- Table View
- List View
Value of Information in the Earth Sciences
by Eidsvik, Jo and Mukerji, Tapan and Bhattacharjya, Debarun Jo Eidsvik Tapan Mukerji Debarun BhattacharjyaGathering the right kind and the right amount of information is crucial for any decision-making process. This book presents a unified framework for assessing the value of potential data gathering schemes by integrating spatial modelling and decision analysis, with a focus on the Earth sciences. The authors discuss the value of imperfect versus perfect information, and the value of total versus partial information, where only subsets of the data are acquired. Concepts are illustrated using a suite of quantitative tools from decision analysis, such as decision trees and influence diagrams, as well as models for continuous and discrete dependent spatial variables, including Bayesian networks, Markov random fields, Gaussian processes, and multiple-point geostatistics. Unique in scope, this book is of interest to students, researchers and industry professionals in the Earth and environmental sciences, who use applied statistics and decision analysis techniques, and particularly to those working in petroleum, mining, and environmental geoscience.
The Value of Species
by Edward L. MccordWe humans value a great variety of plant and animal species for their usefulness to us. But what is the value--if any--of a species that offers no practical use? In the face of accelerating extinctions across the globe, what ought we to do? Amid this sea of losses, what is our responsibility? How do we assess the value of nonhuman species? In this book, naturalist and philosopher Edward L. McCord explores urgent questions about the destruction of species and provides a new framework for appreciating and defending every form of life. The book draws insights from philosophy, ethics, law, and biology to arrive at a new way of thinking about the value of species to humanity is intellectual: individual species are phenomena of such intellectual moment--so interesting in their own right--that they rise above other values and merit enduring human embrace. The author discusses the threats other species confront and delineates the challenges involved in creating any kind of public instrument to protect species.
The Value of the Weather
by W. J. MaunderOriginally published in 1970, this book brings together the most significant and pertinent associations between man’s economic and social activities, and the variations in the atmospheric environment. Particular emphasis is placed on economic activities and the weather, economic analysis of weather and the benefits and costs of weather knowledge. In addition, some of the sociological, physiological, political, planning and legal aspects of atmospheric resources are discussed.
The Value of Values: How Leaders Can Grow Their Businesses and Enhance Their Careers by Doing the Right Thing (Management on the Cutting Edge)
by Daniel AronsonHow business leaders can grow profits and competitive advantage by doing the right thing.Acting on values—doing good for the benefit of all—can substantially benefit the bottom line, but many business leaders mistakenly believe that doing the right thing lowers profits. This belief is the greatest barrier holding businesses back from being more financially and competitively successful—and delivering more good for the world. Not only can it be a winning business strategy to act on values, as Daniel Aronson suggests in The Value of Values, but it is also a savvy choice, increasing a company&’s power, profit, and competitive advantage—in many cases with little additional investment or risk.It starts with seeing what others miss. Using extensive research and real-world calculations, Aronson demonstrates that the &“submerged value&” of initiatives such as taking bold action to combat climate change, helping people find jobs, or creating an open, inclusive work environment is normally 4 to 10 times more than initially believed. Calculating and capturing the true business benefit of acting on values provides a much-needed update to the sustainability and responsibility playbook. Even more important, it shows executives how to harness the value of values to improve profitability, acquire customers, and turbocharge their own careers.Written by a measurement pioneer and one of the world&’s foremost experts on making ethical business count, The Value of Values trains leaders to respond smartly and credibly to today&’s challenges, transforming how business can and should be done.
The Value & Purpose of Management Education: Looking Back and Thinking Forward in Global Focus
by Eric CornuelWithout a doubt, business schools have been a success story in higher education over the last 50 years (the period of EFMD’s existence). Even so, they have come under scrutiny, and attack, over their academic legitimacy and value proposition for business and society. In this book, drawn from a special issue of Global Focus, the EFMD has selected around 25 of the best, most thoughtful short papers published in Global Focus to examine the role and purpose of EFMD in the evolution of management education. Each of the chapters interpret current strategic debates about the evolution of business schools and their paradigms and also identify possible strategic options for handling uncertain, volatile futures. These papers can be broadly categorized into four consistent themes: the first theme is concerned with the purpose and value proposition of management education; the second theme focuses on a perceived need for new business models and how to design and build them; the third theme addresses the question of the impact of the business school on business and society given the increasingly academic pursuits of business schools and their often weak links to the business community – the so-called rigour/relevance dilemma; and the fourth theme concerns how to ‘map’ and design business school futures in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous crisis-oriented environment. This impressive collection of insights from business management leaders from across the globe is inspiring reading for higher education leaders, policy makers and business leaders seeking insight into the future of management education.
Values and Corporate Responsibility: CSR and Sustainable Development (Palgrave Studies in Governance, Leadership and Responsibility)
by Georgiana Grigore Alin Stancu David McQueen Francisca FaracheIn this book we capture and explore different aspects of value in corporate social responsibility (CSR). This includes the historical development of value in CSR, how value is linked to a positive vision of the future, and how it is communicated by a range of private and public organisations to various audiences. The book contrasts corporate strategic value with co-operative value, and community value in the context of sustainable development. It explains how leaders’ values can drive responsible business practice and enhance social cohesion, solidarity and resilience in fractured and unequal communities. The book asks the reader to consider what value means in CSR for business and society, where it comes from and how it is enacted, alongside its broader purpose and value to the community. Finally, the book presents CSR as a global project by noting how values are cultural and how sustainability has become an urgent international priority.
Values in Sustainable Development: Values In Sustainable Development (Routledge Studies in Sustainable Development)
by Jack AppletonTo enhance sustainable development research and practice the values of the researchers, project managers and participants must first be made explicit. Values in Sustainable Development introduces and compares worldviews and values from multiple countries and perspectives, providing a survey of empirical methods available to study environmental values as affected by sustainable development. The first part is methodological, looking at what values are, why they are important, and how to include values in sustainable development. The second part looks at how values differ across social contexts, religions and viewpoints demonstrating how various individuals may value nature from a variety of cultural, social, and religious points of view. The third and final part presents case studies ordered by scale from the individual and community levels through to the national, regional and international levels. These examples show how values can motivate, be incorporated into and be an integral part of the success of a project. This thought-provoking book gives researchers, students and practitioners in sustainable development a wealth of approaches to include values in their research.
Valuing Crop Biodiversity: On-farm Genetic Resources and Economic Change
by Melinda SmaleIn agricultural systems, a diversity of crops and varieties in essential to combat the risks farmers face from pests, diseases and variations in climate. Crop biodiversity also underpins the range of dietary needs and services that consumers demand as economies change. There is growing concern, however, about declining services that consumers demand as economies change. This book contributes to a better understanding of the challenges involved in maintaining local crop biodiversity within a rapidly changing global food system, and to policy debates related to the Convention on Biological Diversity. It provides empirical studies conducted in the field with farmers and crop scientists across a range of agricultural economies and income levels, applying economic tools and methods for valuing and managing crop biodiversity on farms.
Valuing Development, Environment and Conservation: Creating Values that Matter (Routledge Explorations in Development Studies)
by Sarah Bracking Aurora Fredriksen Sian Sullivan Philip WoodhousePolicy-makers are increasingly trying to assign economic values to areas such as ecologies, the atmosphere, even human lives. These new values, assigned to areas previously considered outside of economic systems, often act to qualify, alter or replace former non-pecuniary values. Valuing Development, Environment and Conservation looks to explore the complex interdependencies, contradictions and trade-offs that can take place between economic values and the social, environmental, political and ethical systems that inform non-monetary valuation processes. Using rich empirical material, the book explores the processes of valuation, their components, calculative technologies, and outcomes in different social, ecological and conservation domains. The book gives reasons for why economic calculation tends to dominate in practice, but also presents new insights on how the disobedient materiality of things and the ingenuity of human and non-human agencies can combine and frustrate the dominant economic models within calculative processes. This book highlights the tension between, on the one hand, a dominant model that emphasises technical and ‘universalising’ criteria, and on the other hand, valuation practice in specific local contexts which is more likely to negotiate criteria that are plural, incommensurable and political. This book is perfect for researchers and students within development studies, environment, geography, politics, sociology and anthropology who are looking for new insights into how processes of valuation take place in the 21st century, and with what consequential outcomes.
Valuing Ecosystem Services: The Case of Multi-functional Wetlands (Routledge Studies In Ecosystem Services Ser.)
by R. Kerry Turner Stavros GeorgiouEcosystem services can be broadly defined as the aspects of ecosystems that provide benefits to people. This book provides guidance on the valuation of ecosystem services, using the case of multifunctional wetlands to illustrate and make recommendations regarding the methods and techniques that can be applied to appraise management options. It provides a review of ecosystem service valuation rationale, including its importance from both a policy and project appraisal perspective, and a useful reference when considering policy and appraisal of ecosystem management options. It shows how legal obligations and other high-level management targets should be taken into account in valuation exercises, thus giving important policy context to the management options. The authors set out what they call an Ecosystem Services Approach to the full appraisal of the role of ecosystem services in the economy and society. Although concentrating on wetlands, the approaches suggested provide an assessment framework that can be applied to other types of ecosystem assets.
Valuing Ground Water: Economic Concepts and Approaches
by Committee on Valuing Ground WaterBecause water in the United State has not been traded in markets, there is no meaningful estimate of what it would cost if it were traded. But failing to establish ground water's value--for in situ uses such as sustaining wetlands as well as for extractive uses such as agriculture--will lead to continued overuse and degradation of the nation's aquifers.In Valuing Ground Water an interdisciplinary committee integrates the latest economic, legal, and physical knowledge about ground water and methods for valuing this resource, making it comprehensible to decisionmakers involved in Superfund cleanup efforts, local wellhead protection programs, water allocation, and other water-related management issues. Using the concept of total economic value, this volume provides a framework for calculating the economic value of ground water and evaluating tradeoffs between competing uses of it. Included are seven case studies where ground-water valuation has been or could be used in decisionmaking.The committee examines trends in ground-water management, factors that contribute to its value, and issues surrounding ground-water allocation and legal rights to its use. The book discusses economic valuation of natural resources and reviews several valuation methods.Presenting conclusions, recommendations, and research priorities, Valuing Ground Water will be of interest to those concerned about ground-water issues: policymakers, regulators, economists, attorneys, researchers, resource managers, and environmental advocates.
Valuing Historic Environments (Heritage, Culture and Identity)
by John PendleburyThis volume brings together an interdisciplinary team of leading scholars to discuss frameworks of value in relation to the preservation of historic environments. Starting from the premise that heritage values are culturally and historically constructed, the book examines the effects of pluralist frameworks of value on how preservation is conceived. It questions the social and economic consequences of constructions of value and how to balance a responsive, democratic conception of heritage with the pressure to deliver on social and economic objectives. It also describes the practicalities of managing the uncertainty and fluidity of the widely varying conceptions of heritage.
Valuing Natural Capital: Future Proofing Business and Finance (Doshorts Ser.)
by Dorothy MaxwellCompanies that will succeed in the long-term are integrating natural and social capital into their business model now. Natural capital, the resources and critical support services nature provides, underpins our entire global economy. Yet despite its vast social and economic value, the many benefits of natural capital are often assumed to be "free". The future shock for business is the potential for profit to be wiped out as natural capital is internalized through regulation and markets. Freshwater, forests and biodiversity are being consumed at an alarming rate, and critical support systems such as the ability to regulate climate are failing. As these and other sustainability challenges develop, businesses and their investors need to understand their role in maintaining natural capital and their natural capital risks and opportunities. The language of finance provides a useful approach for communicating trade-offs and prioritizing sustainability at CFO, CEO and board level: companies who "future-proof" now will position themselves to thrive in a resource-constrained world. They will mitigate risk, secure their resource supplies, create long-term value and enhance their resilience, reputation and competitive advantage. This book provides a succinct introduction to natural capital: what natural capital is and how it links to other capitals; the business case for using it in decision-making; where natural capital accounting and valuation fit in the sustainability and financial toolbox; and what real life early adopters of natural capital in business are doing. Views from natural capital leaders across business, finance, accounting, government, research and NGO communities illustrate the theory with practice. Included: Quotes and case examples from CFOs, CEOs and Heads of Sustainability in early adopter businesses (Kingfisher Group, Dow Chemical Company, The Crown Estate, Patagonia®, United Utilities and Marks & Spencer) and financial institutions (Inter-American Development Bank, Citi Group and Credit Suisse).
Valuing Nature: A Handbook for Impact Investing
by William GinnAs the world faces unprecedented challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss, the resources needed far outstrip the capabilities of nonprofits and even governments. Yet there are seeds of hope—and much of that hope comes from the efforts of the private sector. Impact investing is rapidly becoming an essential tool, alongside philanthropy and government funding, in tackling these major problems. Valuing Nature presents a new set of nature-based investment areas to help conservationists and investors work together.NatureVest founder William Ginn outlines the emerging private sector investing opportunities in natural assets such as green infrastructure, forests, soils, and fisheries. The first part of Valuing Nature examines the scope of nature-based impact investing while also presenting a practical overview of its limitations and the challenges facing the private sector. The second part of the book offers tools for investors and organizations to consider as they develop their own projects and tips on how nonprofits can successfully navigate this new space. Case studies from around the world demonstrate how we can use private capital to achieve more sustainable uses of our natural resources without the unintended consequences plaguing so many of our current efforts.Valuing Nature provides a roadmap for conservation professionals, nonprofit managers, and impact investors seeking to use market-based strategies to improve the management of natural systems.
Valuing the Environment: Six case studies (Environmental And Resource Economics Set Ser.)
by Jean-Philippe Barde David W. PearceThe 'Pearce Report', Blueprint for a Green Economy, puts the role which monetary evaluation of environmental costs and benefit. can play firmly into the public eye. This book goes further and looks at six countries where such evaluation techniques are applied and at the obstacles to their further use. The case studies, written by leading experts in each nation, show how these methods are being taken up in the UK, Norway and Italy and the ways in which they are already extensively in use in the USA, Germany and the Netherlands. The authors also describe the obstacles to their use, the lack of knowledge of environmental economics at government level; the competition from other government priorities; the failure of environmental groups to grasp the importance of financial evaluation to their cause. But, as this book makes clear, significant advances are being made, both in the implementation of these economic techniques and, above all, in striking and yet further developments in economic thinking.
Valuing the Environment: Six Case Studies (Environmental and Resource Economics Set)
by Jean-Philippe Barde David W. PearceThis is the second in a pair of economic texts commissioned by the OECD in the field of environmental economics; The Pearce Report: Blueprint for a Green Economy puts the role which monetary evaluation of environmental costs and benefits can play firmly into the public eye. This book goes further and looks at six countries where such evaluation techniques are applied and at the obstacles to their further use. The case studies, written by leading experts in each nation, show how these methods are being taken up in the UK, Norway and Italy and the ways in which they are already extensively in use in the USA, Germany and the Netherlands. The authors also describe the obstacles to their use - the lack of knowledge of environmental economics at government level; the competition from other government priorities; and, the failure of environmental groups to grasp the importance of financial evaluation to their cause. But, as this book makes clear, significant advances are being made, both in the implementation of these economic techniques and, above all, in striking and yet further developments in economic thinking.
Valuing U.S. National Parks and Programs: America’s Best Investment
by Linda J. Bilmes John B. LoomisThis book provides the first comprehensive economic valuation of U.S. National Parks (including monuments, seashores, lakeshores, recreation areas, and historic sites) and National Park Service (NPS) programs. The book develops a comprehensive framework to calculate the economic value of protected areas, with particular application to the U.S. National Park Service. The framework covers many benefits provided by NPS units and programs, including on-site visitation, carbon sequestration, and intellectual property such as in education curricula and filming of movies/ TV shows, with case studies of each included. Examples are drawn from studies in Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Everglades National Park, and Chesapeake Bay. The editors conclude with a chapter on innovative approaches for sustainable funding of the NPS in its second century. The framework serves as a blueprint of methodologies for conservationists, government agencies, land trusts, economists, and others to value public lands, historical sites, and related programs, such as education. The methodologies are relevant to local and state parks, wildlife refuges, and protected areas in developed and developing countries as well as to national parks around the world. Containing a series of unique case studies, this book will be of great interest to professionals and students in environmental economics, land management, and nature conservation, as well as the more general reader interested in National Parks.
Vanadium in Soils and Plants (Advances in Trace Elements in the Environment)
by Jörg RinklebeVanadium is an essential element for humans and animals. The toxicity of vanadium at higher concentrations could be a global environmental concern and a significant issue for both environmental protection and economic benefits. The relevance of anthropogenic vanadium in the environment has increased significantly in recent years due to an increased demand for vanadium in high-temperature industrial activities. This book summarizes vanadium’s current research and explains its behavior and mobilization in the environment, especially in soils, sediments, water and plants. Through case studies from various countries, it discusses critical limits set and risk assessment approaches and remediation approaches of vanadium-contaminated soils. FEATURES Provides a comprehensive overview of vanadium in the total environment Covers the role of vanadium in various environments such as soils, sediments, water and plants Includes bioavailability studies and further case studies from various countries around the world Focuses on a better understanding of biogeochemical processes of vanadium Is written by international experts who present the current stage of the knowledge including innovative remediation and management approaches of vanadium-contaminated sites This book will be of use to upper-level undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in soil science, environmental science, soil ecology, water science, plant science, ecotoxicology, geology and geography as well as scientists, lecturers, environmental and technical engineers, ecologists, applied ecological scientists and managers.
Vanadium Isotopes: A Proxy for Ocean Oxygen Variations (Elements in Geochemical Tracers in Earth System Science)
by Sune G. NielsenVanadium isotope ratios (51V/50V) have potential to provide information about changes in past ocean oxygen contents. In particular, V isotopes may find utility in tracing variations at non-zero oxygen concentrations because the redox couple that controls V elemental and isotopic abundances in seawater (vanadate-vanadyl) appears to operate around 10M O2. This characteristic sets V isotopes apart from many other metal isotope redox proxies that require more reducing conditions to register significant changes in their isotope budgets. The oxygen abundance sensitivity range of V isotopes suggests that this paleoproxy could be particularly useful in tracing marine oxygenation changes throughout the Phanerozoic and potentially beyond.
The Vandana Shiva Reader (Culture of the Land)
by Vandana ShivaThe pioneering environmental activist presents her most influential writings—with an informative introduction by Wendell Berry.Motivated by agricultural devastation in her home country of India, Vandana Shiva became one of the world's most influential environmental and anti-globalization activists. Her groundbreaking research has exposed the destructive effects of monocultures and commercial agriculture and revealed the links between ecology, gender, and poverty.In The Vandana Shiva Reader, Shiva assembles her most influential writings, combining trenchant critiques of the corporate monopolization of agriculture with a powerful defense of biodiversity and food democracy. This essential collection demonstrates the full range of Shiva's research and activism, from her condemnation of commercial seed technology, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and the international agriculture industry's dependence on fossil fuels, to her tireless documentation of the extensive human costs of ecological deterioration.This important volume illuminates Shiva's profound understanding of both the perils and potential of our interconnected world and calls on citizens of all nations to renew their commitment to love and care for soil, seeds, and people.
Vanished Giants: The Lost World of the Ice Age
by Anthony J. StuartFeaturing numerous illustrations, this book explores the many lessons to be learned from Pleistocene megafauna, including the role of humans in their extinction, their disappearance at the start of the Sixth Extinction, and what they might teach us about contemporary conservation crises. Long after the extinction of dinosaurs, when humans were still in the Stone Age, woolly rhinos, mammoths, mastodons, sabertooth cats, giant ground sloths, and many other spectacular large animals that are no longer with us roamed the Earth. These animals are regarded as “Pleistocene megafauna,” named for the geological era in which they lived—also known as the Ice Age. In Vanished Giants: The Lost World of the Ice Age, paleontologist Anthony J. Stuart explores the lives and environments of these animals, moving between six continents and several key islands. Stuart examines the animals themselves via what we’ve learned from fossil remains, and he describes the landscapes, climates, vegetation, ecological interactions, and other aspects of the animals’ existence. Illustrated throughout, Vanished Giants also offers a picture of the world as it was tens of thousands of years ago when these giants still existed. Unlike the case of the dinosaurs, there was no asteroid strike to blame for the end of their world. Instead, it appears that the giants of the Ice Age were driven to extinction by climate change, human activities—especially hunting—or both. Drawing on the latest evidence provided by radiocarbon dating, Stuart discusses these possibilities. The extinction of Ice Age megafauna can be seen as the beginning of the so-called Sixth Extinction, which is happening right now. This has important implications for understanding the likely fate of present-day animals in the face of contemporary climate change and vastly increasing human populations.
Vanishing America
by Miles A. PowellMiles Powell explores how early conservationists became convinced that the vitality of America's white races depended on preserving the wilderness. Some conservationists embraced scientific racism, eugenics, and restrictive immigration laws, but these activists also laid the groundwork for the many successes of the modern environmental movement.
Vanishing Bees: Science, Politics, and Honeybee Health
by Daniel Lee Kleinman Sainath SuryanarayananIn 2005, beekeepers in the United States began observing a mysterious and disturbing phenomenon: once-healthy colonies of bees were suddenly collapsing, leaving behind empty hives full of honey and pollen. Over the following decade, widespread honeybee deaths--some of which have come to be called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)--have continued to bedevil beekeepers and threaten the agricultural industries that rely on bees for pollination. Scientists continue to debate the causes of CCD, yet there is no clear consensus on how to best solve the problem. Vanishing Bees takes us inside the debates over widespread honeybee deaths, introducing the various groups with a stake in solving the mystery of CCD, including beekeepers, entomologists, growers, agrichemical companies, and government regulators. Drawing from extensive interviews and first-hand observations, Sainath Suryanarayanan and Daniel Lee Kleinman examine how members of each group have acquired, disseminated, and evaluated knowledge about CCD. In addition, they explore the often-contentious interactions among different groups, detailing how they assert authority, gain trust, and build alliances. As it explores the contours of the CCD crisis, Vanishing Bees considers an equally urgent question: what happens when farmers, scientists, beekeepers, corporations, and federal agencies approach the problem from different vantage points and cannot see eye-to-eye? The answer may have profound consequences for every person who wants to keep fresh food on the table.
Vanishing Borders: Protecting the planet in the age of globalization (The Worldwatch Environmental Alert Series)
by Hilary FrenchThe world is shrinking faster than ever. Goods, money, microbes, pollution, people and ideas are crossing boundaries ever more frequently. The implications for our future and for the health of the planet are profound. Vanishing Borders outlines the ecological challenges posed and then goes on to define the necessary strategies for tackling them. Presently, national governments are singularly ill-equipped for tackling transitional environmental problems-from ozone depletion to soaring trade in commodities such as timbre- problems which are climbing ever higher on the international political agenda. Industrial and developing countries are on a collision course over climate change, and water shortages are creating tensions in several parts of the world. The author argues that only a worldwide commitment to strengthening treaties and institutions needed to integrate ecological considerations into the rules of global commerce holds out hope. Over 200 international environmental treaties exist but most need more stringent conditions and enforcement, and continuing support from NGO and business communities. Significantly, the digital revolution, integral in itself to processes to globalization, offers channels through which powerful coalitions can effect change. The book provides a compelling and accessible analysis and a clear plan of action in pursuit of environmental stability. Originally published in 2000
The Vanishing Countryman (Routledge Revivals)
by G. E. MingayFirst published in 1989, The Vanishing Countryman investigates how farmers, farm workers, and other country crafts- and tradespeople have fared in response to significant changes across the British countryside in the past one hundred years. The book explores the move towards large-scale and capital-intensive farming, and the conflict between increased production and damage to the environment. It looks at the decline in the number of farm workers, crafts- and tradespeople. It also considers the changes in social composition across country villages and the impact that this has had on living standards, housing, and transport. The Vanishing Countryman will appeal to those with an interest in rural and social history, and in the history of the British countryside specifically.