Environmental ethics, protection and valuation
- Authors: Du Preez, M
- Subjects: Environmental ethics , Environmental protection , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21022 , vital:29428
- Description: This lecture addresses the environmental ethics, protection and valuation of natural assets. The aim of the lecture is threefold: first, to present a bio-ethical argument for the extension of our moral reference class to include all conscious and non-conscious natural assets; second, to discuss the moral significance of a broader moral reference class in terms of Aldo Leopold’s ‘Land Ethic’; third, to discuss the valuation of natural assets from a system’s perspective with specific reference to the estimation of non-use values. In what follows, Section I discusses environmental protection from a bioethical point of view, Section II discusses the moral significance of a broader moral reference class in terms of Aldo Leopold’s ‘Land Ethic’, Section III describes the concept of valuing natural assets with specific reference to the concept of non-use value and its measurement, and finally, Section IV concludes the lecture.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Du Preez, M
- Subjects: Environmental ethics , Environmental protection , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21022 , vital:29428
- Description: This lecture addresses the environmental ethics, protection and valuation of natural assets. The aim of the lecture is threefold: first, to present a bio-ethical argument for the extension of our moral reference class to include all conscious and non-conscious natural assets; second, to discuss the moral significance of a broader moral reference class in terms of Aldo Leopold’s ‘Land Ethic’; third, to discuss the valuation of natural assets from a system’s perspective with specific reference to the estimation of non-use values. In what follows, Section I discusses environmental protection from a bioethical point of view, Section II discusses the moral significance of a broader moral reference class in terms of Aldo Leopold’s ‘Land Ethic’, Section III describes the concept of valuing natural assets with specific reference to the concept of non-use value and its measurement, and finally, Section IV concludes the lecture.
- Full Text:
Macroeconomic theory after the great recession of 2008: the need for a market process approach
- Authors: Le Roux, Pierre
- Subjects: Recessions , Macroeconomics , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/52919 , vital:44679
- Description: This paper sets out to reflect that contemporary schools of thought are unable to explain the great recession of 2008. The Great Recession 2007-2009 and the long, slow recovery from it serve as reminders of the difficulty of explaining business cycles. Macroeconomists of all varieties have been humbled by these events and by our inability to predict or to design policies that moderate the effects. Paul Krugman (2009) and John Cochrane (2010) are examples of how two schools of thought have struggled with the issue. Many theories of business cycles exist, without any being comprehensive; none are able to account for all important characteristics. Macroeconomic theory continues to explore stylised facts for explanatory power. The whole sub-discipline of “macroeconomics” is premised on the belief that the standard microeconomic tools are not of much use in understanding the dynamics of growth and business cycles. Even with the rational expectations revolution purporting to set macroeconomics back on microfoundations, the language of aggregate supply and demand, over-simplified versions of the Quantity Theory of Money, and the aggregative analytics of the Keynesian cross and simple models of functional finance still fill the textbooks and inform most policy debates. The neglect of capital theory in particular has removed the important elements of time and money from Macroeconomics. The main approaches to Macroeconomics are compared and their lack of a firm micro foundation exposed. The dissatisfaction with macroeconomics can be resolved by taking a more capitalbased approach. This will allow for macro elements such as time and money while reintroducing the entrepreneur into macroeconomic theory. Relative prices, especially intertemporal prices can then again take their rightful place in explaining the business cycle.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Le Roux, Pierre
- Subjects: Recessions , Macroeconomics , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/52919 , vital:44679
- Description: This paper sets out to reflect that contemporary schools of thought are unable to explain the great recession of 2008. The Great Recession 2007-2009 and the long, slow recovery from it serve as reminders of the difficulty of explaining business cycles. Macroeconomists of all varieties have been humbled by these events and by our inability to predict or to design policies that moderate the effects. Paul Krugman (2009) and John Cochrane (2010) are examples of how two schools of thought have struggled with the issue. Many theories of business cycles exist, without any being comprehensive; none are able to account for all important characteristics. Macroeconomic theory continues to explore stylised facts for explanatory power. The whole sub-discipline of “macroeconomics” is premised on the belief that the standard microeconomic tools are not of much use in understanding the dynamics of growth and business cycles. Even with the rational expectations revolution purporting to set macroeconomics back on microfoundations, the language of aggregate supply and demand, over-simplified versions of the Quantity Theory of Money, and the aggregative analytics of the Keynesian cross and simple models of functional finance still fill the textbooks and inform most policy debates. The neglect of capital theory in particular has removed the important elements of time and money from Macroeconomics. The main approaches to Macroeconomics are compared and their lack of a firm micro foundation exposed. The dissatisfaction with macroeconomics can be resolved by taking a more capitalbased approach. This will allow for macro elements such as time and money while reintroducing the entrepreneur into macroeconomic theory. Relative prices, especially intertemporal prices can then again take their rightful place in explaining the business cycle.
- Full Text:
Towards mineral beneficiation: from basic chemistry to applications
- Authors: Tshentu, Zenixole
- Subjects: Metallurgy , Ore-dressing , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/55783 , vital:53876
- Description: The role of mineral beneficiation in the survival, growth, development and sustainability of a developing economy cannot be overstated. Our development as a human species has always been involvedly linked with the use of mineral resources from the stone, bronze and iron ages through the early modern eras to the present. In the current modern era, characterized by highly technological equipment, fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and new energy technologies, the role of mineral beneficiation has been elevated. Precious metals find use in the fine chemicals and petrochemicals industry, fuel cells, electrical and electronic products, medical and dentistry applications, jewellery, autocatalysts, and glass and ceramics. The markets for precious metals keep growing and the supply does not meet demand. The development of methods for recovery of metal value from feeds of mineral ore solutions, solutions of spent secondary resources and from mining wastewaters remains of great importance. Further beneficiation strategies for utilization of mineral products in other “value-added” applications are also important for the growth of the mineral markets. The usage of platinum, palladium and rhodium in the autocatalyst industry has grown significantly and this has further elevated the importance of platinum group metals (PGMs), but other areas of application of the strategic metals need to be harnessed. The four stages of beneficiation, namely, primary, secondary, tertiary and final stage, provide an opportunity to beneficiate to greater value for domestic or export use. Our own research work is engaged in several of these stages, from hydrometallurgical recovery of base metals and platinum group metals from feeds of primary mining and solutions of waste secondary resources such as spent catalytic converters and e-waste to the use of metals in “value added” products such as metalbased catalysts for the fuel industry and in metallodrugs. Examples of “value added” products include rhodium as a promoter in molybdenum sulfide as a catalyst for hydrodesulfurization of fuel oil, vanadium as a catalyst in oxidative desulfurization of fuel oil, vanadium and palladium as therapeutic agents for diabetes and cancer, respectively. Current and future work involves (i) the development of metal-selective scavengers to recover lost metal value in mining wastewaters, and (ii) the design of metal-based catalytic materials for refinement of bio-based oils to biofuel as well as for production of green LPG through hydroprocessing. Our work centres around both basic and applied chemistry towards mineral beneficiation and with a bias towards greener production.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Tshentu, Zenixole
- Subjects: Metallurgy , Ore-dressing , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/55783 , vital:53876
- Description: The role of mineral beneficiation in the survival, growth, development and sustainability of a developing economy cannot be overstated. Our development as a human species has always been involvedly linked with the use of mineral resources from the stone, bronze and iron ages through the early modern eras to the present. In the current modern era, characterized by highly technological equipment, fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and new energy technologies, the role of mineral beneficiation has been elevated. Precious metals find use in the fine chemicals and petrochemicals industry, fuel cells, electrical and electronic products, medical and dentistry applications, jewellery, autocatalysts, and glass and ceramics. The markets for precious metals keep growing and the supply does not meet demand. The development of methods for recovery of metal value from feeds of mineral ore solutions, solutions of spent secondary resources and from mining wastewaters remains of great importance. Further beneficiation strategies for utilization of mineral products in other “value-added” applications are also important for the growth of the mineral markets. The usage of platinum, palladium and rhodium in the autocatalyst industry has grown significantly and this has further elevated the importance of platinum group metals (PGMs), but other areas of application of the strategic metals need to be harnessed. The four stages of beneficiation, namely, primary, secondary, tertiary and final stage, provide an opportunity to beneficiate to greater value for domestic or export use. Our own research work is engaged in several of these stages, from hydrometallurgical recovery of base metals and platinum group metals from feeds of primary mining and solutions of waste secondary resources such as spent catalytic converters and e-waste to the use of metals in “value added” products such as metalbased catalysts for the fuel industry and in metallodrugs. Examples of “value added” products include rhodium as a promoter in molybdenum sulfide as a catalyst for hydrodesulfurization of fuel oil, vanadium as a catalyst in oxidative desulfurization of fuel oil, vanadium and palladium as therapeutic agents for diabetes and cancer, respectively. Current and future work involves (i) the development of metal-selective scavengers to recover lost metal value in mining wastewaters, and (ii) the design of metal-based catalytic materials for refinement of bio-based oils to biofuel as well as for production of green LPG through hydroprocessing. Our work centres around both basic and applied chemistry towards mineral beneficiation and with a bias towards greener production.
- Full Text:
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