Environmental Economics & Policy 6th Edition by Tom Tietenberg,Lynne Lewis

Exercise 2

In his book Catastrophe , Professor Jared Diamond argues that many societies throughout history, when confronted by resource scarcity problems, failed to respond appropriately and ultimately collapsed. Our society faces challenging problems such as the future energy choices, loss of biodiversity, and climate change. Do you think we will prove equal to the challenge or will our institutions fail to meet the test? Why? Is democracy part of the problem or part of the solution? Why?