1. Environment & Economy
By Curtis Wiens

2. Resources
What are various resources that the earth provides humans with?
Air
Water
Animals
Plants
Minerals
Soil
Oil
What are the ways we use these resources?

3. Natural Capital
The list of resources given and discussed is considered natural capital, being “the world’s stocks in natural assets.” Natural capital is a GOOOOOOOD THIIIIIING.

4. Economy
We need, or have uses for, resources that Earth provides. We could not continue reaping the benefits of the resources we take for granted without those resources.
Environmental improvement is not sold at a market place.
Economists try to apply various strategies of non-market valuation to environmental strategies and priorities.
Surveys of how much people would pay to protect a particular environmental asset
Inferring values by observing market prices for a particular environmental asset
Estimate partial value based on amount of economic activity associated with an asset’s use (ex. fishing rods).

5. Natural Capital Debt
Financial capital – spending too much runs you into debt.
The same principle applies to natural capital.
“If we keep drawing down stocks of natural capital without allowing or encouraging nature to recover, we run the risk of local, regional or even global ecosystem collapse.” (naturalcapitalforum.com)
Loss of resource
Loss of biodiversity
Vulnerability to natural disasters or extreme events (ex. draught)

6. Natural Capital Debt
What are a few examples of natural capital debt? How do people attempt to come back from these examples (successful or not)?
Over-hunting/fishing
Deforestation
Oil extraction
When we run into debt of natural capital in an area, it either takes human action or loooooooooots of time to replenish what has been lost (or both).

7. NATURE IS PRICELESS, NOT VALUELESS

8. Minute Earth: Ants

9. What’s the Deal With Sustainable Development???
What is sustainable development?
A method of economic development that does not overuse or deplete natural resources.
It can be sustained over a long period of time.
Examples:
Solar Energy
Wind Energy
Crop Rotation

10. Minute Earth: Cities

11. Sources
environment-economy/economic-issues/value.html