Abstract
Kelly Wessell describes the ways in which the ecology and economy are inextricably linked. Everything that makes its way through the economy originates in the environment. He reminds us that in addition to these goods, healthy, functioning ecosystems also provide us with services like soil regeneration and water filtration, all of which have value. Depleting natural resources or degrading ecosystem services puts us in a sort of ecological debt that eventually must be paid because ecosystems have real value. To avoid the ecological debt that results from unsustainable development, Wessell provides examples of how we might expand the ways in which we value nature beyond the goods it provides and learn to live within our ecological means.
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Wessell, K.J. (2022). Ecological Debt and the Holistic Value of Nature. In: Wilson, B.C. (eds) Care, Climate, and Debt. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96355-2_4
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