The Environmental Consequences of Growth: Steady-State Economics as an Alternative to Ecological Decline

This book presents a new perspective on the link between economic growth and environmental change. All the key issues in environmental economics are covered, including: industry, creation and environmental change; air, water and toxic pollution; economic growth and the limits of environmental regulation; and the ethics and the limits of environmental economics. The central thesis is that while new industries are necessary for economic growth, their development creates new environmental problems which become difficult to reverse. An alternative approach, "steady-state economics", based on the concept of ethical commitment, is put forward as a possible alternative to a high-growth, environmentally destructive economy. Providing a welcome alternative to conventional, neoclassical microeconomic thought on environmental issues, this will be vital reading for students of environmental economics and related subjects.