As a renewable energy source, wind power is gaining popularity as a favoured alternative to fossil fuel, nuclear and hydro power generation. In Europe, countries are required to achieve 15% of their energy consumption from wind by 2010 as the EU strives to meet its Kyoto obligations. Wind power...

Intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, run-of-river hydro, tidal streams and wave fluxes present interesting challenges when exploited in the production of electricity, which is then integrated into existing and future grids. We focus on wind energy systems because they have...

Land degradation is a particularly vexing problem in developing countries; as forests are depleted, crop residues and dung are used for fuel, which degrades cropland. In Ethiopia, the government encourages tree planting and adoption of energy efficient stove technologies to mitigate land...

Revised productivity accounts recently released by Statistics Canada are used to estimate a Klump-McAdam-Willman normalized CES supply-side system for the half-century 1961–2010. The model permits distinct rates of factor-augmenting technical change for capital and labour that distinguish...

This paper provides an overview of the role that forestry activities play in mitigating climate change. The emphasis is on a comparison of carbon offset credits and a carbon tax/subsidy scheme for incentivizing reductions in the release of CO2 emissions and increase in sequestration of...

Wildfires in British Columbia result not only in large direct damages, but also significant indirect losses associated with lost amenity values and the risk to life and property. The indirect values can potentially be measured by changes in property values. In this study, we assume that the...

Two count models are estimated in this analysis to explain the occurrence of wildfire and area burned by wildfire in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. The main explanatory variable is the 4-month lagged El Niño 1&2 index, which is found to have a strong positive influence on wildfire in...

The pine forest of British Columbia is undergoing its largest recorded pest epidemic. The damage caused by native mountain pine beetle creates difficulties for the public owner of the resource, which is interested in protecting future timber supply while salvaging dead and dying pine. This paper...

We extend an earlier bioeconomic model of optimal duck harvest and wetland retention in the Prairie Pothole Region of Western Canada to include cropping decisions. Instead of a single state equation, the model has two state equations representing the population dynamics of ducks and the amount...

From a cost standpoint and as demonstrated in this paper, it is beneficial to permit forest-sector carbon offsets in lieu of carbon dioxide emissions reduction. Such offsets play a role in voluntary markets and Europe’s Emission Trading System. However, problems related to additionality,...