SYLLABUS
APEC/ECON 810 – Natural Resources Management and Policy
FALL 2004
Instructor: Dr. James B. London
Office: 143 Lee Hall
Telephone: 656-3927/26
E-mail: london1@clemson.edu
Office Hours: 9:30 - 11:30 and 2:30-4:00 MW, or by appointment
Class Meetings: 1:15 MWF, Small Conference Room, STI
Course Description: The course will be taught in an interdisciplinary fashion addressing the institutional, economic, and legal issues related to natural resource allocation. The course will begin with a conceptual overview of key issues and trace the evolution of natural resource policy development. The primary focus will be on the U.S. experience followed by an examination of global resource issues and policy development. Particular attention will be given to options and tools for affecting resource allocation and environmental quality. Specific policy issues addressed will include water resources, air pollution, waste management, energy and climate change. These issues will be discussed and policy prescriptions to deal with these issues will be examined. Students will select an individual topic area and prepare a background paper. That paper will examine the relevant issues and current policy and provide a policy framework and viable policy recommendations.
Required Texts: Paul R. Portney and Robert N. Stavins. eds. Public Policies for Environmental Protection. Washington, DC: Resources for the Future, 2000.
Thomas Sterner. Policy Instruments for Environmental and Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: Resources for the Future, 2003.
Vaclav Smil. Energy at the Crossroads. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2003.
Supplementary Texts: William J. Baumol & Wallace E. Oates. The Theory of Environmental Policy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
David W. Pearce and R. Kerry Turner. Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990.
Tom Tietenberg. Environmental Economics and Policy. New York: Harper Collins College Publishers, 1994.
Thomas Prugh. Natural Capital and Human Economic Survival. Solomans. MD: International Society for Ecological Economics, 1995.
Zachary A. Smith. The Environmental Policy Paradox. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2000.
Course Schedule:
Week of . . . Week’s Discussion Topic/Reading Assignment
August 16 Introduction
Garrett Hardin, "Tragedy of the Commons."
Kenneth Boulding, "The Economics of the Coming Spaceship Earth."
August 23 Historical Perspective/The Use of Science
Timothy O’Riordan, Environmentalism, Chapter 2.
Zachary A. Smith, “The Public and Environmental Awareness,” in The Environmental Policy Paradox.
James Wilson and JW Anderson. “What the Science Says: How We Use It and Abuse It to Make Health and Environmental Policy.”
Robert W. Fri. “Using Science Soundly: The Yucca Mountain Standard.”
Thomas Sterner, Policy Instruments for Environmental and Natural Resource Management,Chapter 1.
.
August 30 The Role of Government in Natural Resource Allocation
Milton Friedman, “The Role of Government in a Free Society.”
Tietenburg, “Rights, Rents, and Remedies,” in Environmental Economics and Policy.
Thomas Sterner, Policy Instruments for Environmental and Natural Resource Management,Chapters 2-3.
William Baumol & Wallace Oates, “Externalities.” in The Theory of Environmental Policy.
September 6 Natural Capital
David Pearce, et al., “The Sustainable Economy.” in Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment.
Thomas Sterner, Policy Instruments for Environmental and Natural Resource Management,Chapters 4-5.
Thomas Prugh, “What Natural Capital Is and Does” in Natural Capital and Human Economic Survival.
September 13 Valuing Natural Resources
David Pearce, et al., “The Optimal Level of Pollution.”
Myrick Freeman, “Measuring Values, Benefits, and Costs,” in The Measurement of Environmental and Resource Values.
Tom Tietenburg, “Valuing the Environment.”
Thomas Prugh, “Depletion and Valuation.”
Myrick Freeman and Raymond Kopp. “Assessing Damages from the Valdez Oil Spill.”
Abstracts due September 15.
September 20 Policy Instruments I
Paul R. Portney and Robert N. Stavins, Public Policies for Environmental Protection, Chapter 3.
Thomas Sterner, Policy Instruments for Environmental and Natural Resource Management, Chapters 6-11.
September 27 Policy Instruments II
Thomas Sterner, Policy Instruments for Environmental and Natural Resource Management, Chapters 12-18.
October 4 Evolution of Natural Resource and Environmental Policy/
The Eco-Economy
Paul R. Portney and Robert N. Stavins, Public Policies for Environmental Protection, Chapter 1-2.
Lester R. Brown, “The Shape of the Eco-Economy,” in Eco-Economy.
October 11 Industrial Pollution
Thomas Sterner, Policy Instruments for Environmental and Natural Resource Management, Chapters 24-25.
Walter Spofford. “Chongqing: A Case of Environmental Management During a Period of Rapid Industrial Development.”
October 18 Air and Water Resources
Paul R. Portney and Robert N. Stavins, Public Policies for Environmental Protection, Chapter 4 and 6.
Test October 18.
October 25 Water Resources and Waste Management
Thomas Sterner, Policy Instruments for Environmental and Natural Resource Management, Chapters 26-27.
Paul R. Portney and Robert N. Stavins, Public Policies for Environmental Protection, Chapter 8
November 1 Energy I
Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, “Entropy, Value, and Development,” in Entropy Law and the Economic Process.
Vaclav Smil. Energy at the Crossroads. selected pages.
November 8 Energy II
Vaclav Smil. Energy at the Crossroads. selected pages.
November 15 Climate Change
Paul R. Portney and Robert N. Stavins, Public Policies for Environmental Protection, Chapter 5
James B. London, “Planning for Climate Change: Experience in the Caribbean,” Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. July 2004.
Handouts.
November 22 Student Project Presentations.
Student Project Presentations, November 22.
Thanksgiving Break, November 24-26.
November 29 Dénouement.
Student Project Presentations (continued as needed).
Individual Project: Students will select a natural resource/environmental issue of particular interest to them. Through background research, the policy issues are to be bracketed, policy alternatives are to be identified, implications of these alternatives are to be discussed, and a viable policy framework is to be prepared. Project abstracts are to be submitted by September 15th. Reports will be presented to the class during the week of November 22nd with written reports due on the 22nd. Some variability in format is allowed, but for term paper oriented projects, a 15 page paper is appropriate.
Presentations: Students will be responsible for leading 3 discussions from course readings during the course of the semester. A 1-2 page outline and presentation will be prepared.
Course Evaluation: The course will be conducted as a seminar. As such, student input and participation in class discussions, group activities, and on-campus lectures will be expected.
Mid-Term Test 30%
Individual Project 35%
Class Presentations 20%
Class Participation _15%
100%
This syllabus is preliminary and subject to change. The version distributed in class is official.
Fall 2004 Course List 
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2004 James B. London, Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634