Ecologics

Drawing on the middle chapters from the first edition of J. Barkley Rosser's seminal work, From Catastrophe to Chaos, this book presents an unusual perspective on economics and economic analysis. Current economic theory largely depends upon assuming that the world is fundamentally continuous. However, an increasing amount of economic research has been done using approaches that allow for discontinuities such as catastrophe theory, chaos theory, synergetics, and fractal geometry. The spread of such approaches across a variety of disciplines of thought has constituted a virtual intellectual revolution in recent years. This book reviews the applications of these approaches in various subdisciplines of economics and draws upon past economic thinkers to develop an integrated view of economics as a whole from the perspective of inherent discontinuity.

Four hundred years after winning Secession from the Terran Empire, the star system Accord wants to sign a simple trade treaty on microchip export tariffs. But if the agreement is so minor, why is Professor Nathaniel Whaler--top economist at the Ecolitan Institute, and his world's top commando killer--chosen Accord's Envoy? Because the Imperial capital is a maddening bureaucracy of sniveling diplomats, high profile figureheads, powers behind the throne, and spies--everywhere, spies....Because the Envoy has to face red tape, politics, prejudice--and a gauntlet of kidnappers, assassins, snipers, and bombs... Because some Ministry--but which?--doesn't want the treaty. Because some in the Empire still blame Accord for Earth's poisoning and the defection of fifty star systems after the war between Imperial nuclear might and Ecolitan bio-ecological weaponry. A hidden cabal wants to fight the war again--even if, this time, the entire galaxy dies. And only Nathaniel Whaler, the Ecologic Envoy, has the power to stop the catastrophe. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The natural endowment of the Democrat Republic of Congo, in the form of land, minerals, and forests, is unparalleled. The right mix of policies has the potential to unleash incentives that could transform the economy. However, transport infrastructure in the DRC is amongst the sparsest and most dilapidated in the world, and this lack of infrastructure is likely a significant constraint to growth. This work considerably advances the information that is available to infrastructure planners, and provides methodologies that could be used to make more informed decisions to identify trade-offs between economic growth and environmental endangerment. The approach draws from the state-of the art across a variety of disciplines †“ spatial (GIS) analysis, spatial econometrics, economic theory, and conservation biology †“ to create an approach that can guide the location and level of investments by estimating benefits and environmental costs at a highly disaggregated spatial scale. The analysis proceeds in four related phases that combine economic assessments with geospatial analysis. First transport costs are estimated using GIS techniques. A variety of econometric procedures are then used to determine the economic effects of changing transport costs. Second, highly disaggregated spatial data is used to estimate the effects of roads on forest cover, and the resulting biodiversity that would be at risk from local deforestation. Next the two spatial estimates are combined to simulate the effects of different policies. Finally this provides a series of maps that identify regions where there are large trade-offs between economic and ecological goals. Overall the results suggests that the siting of infrastructure needs to consider impacts at the very outset of the planning process. This report presents both new data and new techniques that can be used to identify areas of opportunity, risk, and potential for REDD+ financing. Such upstream planning has been rendered both feasible and cost effective with the availability of geo-referenced information on forest cover and economic data. This report provides the data and easily comprehensible maps for such an exercise.

Major Jimjoy Earle Wright, secret agent of the Empire, is intelligent and highly trained. But he succeeds all too well in overthrowing a military dictatorship-and the result is a new government inimical to the Empire and disgrace for Jimjoy. After surviving two assassination attempts, Jimjoy realizes that it's his own imperial superiors who want him dead: that, in fact his worst enemies could now become his best friends. Jimjoy switches sides, joins the Ecolitan Institute and changes his identity. Now, as James Joyson Whaler, he must fight in the war for independence against his former colleagues. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The feasibility of extended flight in space has become more imminent in recent years and has increased interest in studies of the planets as possible environments for life. The existence of life on the planet Mars has been hypothesized by several authors. It is generally stated that the Martian planet would probably be the most likely planet in our solar system, other than Earth, capable of supporting life. The nature of such possible Martian life has been suggested to be similar to certain simple forms of terrestrial life. The first known attempt to test the validity of this assumption by means of laboratory experimentation was reported from our laboratory. These continuing studies on the survival and multiplication of certain terrestrial forms of life under a simulated Martian environment will be elaborated upon in this communication.