Environmental Economics addresses some of the most important questions facing our global society:
- Why have humans caused environmental degradation on local, regional, and global scales, and what can we do to address these issues?
- How can we create a sustainable society that protects the environment while maintaining a high standard of living?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of policies like cap-and-trade, carbon taxes, pollution offsets, renewable energy portfolios, payments for ecosystem services, performance-based standards, product eco-labeling, feed-in tariffs, and command-and-control regulations?
As part of the College of the Environment and Life Sciences (CELS), the Department of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics is ideally positioned to provide you with a variety of courses in both the natural sciences and economics and opportunities for hands-on learning experiences and research. Through our integrative curriculum you can prepare for careers protecting and responsibly utilizing our tropical rain forests, drinking water, clean air, biodiversity, sustainable fisheries, endangered species, and other natural assets.
The Policy Simulation Laboratory, or SimLab, is a set of networked rooms designed to work together as a flexible, integrated facility to study decision making and to help communities make wise choices.