There are limits to the use of resources. And there are limits to the safe operating space within the global environment. A new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) suggests, however, that the world’s economy may be approaching those limits. It reports that scientists have warned that those safe limits may have already been crossed in some cases.1 What may not be as easily understood is that the inefficient use of energy and other resources may also be weakening the robustness of both the U.S. and the global economies.
In the case of energy, for example, the world economies may waste on average over 80 percent of all high-quality energy consumed in the production of goods and services. That magnitude of waste creates an array of costs that weakens the economy.2 How to turn waste into opportunity? That is the primary focus of the team at Economic and Human Dimensions Research Associates. How to explore new ways and new business models that increase the energy and non-energy benefits of greater resource productivities. In effect, we are assessing and promoting ways that increase local jobs and economic prosperity through the smarter use of resource and energy efficiencies.
Pascal’s Wager was initially designed to influence one into believing in God by showing the consequences of believing in God versus not believing in God. We can repurpose this grid to influence one into supporting climate change mitigation measures by showing the consequences of supporting such measures versus not supporting them.
Behind every innovation within any given society there are at least two constants. The first is the network of skilled minds which enabled development of the next idea. The second
Based on data from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), and as shown in the two graphs that follow, the global climate is clearly warming. In fact, February 2023 will very likely be designated as the 458th consecutive month in which temperatures, at least nominally, were above the 20th-century average. That means anyone under the age of 38 has—not even once—experienced normal or below-normal monthly temperatures.
It is so much more than climate For the first time in 2020, our anthropogenic mass finally equaled all the biomass on Earth. We are, indeed, into the Anthropocene. And it is
Understanding Guatemala’s Treasured Lake in a Cultural Ethnographic Lens Some time back, as I gazed upon the panoramic view of the volcanic, mountainous terrain around Lake Atitlán after hiking the
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A two-day virtual workshop to explore critical insights from the work of mathematical physicist and economist, Dr. Robert U. Ayres, a likely nominee for the 2022 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics. The Workshop will open with a talk by Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL), a scientist, clean energy entrepreneur and CEO prior to his election to Congress. Dr. Ayres will also give an overview of his research which underscores the idea of “Energy as Work,” rather than energy as a mere commodity sold in the market at some price. Other invited participants include representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy, the International Energy Agency, Economic and Human Dimensions Research Associates, Black & Veatch, an employee-owned engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company, and others.
In his Earth Day virtual talk for Fiske Planetarium, University of Colorado Boulder, Laitner argues that sometimes we actually do need to reinvent the wheel to move forward. In today’s economy and climate, we may have to think about reinventing the way we produce energy. Rather than drilling for it down deep beneath the surface, can we harvest from the abundant energy forms found in the environment around us?
Feel free to download the slides from this presentation HERE.
There is neither a law of physics nor economics that prevents us from quadrupling the productive use of energy and other resources. Rather, it is much more an issue of imagination and our political will to get it done.
– John A. “Skip” Laitner
John A. “Skip” Laitner is an international resource economist who founded Economic and Human Dimensions Research Associates—based in Tucson, Arizona in 2012. He is a researcher, author, lecturer, and consultant. He is also a Past President of the Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS), an independent interdisciplinary professional association in higher education. Skip also serves as chief economist for Third Industrial Revolution master plan initiatives spearheaded by well-known author and visionary, Jeremy Rifkin.
Author of more than 320 reports, journal articles, and book chapters, Skip’s expertise includes benefit-cost assessments, the review of energy and non-energy benefits, exploring resource costs and constraints, and assessing the net employment and macroeconomic impacts of what he calls “Innovation Scenarios” as well as the more typical energy and climate policy scenarios.
Skip is a past Senior Research Economist for the Institute for Applied Economic Research, at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA). He previously worked as the Director of Economic and Social Analysis with the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). Before that, he served 10 years as a Senior Economist for Technology Policy with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 1998 he was awarded EPA’s Gold Medal for his work with a team of economists to evaluate the economic impact of strategies that might assist in the implementation of smart climate policies.
Skip has a 1988 master’s degree in resource economics from Antioch University. And he has also undertaken work and given many lectures in a variety of countries including Australia, Brussels, China, France, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and the United States, among others. More details on Skip’s work and background can be found here.
Liz Burke is the executive assistant for Economic and Human Dimensions Research Associates. Liz has spent her career in various administrative positions and has had the opportunity to work with scientists, researchers, attorneys, engineers, social workers, sales people and carpenters.
She is a natural problem solver, boundary pusher and can think on her feet. Her curiosity keeps her interested in continuous learning, and she has enjoyed collaborating with various teams to get things done, as well as finding solutions on her own. She received her B.A. in English Literature at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA.
Desiree Rose is the Economic and Human Dimensions Research Associates’ newest Research Associate. She has over 17 years of experience in various non-profit administration/management roles. Her expertise ranges from policy research and analysis, grant-writing, large-scale fundraising event planning, member development, membership management, financial operations, and strategic communications and marketing.
Desiree is also recognized as a talented graphic artist, with an extensive portfolio of print and digital publications. She is skilled at web content management, copywriting, and design as well as developing and implementing brand identity strategies and guidelines.
Meagan A. Weiland is a research associate specializing in the social factors and impacts affecting populations experiencing climatic changes. She has conducted in-depth research on a broad range of environmental and energy efficiency topics including: socioeconomic influences in adapting to energy efficient technology, LED case studies, cross-country comparisons of environmental policy, EIA technology characterizations, appliances and fuel standards comparisons, and effects of public perceptions on climate change policies.
Meagan earned her Masters degree in Public Anthropology from American University.
Ryan M. Keller is a research associate and geographic information systems (GIS) analyst with Economic and Human Dimensions Research Associates. He has worked on a variety of both GIS projects and energy management issues with the National Park Service, the County of San Diego, and the City of Davis, CA.
He also maintains an active research portfolio on emerging energy technologies, geographic problem solving, and cartography. Mr. Keller earned his Masters of Science degree in Geographic Information Systems Technology in 2013 from the University of Arizona and a B.S. in Physical Geography from Louisiana State University.
André the Cactus, or more officially, André “The Cactus” Saguaro, was born over a century ago in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains just outside of Tucson, Arizona. André’s journey from a simple column to a Shiva-like, multi-armed adult took a near-tragic turn when he was but a young juvenile saguaro, perhaps 75 years ago. As his young column reached toward the desert sun, striving for some moderate height in the future, and looking forward to his first production of flowers, the top of his trunk was somehow lopped off. André doesn’t discuss the details surrounding that awful event, and understandably so. He survived in spite of this trauma and redoubled his efforts toward the bright sky. Boy did he grow, and grow healthy he did! He now stands nearly 14 feet tall with more than a dozen arms about him. We are pleased to share he is now a very hardy (and dare we say handsome?) specimen.
We often visit André who is now well over 100 years old. We’ll find birds making a nursery for their young in his protective trunk. In the spring, his flowers offer nectar to the butterflies, bees, bats, and other sweet-toothed desert dwellers who regularly visit him when he’s in bloom. And when the coyote or cactus wren eat of his fruit, André’s offspring are eventually distributed throughout the Sonoran desert each year. In honor of his age and his many contributions as a community nurse plant within the desert eco-system, we now affectionately call him “Señor Saguaro.”