Balancing Ecosystem Services and Resource Extraction

We have explored how common and accepted neo-classic production function forms could be adapted to represent and characterize ecological functions (ecosystem services). This work supports a framework to inform decision-making on proposed mining operations using data derived from retrospective evaluations of ecosystems services damages resulting from mining similar, analogous types of mineral deposits (geoenvironmental mineral-deposit models-GEMs). This work is relevant in the context of resource extraction, critical materials, and water quality in order to generalize mineral resource development and model approaches that can be used to predict ecosystem-service impacts for proposed resource-extraction-development. This talk will focus on building discussion-methods that draw upon the open-ended debate of Solow and Stigliz vs. Georgescu-Roegen, building a progressive and systematic approach for environmental economic models.