Decisions about the conservation and use of natural resources are made every day by individuals, communities, and nations. The latest edition of Field's acclaimed text highlights the incentives and trade-offs embedded in such decisions, providing a lucid introduction to natural resource issues using the analytical framework of economics.

Employing a logical structure and easy-to-understand descriptions, Field covers fundamental economic principles and their general application to natural resource use. These principles are further developed in chapters devoted to specific resources. Moreover, this up-to-date volume addresses the challenge of achieving socially beneficial utilization rates in the twenty-first century amid continuing population growth, urbanization, and global climate change.

Topics new to the Third Edition include:

? implications of climate change on resources

? fracking

? energy intensity and the energy efficiency gap

? reducing fossil energy

? forests and carbon

? international water issues

? globalization and trade in natural resources

Not-for-sale instructor's resource materials available online to college and university faculty only; contact publisher directly.

Also by Barry C. Field and available from Waveland Press: Environmental Policy: An Introduction (ISBN 9781577664284).

Preface Section I Introduction 1. Important Issues in Natural Resource Economics 2. Natural Resources and the Economy Section II Building Blocks 3. Valuing Natural Resources: Willingness to Pay/Demand 4. Costs/Supply 5. Efficiency and Sustainability Section III General Natural Resource Issues 6. Markets and Efficiency 7. Public Policy for Natural Resources Section IV Natural Resource Analysis 8. Principles of Analysis 9. The Valuation of Natural Resources Section V Applied Natural Resource Problems 10. Mineral Economics 11. Energy 12. Forest Economics 13. Marine Resources 14. Land Economics 15. Water Economics 16. Economics of Agriculture 17. Economics of Outdoor Recreation 18. The Economics of Wildlife Management 19. The Economics of Biodiversity Preservation Section VI Natural Economics in Developing Countries 20. Natural Resources and Economic Growth 21. Globalization and Natural Resource