Can you put a price on nature? Or maybe the better question is, should you put a price on nature?

It may sound like a bizarre concept, but it’s one that renowned environmental economist Ed Barbier says could be key to saving the planet.

Barbier is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Economics at Colorado State University, as well as a Senior Scholar in the School of Global Environmental Sustainability. His main expertise is natural resource and development economics and the interface between economics and ecology. He’s also the author of several books, including “Economics for a Fragile Planet: Rethinking Markets, Institutions and Governance,” which offers a blueprint for a greener and more inclusive economy.

In that book, Barbier writes that managing an increasingly delicate ecosystem requires us to rethink the “underpricing” of nature, and to decouple wealth creation from environmental degradation through business, policy and financial actions aimed at better stewardship.

Barbier recently spoke with CSU's The Audit about what a green economy looks like and how he believes we can get there.

There are lots of different types of friends. Best friends, work friends. Facebook friends, even frenemies. Each has an important role in our lives that has been shown to impact our mental and physical health.

Now the American Friendship Project, a new program co-led by Colorado State University communication studies researcher Natalie Pennington, provides one of the most complete looks at this highly critical — but rarely studied — relationship. In this episode of CSU's The Audit podcast, Pennington spoke about the project's findings, how we view friendship and how we can stay better connected.

Despite its landlocked location, Colorado State University is well known all along the Atlantic coast for its seasonal hurricane forecasts. Each spring, these forecasts predict the total amount and potential strength of storms for the upcoming hurricane season.
The forecasts were first developed and shared by pioneering atmospheric science researcher William Gray, and are frequently used by media, officials and community leaders to inform the public and make planning decisions. Today, Gray’s former grad student Phil Klotzbach leads the effort to inform communities up and down the East Coast of the dangers the upcoming season presents.

Klotzbach is a senior research scientist for the Department of Atmospheric Science within the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering, and along with a team of students, faculty and research staff, has authored the forecasts since 2006.

In late June, Klotzbach spoke to CSU’s The Audit about the University’s role in developing hurricane research, the increase in hurricane activity and destructiveness over the years, and what we can expect in terms of size and scale for future hurricane seasons.