"This book is an easy read that will make you rethink how we solve environmental problems. Trying on the Lofthouse thinking cap, you will discover how to improve our environment with more cooperation and less conflict. -- Terry L. Anderson, John & Jean DeNault Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University Jordan Lofthouse is a serious economic thinker; he is also passionate about the wonders of nature. These are not in conflict with one another in Lofthouse's rendering but instead work hand in hand to not only understand the world and the dysfunctions caused by various policies related to the environment, but how market mechanisms and civil society can work to conserve and protect the wonders of nature, and also improve our ability to appreciate not only the beauty but the power of nature. Trade-offs, incentives, informational feedback, and social cooperation under the division of labor are not in conflict with a deep passion and concern with nature, and in fact in Lofthouse's hands are intellectual tools for environmentalism. -- Peter J. Boettke, Distinguished University Professor of Economics, George Mason University As a conservationist, I've often said that one of the great underappreciated and underutilized tools of conservation is economics, oftentimes because people who do conservation are either intimidated by its concepts or turned off by its perceived detached approach. To those people, I would say "Take heart!" Jordan Lofthouse's An Economist's Guide to Environmentalism provides a wonderful bridge from the theoretical to the practical, helping us to better understand how economic concepts explain the real world and can be applied to our most pressing environmental challenges. As Lofthouse demonstrates, markets, property rights, and even improved entrepreneurial incentives in government, the private sector, and civil society are tools that should not be overlooked in our quest to conserve our lands, water and wildlife. -- Brian Yablonski, CEO, Property and Environment Research Center (PERC)
