capital
	Any form of wealth, resources, or knowledge available for use in the production of more wealth.
classical economics
	Modern, western economic theories of the effects of resource scarcity, monetary policy, and competition on supply and demand of goods and services in the marketplace. This is the basis for the capitalist market system.
communal resource management systems
	Resources managed by a community for long-term sustainability.
cost/benefit analysis
	An evaluation of large-scale public projects by comparing the costs and benefits that accrue from them.
demand
	The amount of a product that consumers are willing and able to buy at various possible prices, assuming they are free to express their preferences.
diminishing returns
	A condition in which unrestrained population growth causes the standard of living to decrease to a subsistence level where poverty, misery, vice, and starvation makes life permanently drab and miserable. This dreary prophecy has led economics to be called "the dismal science."
discount rate
	The amount we discount or reduce the value of a future payment. When you borrow money from the bank at 10 percent annual interest, you are in effect saying that having the money now is worth 10 percent more to you than having the same amount one year from now.
ecological economics
	Application of ecological insights to economic analysis in a holistic, contextual, value-sensitive, ecocentric manner.
external costs
	Expenses, monetary or otherwise, borne by someone other than the individuals or groups who use a resource.
gross national product (GNP)
	The sum total of all goods and services produced in a national economy. Gross domestic product (GDP) is used to distinguish economic activity within a country from that of off-shore corporations.
internal costs
	The expenses, monetary or otherwise, borne by those who use a resource.
internalizing costs
	Planning so that those who reap the benefits of resource use also bear all the external costs.
intangible resources
	Factors such as open space, beauty, serenity, wisdom, diversity, and satisfaction that cannot be grasped or contained. Ironically, these resources can be both infinite and exhaustible.
known resources
	Those that have been located but are not completely mapped but, nevertheless, are likely to become economical in the forseeable future.
marginal costs
	The cost to produce one additional unit of a good or service.
market equilibrium
	The dynamic balance between supply and demand under a given set of conditions in a "free" market (one with no monopolies or government interventions).
neo classical economics
	A branch of economics that attempts to apply the principles of modern science to economic analysis in a mathematically rigorous, non-contextual, abstract, predictive manner.
nonrenewable resources
	Minerals, fossil fuels, and other materials present in essentially fixed amounts (within human time scales) in our environment.
pollution charges
	Fees assessed per unit of pollution based on the "polluter pays" principle.
price elasticity
	A situation in which supply and demand of a commodity respond to price.
proven resources
	Those that have been thoroughly mapped and are economical to recover at current prices with available technology.
open access system
	A commonly held resource for which there are no management rules.
recoverable resources
	Those accessible with current technology but not economical under current conditions.
renewable resources
	Resources normally replaced or replenished by natural processes; resources not depleted by moderate use; examples include solar energy, biological resources such as forests and fisheries, biological organisms, and some biogeochemical cycles.
resource
	In economic terms, anything with potential use in creating wealth or giving satisfaction.
steady-state economy
	Characterized by low birth and death rates, use of renewable energy sources, recycling of materials, and emphasis on durability, efficiency, and stability.
supply
	The quantity of that product being offered for sale at various prices, other things being equal.
sustainable development
	A real increase in well-being and standard of life for the average person that can be maintained over the long term without degrading the environment or compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Tragedy of the Commons
	An inexorable process of degradation of communal resources due to selfish self-interest of "free riders" who use or destroy more than their fair share of common property. See open access systems.
undiscovered resources
	Speculative or inferred resources or those that we haven't even thought about.

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