Ackerman, Frank & Heinzerling, Lisa. Priceless: On Knowing the Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing.ACKERMAN, Frank & HEINZERLING, Lisa. Priceless price·less adj. 1. Of inestimable worth; invaluable. 2. Highly amusing, absurd, or odd: a priceless remark. : on knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing. The New Press. 277p. notes, index, c2004. 1-56584-981-7. $16.95, A The cover of this book is misleading, as it appears to be a volume about beauty or perhaps consumerism consumerism Movement or policies aimed at regulating the products, services, methods, and standards of manufacturers, sellers, and advertisers in the interests of the buyer. . Instead it is a book about the cost-benefit analysis cost-benefit analysis In governmental planning and budgeting, the attempt to measure the social benefits of a proposed project in monetary terms and compare them with its costs. approach to environmental and health issues. It is filled with stories and statistics that show how information can be twisted to support any argument against government regulation. One chapter uses actual illustrations of the use of statistics that show that the cost to regulate hazardous material at various industries would be over s5 billion to save one life. While this may be true, no one ever actually proposed doing most of the expensive regulations and the more cost-effective regulations have a far lower price tag. Another chapter places the value of a human life at $6.1 million, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and . How that value was figured is discussed and its application in cost-benefit analysis studied. The value of avoiding environmental catastrophes that cannot be fixed, such as the extinction of a species or the chilling of Europe caused by global warming global warming, the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. , is thrown into the mix of cost-benefit analysis as well. The misuse of pseudo-science to argue against what big business doesn't want is fully explored and supported with excellent notes. The authors promote a "holistic" approach to the analysis with an understanding of not just the average, but also the extremes before major governmental decisions are made. Except for the misleading cover, this is an excellent book for mature readers with some understanding of environmental issues and statistics. Nola Theiss, Sanibel, FL J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers. S--Recommended for senior high school students. A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries. *--The asterisk (1) See Asterisk PBX. (2) In programming, the asterisk or "star" symbol (*) means multiplication. For example, 10 * 7 means 10 multiplied by 7. The * is also a key on computer keypads for entering expressions using multiplication. highlights exceptional books. |
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