Using economic analysis as a tool for environmental protection is a core philosophy driving the Sebastopol-based Conservation Strategy Fund.

John Reid, President and founder of the Conservation Strategy Fund, explains how he sees economics as a tool for increasing overall human happiness  

The mission of Conservation Strategy Fund is to teach environmental organizations around the world how to use economics and strategic analysis to conserve nature.

Carbon credits may become a potent economic tool for poor countries with extensive forest resources, an approach that Sebastopol's Conservation Strategy Fund is helping to promote.

Part of CSF's educational work involves teaching their partners how to articulate the linkage between preserved resources and economic benefits.

Much more detailed information about CSF can be found in their annual reports, which are posted online here. There is also a listing of current and recent projects here.

Falling gasoline prices are a reflection of the broader economic collapse, says a local oil industry analyst, and it probably won't be good news if they stay low.

Richard Heinberg is the author of Peak Everything and The Party's Over, among other books on oil and energy policy issues.

Heinberg says that pump prices and the per-barrel cost of crude were not the only things that peaked last summer.

Reining in oil speculators would be a constructive response to the events of the past year, Heinberg says, but that's only a first step.

The holidays are a peak travel time for the airlines, so knowing your rights as a passenger can help ensure a more satisfactory travel experience.

Former realtor Kate Hanni is the founder and president of the Napa-based Coalition for an Airline Passengers Bill of Rights. Her Organization maintains a tool-free telephone number for travelers to report standings and other problems, which she says are promptly verified and compiled into a national database.

Flyersrights Hotline: 877-FLYERS6 (877-359-3776)

The Coalition has also prepared a  Stranded Flyer's Survival Guide with a combination of practical and somewhat tongue-in-cheek items to use if you should happen to wind up on a grounded plane.

The New York state legislature was the first in the country to adopt a flyers bill of rights in August, 2007. But the measure was struck down by the U.S. Court of Appeals which ruled it interferred with federal regulatory authority over the airlines.

Northern California representative Mike Thompson has been a leader in the effort to win Congressional passage of a nationwide airline Passengers Bill of Rights. You can read the draft bill here.

Virtually every business in California will be affected when the state's climate change bill, AB 32, kicks in next year. But one of the bill's co-authors says it's not likely to be as painful as many people fear.

Compliance with the new rules for reducing greenhouse gas emissions will come in three forms:  incentives, regulations, and some form of trading of emission costs and credits. Joe Nation explains that such a mechanism will reward those businesses that have already taken steps to reduce their carbon footprint.

Joe Nation

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was  joined by international leaders with a consistent record of addressing the global threat of climate change, New York Governor George Pataki and other environmental and industry leaders at the bill signing for AB 32 on Treasure Island in San Francisco on Tuesday, September 27, 2006.  

Now, as the state's businesses prepare to work under the law's provisions, Joe Nation offers the following 11-point to do list to help them cope:

AB 32 "To DO" List