If the Earth's resources were available in infinite quantities and could be deployed at zero cost, there would be no economic problem: we and future generations could have everything we want without having to choose, and the question is then: how do we attribute values to the environmental goods and services we are choosing from? David Pearce, author of Blueprint for a Green Economy, provides a clear account of the reasons for valuing aspects of the natural world, the different ways in which this can be done, and the consequences of doing so for economic development and for global environmental problems.