This book is intended as a response to the recent explosion of interest, both popular and scientific, in resource (especially energy) and environmental issues. I sought to deal with some of these issues in two recent survey articles, one in the Journal of Economic Literature (“The Environment in Economics”) and one in the Economic Journal (“The Exploitation of Extractive Resources”). This book was originally conceived as an extension, but I soon came to realize that the survey format would not be adequate for the needs of students and others wishing to examine the detailed empirical findings and learn something of the structures and solutions of economic models used to address the issues. The book in its present form seeks to provide a self-contained development of selected portions of this material. However, the purpose originally conceived for the book has not been totally sacrificed. Footnotes and an extensive list of references at the end of the book serve as guides to the literature for those interested in further study of the questions treated here, as well as related questions not considered here. For the most part, references are cited in the text only when they are relevant to discussion of various positions on a controversial issue.

Why this particular book? Other books dealing with resources and the environment have appeared in recent years, but I believe this one offers some distinctive, even unique, features. First, it is almost evenly divided between the topics of resources and the environment.