Max S. Dunn

Book: Blueprint for a Sustainable Economy

Posted by: Max Dunn on August 9, 2009 15:41:37

Blueprint for a Sustainable Economy
by David Pearceand Edward B Barbier

When some books are finished, we have a clear idea exactly what they are about. Others discuss so many different things that it is harder to pinpoint their message. BluePrint for a Sustainable Economy falls into the later category.

Maybe some excerpts from the conclusion of this book can best summarize it:

"Everything we do has an environmental impact, and economic decisions pervade all that we do. Ultimately, the prospects for the natural environments some 100 years hence are not good. We can do the best we can, and that means addressing all those issues that are the subject of policy decisions by households, corporations and governments. That means getting rid of perverse subsidies, establishing property rights to the environment, creating markets, taxing polluters (and that is all of us), and changing our accounting systems. We know what we need to do. We need to get on and do it."

This book was rather academic, and at times a little slow. But overall, it was a pretty interesting read and covered some great topics that will be very useful for moving towards a more sustainable economy.