The book’s central argument is that only
by putting the environment at the heart of
the economy can there be any hope of preventing
the destruction that will otherwise
happen. Helm argues that because natural
resources are free, their real worth is not
fully valued by producers and consumers,
nor are the benefits derived from them reflected
in standard economic measures such
as gross domestic product. Thus, they tend
to be overused and receive little investment
for their management and conservation.
Building on ideas from economics, ecosystems