Social Costs of Energy [electronic resource] : Present Status and Future Trends /

Although present day politics seems to be preoccupied with questions of economic growth and full employment, the basic environmental problems stemming from the interactions of the economic sphere with global, regional and local environments persist and will have an even greater impact in the future. If economy and ecology are not reconciled in the years to come, mankind will not have a sustainable future on Earth. The typical negation of environmental problems in times of economic crisis is partially due to the fact that environmental and health damages of economic activities are neither priced nor included in our market price system. This allows politicians to focus their attention on insufficient economic indicators which do not reflect the actual development of the welfare of society. If economic lead indicators like GDP or balance of trade figures were better integrated with information on the environmental and health costs caused by the seemingly beneficial economic development, politicians might have better guidance as to what policy choices would benefit society most.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hohmeyer, Olav. editor., Ottinger, Richard L. editor., SpringerLink (Online service)
Format: Texto biblioteca
Language:eng
Published: Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 1994
Subjects:Energy industries., Waste management., Air pollution., Water pollution., Economic policy., Environmental economics., Economics., Environmental Economics., R & D/Technology Policy., Energy Economics., Waste Management/Waste Technology., Waste Water Technology / Water Pollution Control / Water Management / Aquatic Pollution., Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution.,
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-85120-9
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Summary:Although present day politics seems to be preoccupied with questions of economic growth and full employment, the basic environmental problems stemming from the interactions of the economic sphere with global, regional and local environments persist and will have an even greater impact in the future. If economy and ecology are not reconciled in the years to come, mankind will not have a sustainable future on Earth. The typical negation of environmental problems in times of economic crisis is partially due to the fact that environmental and health damages of economic activities are neither priced nor included in our market price system. This allows politicians to focus their attention on insufficient economic indicators which do not reflect the actual development of the welfare of society. If economic lead indicators like GDP or balance of trade figures were better integrated with information on the environmental and health costs caused by the seemingly beneficial economic development, politicians might have better guidance as to what policy choices would benefit society most.