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Science 12 December 1980:
Vol. 210. no. 4475, pp. 1219 - 1224
DOI: 10.1126/science.210.4475.1219
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Articles

Embodied Energy and Economic Valuation

Robert Costanza 1

1 Postdoctoral research associate at the Coastal Ecology Laboratory, Center for Wetland Resources, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge 70803

Input-output analysis has been adapted to calculate the total (direct plus indirect) energy required to produce goods and services in the U.S. economy; this quantity has been termed the embodied energy. Usually, the energy required to produce labor and government services and the solar energy input to the economy are ignored by analysts. The former omission can be traced to the assumption that traditional primary factors of economic production—land, labor, and capital—are independent. A strong case can be made that these input factors are not independent and that energy is required for their production. Embodied energies can be calculated in this case by using input-output data. The results of such an analysis show that there is a strong relation between embodied energy and dollar value for a 92-sector U.S. economy if the energy required to produce labor and government services is included.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Science and Ecological Economics: Integrating of the Study of Humans and the Rest of Nature.
R. Costanza (2009)
Bulletin of Science Technology Society 29, 358-373
   Abstract »    PDF »
The Value Problem in Ecological Economics: Lessons from the Physiocrats and Marx.
P. Burkett (2003)
Organization Environment 16, 137-167
   Abstract »    PDF »
Energy and the U.S. Economy: A Biophysical Perspective.
C. J. Cleveland, R. Costanza, C. A. S. Hall, and R. Kaufmann (1984)
Science 225, 890-897
   Abstract »    PDF »
Economic Values and Embodied Energy.
D. A. HUETTNER (1982)
Science 216, 1141-1143
   PDF »
Economic Values and Embodied Energy.
R. COSTANZA (1982)
Science 216, 1143
   PDF »


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)