow a number of majority foreign owned companies to exploit the coal reserves under it in the most surficially destructive way. They could have saved the forest by going underground, but wait, THAT option was going to cost them more money.

As Chris Hartcher, NSW Minister for Mines and Energy, says: “The O’Farrell Govt wants the mining companies to know that NSW IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS”.

Download the report here

The earth belongs in usufruct to the living.
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

Usus (Use) Fructus (Fruit)

Included in the extended definition of ‘usufruct’ attributed to Simpson and Weiner (Oxford Dictionary 1989) in Chapter 4 was a reference to Marsh (1864:35) ‘Man in Nature’, wherein he stated:

“Man has too long forgotten that the earth was given to him for usufruct alone, not for consumption”. Continue reading →