Joseph Henry Vogel – författare

With each species lost to the mass extinction crisis, the natural economy of the nation and of the world is greatly diminished. An endangered animal may hold the cure for cancer; a threatened plant could someday become a major food crop; and even bacteria often provide novel molecular structures in polymer science. As the rainforest is destroyed and habitats are degraded, conservationists are now urgently searching for dramatic new ways to save these economic resources. In this provocative and important book, Joseph Henry Vogel details one potential solution that has met with increasing interest and popularity: the privatization of genetic information. Vogel cogently makes the case that the world should abandon the doctrine of "the common heritage of mankind" and create private property rights over genes. Landowners, once vested with the genetic resources on their land, will have a newfound financial incentive to protect what they now already control. Genes for Sale provides an overview of the many complexities inherent in implementing a viable conservation policy. Vogel elaborates both technical issues like the construction of a "gargantuan database" of landtitles and biological inventories, and political issues like legal reform. Clearly written, engaging, and timely, Genes for Sale provides students, scientists, and policy makers alike with the ideal introduction to an exciting and controversial new approach to saving our precious living heritage.

‘The Museum of Bioprospecting, Intellectual Property, and the Public Domain’ addresses one of the most pressing policy issues of our day: intellectual property rights versus the public domain in facilitating access to genetic resources for biotechnology development. The issue is examined in the context of a proposal submitted by seven fictional scholars to an imaginary octogenarian, whose humor provides an original addition to the discussion.

El cambio climático y la crisis de extinción entrelazados se prestan a la economía política. Joseph Henry Vogel ha construido un argumento a favor de llevar a los países ricos en carbono, pero pobres económicamente, a través del cuello de botella de la economía de vaquero y hacia el “comercio en el derecho de emisiones” de los países Anexo I del Protocolo de Kioto. Ecuador sirve como el modelo. “La economía de la Iniciativa Yasuní-ITT” es un contrapunto a muchos niveles a “El Informe Stern” por Sir Nicholas Stern. En el nivel más básico, Vogel sostiene que Stern se equivoca por su falta de reconocimiento de la naturaleza del cambio climático como termodinámica, con lo cual pierde de vista la apropiación del Norte del sumidero atmosférico. El cambio a la termodinámica pone de relieve la legitimidad de una “deuda de carbono”, que comienza a hacer tictac con el primer informe del Grupo Intergubernamental de Expertos sobre Cambio Climático ((IPCC) por sus siglas en inglés) en 1990. A través del lente de la teoría económica, la intransigencia comprensible de los países pobres para asumir el “tope” en el “comercio en el derecho de emisiones” es una distorsión del sistema económico. No obstante, acorde con esa misma economía, una distorsión puede justificar otra. Esa otra distorsión es el pago que Ecuador busca por no perforar en la Reserva de la Biosfera Yasuní. Haciendo caso de la llamada de Deirdre (antes Donald) McCloskey de que la economía necesita más humor, Vogel ha escrito una crítica penetrante sobre la economía convencional que a su vez entretiene.

‘The Museum of Bioprospecting, Intellectual Property, and the Public Domain’ addresses one of the most pressing policy issues of our day: intellectual property rights versus the public domain in facilitating access to genetic resources for biotechnology development. The issue is examined in the context of a proposal submitted by seven fictional scholars to an imaginary octogenarian, whose humor provides an original addition to the discussion.

Climate change lends itself to both political economy and humor. Vogel argues that mainstream economics fails to recognize the thermodynamic nature of climate change, thereby missing the point of Northern appropriation of the atmospheric sink. The payment Ecuador seeks for not drilling in the Yasuní is equitable and efficient. Heeding the call of Deirdre (formerly Donald) McCloskey that economics needs humor, Vogel has written a scathing critique of economics-as-usual which also entertains.