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In case you missed it, watch Associate Professor Ben Gramig's insightful presentation on the factors that lead to some farmers choosing not to adopt conservation tillage practices. This presentation was recorded during  our December "Mini-Talks" series. If you're interested in learning more, subscribe to our mail list for to be the first to know about upcoming Mini-Talks!

Extension programs are an important component of government agricultural policy and development strategies in nations across the globe. Extension is a principal means for governments to communicate best practices to farmers and is therefore instrumental in supporting rural livelihoods, ensuring an adequate supply of food, and maintaining the economy, especially in low-income nations where economies and labor forces remain predominantly rural and agricultural.

Alongside Head-author, Assistant Professor at Northern Ohio University, and UIUC Graduate program alum Laura Logan, a group of experts including CEOS' co-director Amy Ando recently co-authored new research that attempts to quantify tradeoffs between electricity generation and fish populations via population habitat duration curves (PHDCs). The paper analyzes the threat posed by thermal pollution via electricity generation to aquatic ecosystems using data from The Shawnee Fossil Plant on the Ohio River. PHDCs were generated from this data, providing a valuable quantitative model that decision makers can use in economic analyses. The ecosystem gains through fish population growth and electricity generation losses are presented in a scenario in which the river temperature changes by 1.1 degrees Celsius. The PHDCs demonstrate how water temperature can be quantified as a resource, as well as the tradeoffs between operating thermoelectric power plants, and promoting sustainability in aquatic ecosystems.

Did you miss out on our first round of the Economics of Sustainability Mini-Talks? Don't worry! All four talks, hosted by Amy Ando, Madhu Kanna, Hope Michelson, and Yilan Xu are now available on the CEOS Youtube channel!

Individual Links:

Using Nature to Stop the Next Pandemic - Amy Ando

Economic Costs and Benefits of Biofuels - Madhu Kanna

Small Farmers and Global Value Chains - Sustaining Development? - Hope Michelson

Fracking: Myths and Truths - Yilan Xu

The non-use existence value of nature is a seldom discussed topic in the field of economics, and for good reason: In a subject full of figures, equations, and meticulously constructed quantitative models, how could one estimate the numeric value of something so abstract and unused by people? In his recent paper "Worshipping the Tiger: Modeling Non-use Existence Values of Wildlife Spiritual Services," CEOS researcher and UIUC professor Dr. Shadi Atallah does exactly this. His newest research quantifies the spiritual value of the tiger to the Soligas Tribe in India and shows how that value can be harnessed as an economic tool for promoting sustainable wildlife conservation and preserving the ways of life of indigenous people.