Will EROI be the Primary Determinant of Our Economic Future? The View of the Natural Scientist versus the Economist

Abstract

Charles A.S. Hall is a Systems Ecologist who received his PhD under Howard T. Odum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1970. He was professor over the past 45 years at Cornell University, the University of Montana, and the College of Environmental Science and Forestry of the State University of New York. He is now retired (but very active as Professor Emeritus) in Western Montana. Dr. Hall is the author or editor of 14 books and 300 scholarly articles and has been awarded the distinguished Hubbert-Simmons Prize for Energy Education and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society of BioPhysical Economics. He is best known for his development of the concept of EROI, or energy return on investment, which is an examination of how organisms, including humans, invest energy into obtaining additional energy to improve biotic or social fitness, and also a new field, BioPhysical Economics, as a supplement or alternative to conventional economics. He has applied systems and EROI thinking to a broad series of biological, resource, and economic issues in more than 30 countries. His most recent books are Energy and the Wealth of Nations: An Introduction to BioPhysical Economics (with Kent Klitgaard), America's Most Sustainable Cities and Regions (with John Day), and Energy Return on Investment. A unifying Principle for Biology, Economics and Sustainability , all available from Springer. He is coeditor with Ugo Bardi and Gael Giraud of the journal BioPhysical Economics and Resource Quality .