GEOG 216 Lecture Notes - Futures Contract, Coffee Bean, Ecological Modernization
23 Jan 2013
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River turned into a dam provide electricity has become a commodity. Natural realm as distinct, measurable, quantifiable (a commodity) Seek equilibrium price in markets through supply + demand (use market mechanism) Turning into commodities appears in 70s, difficult to put a price on things. Damage rarely incorporated into the price of the commodity. Techniques of this approach are severely limited (ex: qualitative issues) Costing environmental degradation involves viewing nature as an object (nature seen outside of ppl, not integrated) Resources are socially created: demand for substance leads to a commodity w/assigned value. Naturally occurring substance that humans regard as useful/necessary. Depend on human perception, attitudes, behaviours, new techs, prices. Ex: uranium for use in nuclear power generation/med treatments. Techs exist that make substance useful (ex: sunlight for electricity) When nature becomes a commodity, a cost is incurred by the natural system (rarely fully. Private, communal, state, open access understood or counted) Been seen as green" good for business.
