Eco:nomics

This post relates to the following Keystone Economic Principles:

1. We all make choices.
2. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
3. All choices have consequences.
4. Economic systems influence choices.
5. Incentives produce "predictable" responses.
6. Economic thinking is marginal thinking.
and
8. Quantity and Quality of available resources impact living standards

On Monday of this week, The Wall Street Journal had a Special Report on the Economy and the Environment. It was a summary of a conference that included presentations by a number of people with excellent credentials at the interface of environment and the economic.

I found a number of the presentations interesting and thought-provoking, not least of all one by Vaclav Klaus - who provided a credible cautionary note about global warming and the "rush to judgment." Also of interest was an interview with T. Boone Pickens regarding his proposal to help the U.S. become more energy independent. And there are others, as well.

While I have no particular ideas on how to use this in the classroom at this moment, I'm sure some will occur to me and to you. A resource like this can provide an interesting platform for classroom debates about policy, the role of government, and the power of markets. I hope we can share some ideas.