Description
Book SynopsisA number of tools for environmental analysis and decision support have been developed over time, including life-cycle assessment, substance-flow analysis, environmental impact and risk assessment. Many of these tools have different economic systems - a product, a regional substance-flow, a factory or emission pattern etc.- as their object. This book aims to reconcile and unify the many different tools for environmental analysis and decision-support into one meta-tool.
The subject of this study revolves around two problems: the attribution problem - which environmental problems are to be attributed to which economic activities; and the position problem - what is the relative position of a number of the various tools for environmental decision-support? Both these problems can be resolved by the construction of a general framework and specific methodological steps within the framework. The main focus of this study is on the methodology.
By providing a common framework for topics often treated in isolation this book enables experts from many fields, including scholars of environmental, resource and ecological economics, environmental science as well as researchers and professionals within industrial ecology, to understand the full depth and range of the material.
Trade Review'This is a refreshing study which seeks to map out environmental phenomena from the perspective of interlinked chains. The main merit lies in the systematic attribution of environmental effects to economic activities and the implications for environmental policy analysis. This book forms an extremely valuable contribution to environmental science.' -- Peter Nijkamp, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Table of ContentsContents: Preface Part I: Introduction 1. The Questions 2. The Scientific Context 3. Outlook Part II: Economic Systems 4. Introduction to Part Two 5. Economic Processes 6. On Solving the First Fundamental Equation 7. Towards Concrete Tools for Environmental Analysis and Decision-Support: Inventory Analysis Part III: The Environment 8. Introduction to Part Three 9. Environmental Processes 10. Environmental Impacts 11. The Environmental Problem 12. Towards Concrete Tools for Environmental Analysis and Decision-Support: Impact Analysis Part IV: Conclusion 13. The Answers 14. Further Reflections 15. Summary of Findings References Index
