By Jonathan M. Harris The year 2023 was the hottest year in recorded history, and 2024 is on track to be even hotter. Record high temperatures have been observed on land, in the oceans and in Antarctica. Global concentrations of major greenhouse gases climbed to their highest levels ever. Huge losses of ice were recorded […]
By Brian Roach, Pratistha Joshi Rajkarnikar, Neva Goodwin and Jonathan M. Harris This module, based on Chapter 10 of Microeconomics in Context, 5th edition, provides an overview of some of the key issues on economic and social inequality, looking beyond income measures to explore inequalities based on education, health care and discrimination in the labor market. […]
By Brian Roach, Anne-Marie Codur and Jonathan M. Harris This teaching module discusses the science, economics and policy of sustainable water management. It presents current data on water stress and water scarcity around the world, and introduces the concepts of virtual water and water footprints. The module explains how economic instruments can be used to […]
By Brian Roach and Jonathan M. Harris This module is based on Chapter 19 of Harris and Roach’s textbook Environmental and Natural Resource Economics: A Contemporary Approach. It presents an analysis combining trade theory with the theory of externalities to show how the basic principles of gains from trade must be modified in a real world […]
By Erin Lennox, Jonathan M. Harris and Anne-Marie Codur This module presents an expanded circular flow analysis that takes the biosphere into account. It reviews critiques and alternatives to gross national product (GNP) and gross domestic product (GDP), emphasizing natural resource and environmental, as well as social sustainability, then discusses the implications of long-term growth […]
By Anne-Marie Codur, Jonathan M. Harris and Maliheh Birjandi Feriz Deforestation and degradation of forests and wetlands is a major contributor to climate change. At the same time, forests and other ecosystems have immense capacity to store carbon and to contribute to balancing global cycles of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases. Policies to […]
By Anne-Marie Codur, Jonathan M. Harris and Kayleigh Fay There is increasing evidence that ambitious goals to mitigate climate change, such as those set for by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change cannot be met without a substantial contribution from increased absorption of carbon dioxide by soils, forests and wetlands. This module focuses on the agricultural […]
By Brian Roach and Jonathan M. Harris This module provides thorough coverage of the issues involved in shifting from dependence on fossil fuels to renewable energy. Fossil fuel still provide about 80 percent of world’s energy. A transition to renewable energy is underway, but it needs to be accelerated to meet climate goals. Energy taxes […]
by Jonathan M. Harris, Brian Roach and Anne-Marie Codur This module, based on chapters 12 and 13 of Harris and Roach’s textbook, Environmental and Natural Resource Economics: A Contemporary Approach, discusses the scientific evidence on climate change, including recent projections on temperature and sea-level rise. It then evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of economic analysis of […]
By Jonathan M. Harris, Brian Roach, Pratistha Joshi Rajkarnikar and Neva Goodwin This module, based on Chapter 17 of Macroeconomics in Context, discusses the future of economic growth in an era of ecological limits. It includes analysis of population growth, resources and pollution, and the climate crisis. Policies for a transition to sustainability and a “green” […]