Download or read book Post Cowboy Economics written by Thomas Michael Power and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2001-07 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A great deal of reactionary political fire in the Mountain West has been aimed at environmental protection measures that are perceived to have destroyed or diminished the livelihoods of long-time residents. Conventional wisdom sees the economic woes afflicting the region -- declining pay, growing inequality, persistent poverty -- as a direct result of increasingly strict environmental regulations that have crippled natural resource industries such as mining and logging.In Post-Cowboy Economics, economists Thomas Michael Power and Richard Barrett provide a new interpretation of the economy of the Mountain West. Based on evidence from a wide variety of sources, including data on individual employment and income histories of more than 300,000 residents, they clearly demonstrate that the region's economic misfortunes are not the result of changes in regional industrial structure but rather are local manifestations of pervasive national and international trends. The authors: discuss and critique entrenched conventional wisdom and its policy implications present an empirical analysis of changes in the region offer a new interpretation of events affecting the regional economy set forth public policies that will work to protect and enhance the economic well-being of its residents and communitiesThe authors' analysis and interpretation make a compelling case that despite incomes that are low compared to the rest of the country, the region is not suffering from general impoverishment, and that environmental protection, rather than threatening economic well-being, enhances welfare and protects the very source of the economic vitality that the Mountain West enjoys. Throughout, they argue that fearful, crisis driven environmental and economic development policies are unnecessary and inappropriate, and often counterproductive.Post-Cowboy Economics is an important work for professionals and scholars involved with environmental policy, economic development, and resource management, as well as anyone interested in the future of the American West."
Download or read book A Brighter Future written by Richard Holt and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-12-18 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the United States continues its slow climb out of the Great Recession, it is important to focus on new directions to improve the standard of living in America. This book explores what is behind a faltering standard of living in the United States since the early 1980s and what can be done to restore it. The book is uniquely valuable in going beyond mainstream thinking about how to restore prosperity. Economics has traditionally equated economic growth (increases in per capita income) with improvements in quality of life and the standard of living. This book questions that assumption. The different chapters in the book show the standard of living as being more than income, to include many non-market aspects such as access to public goods (roads, clean air and water, schools, parks, and museums), intangible aspects of quality of life such as equity and a sense of community, and broadly based economic opportunities. This means that improving the standard of living is a multi-dimensional challenge rather than one of solely increasing aggregate demand, productivity, or GDP. This book embodies a pluralistic approach and draws on the expertise of a wide array of thinkers. The intended audience is for various courses offered in economics, sociology, political science, public policy programs, and in environmental and ecological studies.
Download or read book Accounting for Mother Nature written by Terry Lee Anderson and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In turn, the contributors explore the role that private individuals and organizations can play in protecting natural and agrarian landscapes."--BOOK JACKET.
Download or read book Investigating Quality of Urban Life written by Robert W. Marans and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-08-31 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study of quality of urban life involves both an objective approach to analysis using spatially aggregated secondary data and a subjective approach using unit record survey data whereby people provide subjective evaluations of QOL domains. This book provides a comprehensive overview of theoretical perspectives on QOUL and methodological approaches to research design to investigate QOUL and measure QOL dimensions. It incorporates empirical investigations into QOUL in a range of cities across the world.
Download or read book Amenities and Rural Development written by Gary P. Green and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While many rural areas continue to experience depopulation and economic decline, others are facing rapid in migration, as well as employment and income growth. Much of this growth is due to the presence and use of amenity resources, broadly defined as qualities of a region that make it an attractive place to live and work. Rather than extracting natural resources for external markets, these communities have begun to build economies based on promoting environmental quality. Amenities and Rural Development explores the paradigmatic shift in how we view land resources and the potential for development in amenity-rich rural regions.
Download or read book New Geographies of the American West written by William Riebsame Travis and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2007-05-11 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reconciling explosive growth with often majestic landscape defines New Geographies of the American West. Geographer William Travis examines contemporary land use changes and development patterns from the Mississippi to the Pacific, and assesses the ecological and social outcomes of Western development. Unlike previous "boom" periods dependent on oil or gold, the modern population explosion in the West reflects a sustained passion for living in this specific landscape. But the encroaching exurbs, ranchettes, and ski resorts are slicing away at the very environment that Westerners cherish. Efforts to manage growth in the West are usually stymied at the state and local levels. Is it possible to improve development patterns within the West's traditional anti-planning, pro-growth milieu, or is a new model needed? Can the region develop sustainably, protecting and managing its defining wildness, while benefiting from it, too? Travis takes up the challenge , suggesting that functional and attractive settlement can be embedded in preserved lands, working landscapes, and healthy ecologies.
Download or read book Handbook of Regional Growth and Development Theories written by Roberta Capello and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2019 with total page 688 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Regional economics – an established discipline for several decades – has undergone a period of rapid change in the last ten years resulting in the emergence of several new perspectives. At the same time the methodology of regional economics has also experienced some surprising developments. This fully revised and updated Handbook brings together contributions looking at new pathways in regional economics, written by many well-known international scholars. The aim is to present the most cutting-edge theories explaining regional growth and local development. The authors highlight the recent advances in theories, the normative potentialities of these theories and the cross-fertilization of ideas between regional and mainstream economists. It will be an essential source of reference and information for both scholars and students in the field.
Download or read book Environmental Politics and Policy in the West Revised Edition written by Zachary A. Smith and published by University Press of Colorado. This book was released on 2007-08-30 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Population growth and industrial development have put the wide-open spaces and natural resources that define the West under immense stress. Vested interests clash and come to terms over embattled resources such as water, minerals, and even open space. The federal government controls 40 to 80 percent of the land base in many western states; its sway over the futures of the West's communities and environment has prompted the development of unique policies and politics in the West. Zachary A. Smith and John Freemuth bring together a roster of top scholars to explicate the issues noted above as well as other key questions in this new edition of Environmental Politics and Policy in the West, which was first published in 1993. This thoroughly revised and updated edition offers a comprehensive and current survey. Contributors address the policy process as it affects western states, how bureaucracy and politics shape environmental dialogues in the West, how western states innovate environmental policies independently of Washington, and how and when science is involved (or ignored) in management of the West's federal lands. Experts in individual resource areas explore multifaceted issues such as the politics of dam removal and restoration, wildlife resource concerns, suburban sprawl and smart growth, the management of hard-rock mining, and the allocation of the West's tightly limited water resources. Contributors include: Leslie R. Alm, Carolyn D. Baber, Walter F. Baber, Robert V. Bartlett, Hugh Bartling, Matthew A. Cahn, R. McGreggor Cawley, Charles Davis, Sandra Davis, John C. Freemuth, Sheldon Kamieniecki, Matt Lindstrom, William R. Mangun, Denise McCain-Tharnstrom, Daniel McCool, Jaina L. Moan, and Zachary A. Smith.
Download or read book The Battle for Yellowstone written by Justin Farrell and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2017-02-28 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Yellowstone holds a special place in America's heart. As the world's first national park, it is globally recognized as the crown jewel of modern environmental preservation. But the park and its surrounding regions have recently become a lightning rod for environmental conflict, plagued by intense and intractable political struggles among the federal government, National Park Service, environmentalists, industry, local residents, and elected officials. The Battle for Yellowstone asks why it is that, with the flood of expert scientific, economic, and legal efforts to resolve disagreements over Yellowstone, there is no improvement? Why do even seemingly minor issues erupt into impassioned disputes? What can Yellowstone teach us about the worsening environmental conflicts worldwide? Justin Farrell argues that the battle for Yellowstone has deep moral, cultural, and spiritual roots that until now have been obscured by the supposedly rational and technical nature of the conflict. Tracing in unprecedented detail the moral causes and consequences of large-scale social change in the American West, he describes how a "new-west" social order has emerged that has devalued traditional American beliefs about manifest destiny and rugged individualism, and how morality and spirituality have influenced the most polarizing and techno-centric conflicts in Yellowstone's history. This groundbreaking book shows how the unprecedented conflict over Yellowstone is not all about science, law, or economic interests, but more surprisingly, is about cultural upheaval and the construction of new moral and spiritual boundaries in the American West.
Download or read book Factfulness written by Hans Rosling and published by Flatiron Books. This book was released on 2018-04-03 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “One of the most important books I’ve ever read—an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.” – Bill Gates “Hans Rosling tells the story of ‘the secret silent miracle of human progress’ as only he can. But Factfulness does much more than that. It also explains why progress is so often secret and silent and teaches readers how to see it clearly.” —Melinda Gates "Factfulness by Hans Rosling, an outstanding international public health expert, is a hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases." - Former U.S. President Barack Obama Factfulness: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts. When asked simple questions about global trends—what percentage of the world’s population live in poverty; why the world’s population is increasing; how many girls finish school—we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers. In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and global TED phenomenon Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators, Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens. They reveal the ten instincts that distort our perspective—from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of us and them) to the way we consume media (where fear rules) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse). Our problem is that we don’t know what we don’t know, and even our guesses are informed by unconscious and predictable biases. It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. That doesn’t mean there aren’t real concerns. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most. Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world and empower you to respond to the crises and opportunities of the future. --- “This book is my last battle in my life-long mission to fight devastating ignorance...Previously I armed myself with huge data sets, eye-opening software, an energetic learning style and a Swedish bayonet for sword-swallowing. It wasn’t enough. But I hope this book will be.” Hans Rosling, February 2017.
Download or read book Wetlands written by Sharon L. Spray and published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This book was released on 2004-02-16 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of the Exploring Environmental Challenges: A Multidisciplinary Approach series is to publish a collection of short texts that each explore a specific environmental issue and describe the methodologies, theories, and findings pertaining to that issue from both natural and social science perspectives. Each text contains three natural science essays, three social science essays, and a concluding essay. Intended for introductory environmental studies courses, these balanced, thoughtful, and rigorous texts aim to provide students with a deeper understanding of the relationship between people and their environment, and to serve as a foundation for further inquiry and discussion. Wetlands introduces students to the natural ecological functions and policy issues of wetlands so they will have a solid understanding of why these ecosystems are necessary and why their governance remains a significant environmental challenge. Although not a comprehensive overview on wetlands, it does provide background material for a more comprehensive investigation into the science behind and the management of these ecosystems.
Download or read book American bison status survey and conservation guidelines 2010 written by and published by IUCN. This book was released on 2010 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Vacationland written by William Philpott and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2013-08-30 with total page 517 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Western Writers of America 2014 Spur Award for Best Western Nonfiction, Contemporary Mention the Colorado high country today and vacation imagery springs immediately to mind: mountain scenery, camping, hiking, skiing, and world-renowned resorts like Aspen and Vail. But not so long ago, the high country was isolated and little visited. Vacationland tells the story of the region's dramatic transformation in the decades after World War II, when a loose coalition of tourist boosters fashioned alluring images of nature in the high country and a multitude of local, state, and federal actors built the infrastructure for high-volume tourism: ski mountains, stocked trout streams, motels, resort villages, and highway improvements that culminated in an entirely new corridor through the Rockies, Interstate 70. Vacationland is more than just the tale of one tourist region. It is a case study of how the consumerism of the postwar years rearranged landscapes and revolutionized American environmental attitudes. Postwar tourists pioneered new ways of relating to nature, forging surprisingly strong personal connections to their landscapes of leisure and in many cases reinventing their lifestyles and identities to make vacationland their permanent home. They sparked not just a population boom in popular tourist destinations like Colorado but also a new kind of environmental politics, as they demanded protection for the aesthetic and recreational qualities of place that promoters had sold them. Those demands energized the American environmental movement-but also gave it blind spots that still plague it today. Peopled with colorful characters, richly evocative of the Rocky Mountain landscape, Vacationland forces us to consider how profoundly tourism changed Colorado and America and to grapple with both the potential and the problems of our familiar ways of relating to environment, nature, and place.
Download or read book Geographical Perspectives on Sustainable Rural Change written by and published by Rural Development Institute. This book was released on 2010 with total page 523 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book focuses on three multi-faceted aspects of rural sustainability: farms and farming, the remaking of rural communities and rural spaces, and policy and action in rural development. The research is focused on three global regions: North America, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and Australia."--back cover.
Download or read book People Places and Landscapes written by Richard S. Krannich and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-05-30 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is a cogent empirical analysis of the interplay between a region’s natural amenities and its socioeconomic evolution. It focuses on the rural sectors of America’s Intermountain West region, which lies between the Cascades and Sierra Nevada mountains to the west and the Rocky Mountains to the east. Coherently structured and meticulously detailed, it adds much to our understanding of the ways an area’s forests, lakes, mountains, parkland and historic attractions affect residents’ sense of well-being as well as the sociodemographic and economic changes they experience. The book examines patterns of growth and change linked to the emergence of ‘New West’ conditions, assessing their implications for the wider community as well as discussing the impact these trends could have on the consumption of natural resources. It also points to ways in which communities and their development can be managed sustainably. The tight geographical focus of this valuable resource ensures a depth of analysis which can be applied to similar regions worldwide. Based on a large-scale, random-sample survey of both full-time and seasonal residents, it provides a much-needed overview of the macro-level economic, demographic, and social transformations affecting rural communities in America. As such, the book has relevance for all researchers concerned with rural development, the changes impacting rural landscapes, and natural resource management.
Download or read book Grassroots written by Courtney White and published by Dog Ear Publishing. This book was released on 2017-05-12 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the mid-1990s, news headlines featured political gridlock, anti-government fanaticism, political assaults on environmental regulations, local demands to turn over federal land to the states, ‘patriotic’ armed militia groups, courtroom brawls between activists and rural residents over endangered species, finger-pointing and trash-talking generally. Sound familiar? It’s said that history doesn’t repeat itself, but rhymes instead. Fortunately, if problems are cyclical so are solutions. I’d like to share one that we came up with back then. It’s called the radical center. This is the story of its rise. I’m a former Sierra Club activist who dropped out of the ‘conflict industry’ in 1997 to cofound The Quivira Coalition, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering common ground between ranchers, conservationists, public land managers, and scientists. Our effort focused on resolving the long-standing feud between ranchers and environmentalists, a hopeless fight that had imperiled the wide open spaces of our beloved West. Our idea was to find a ‘third way’ beyond the polarization in order to implement practical, on-the-ground goals through collaboration, not confrontation. We called it the radical center and defined its mission as “a grassroots coming-together of diverse people to discuss their common interests rather than argue their differences and who agree to work cooperatively on a pragmatic program of action that improves the well-being of all living things.” Included in this book are three columns that I wrote over a period of nearly twenty years: The Uneasy Chair (1995-1997) which was published in the newsletter of the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club, The Far Horizon (1997-2006) for the newsletter of the Quivira Coalition, and The Next West (2009-2011), which I wrote for my web site. Taken together, I believe they offer a unique look at the times from the perspective of someone on the front lines. ~ Courtney White
Download or read book No Communication with the Sea written by Tim Sullivan and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2010-11-15 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few other places in the United States are as high, dry, sparsely inhabited—and urbanized—as the Great Basin of Utah and Nevada. The great majority of the population of this rapidly growing region lives in the two metropolitan areas at its edges, Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Front, and Reno and the Truckee Meadows. These cities embody the allure and the challenge of the contemporary American West, deemed by some “The New American Heartland.” No Communication with the Sea is a journey through this urbanizing Great Basin landscape. Here, the land fosters illusions of limitless space and resources, but its space and resources are severely limited; its people live clustered in cities but are often reluctant to embrace urbanity. These tensions led journalist and urban planner Tim Sullivan to explore the developing centers and edges of the Great Basin cities and the ways some are trying to build livable and sustainable urban environments. In this highly readable book of creative nonfiction, Sullivan employs a variety of methods—including interviews, research, travelogues, and narrative—to survey the harsh landscape for clues to the ways cities can adapt to their geography, topography, ecology, hydrography, history, and culture. No Communication with the Sea embarks on a quest for a livable future for the heart of the interior West. In the process, it both unearths the past and ponders the present and future Great Basin cities.
