Earth Economics

06/18/2026

Peat is a type of wetland formed by layers of waterlogged, decomposing plants. Peat bogs store twice as much carbon as all forests worldwide while cleaning water, reducing flooding, and supporting biodiversity.

https://ow.ly/1L6J50ZceF6

06/17/2026

Heat kills as many as 350,000 people a year worldwide. Research shows that planting trees can halve the heat island effect—Americans living in urban areas with more trees experience 20-40 percent less excess heat.

City planners are beginning to reintroduce greenery, blurring lines between rural and urban, as in the early years following the Industrial Revolution.

Scientists have discovered technology with a remarkable ability to prevent extreme heat in cities. It's called a tree.

06/16/2026

Imagine a dense forest the size of a classroom, a pickleball court, or a few parking spaces. Microforests aren't just nice landscaping—they bring measurable benefits to help lower heat, capture stormwater, and improve air quality.

Groundwork USA and their affiliates are building microforests across the Northeast, and we teamed to help them show the real return on investment.

Tune into our microforests Linkedin Live event on June 23: https://ow.ly/5vU750ZccP8

06/15/2026

New research from UC Davis has shown that every $1 invested in forest fuel treatment reduces wildfire costs by $3.75. They estimated that forest thinning and prescribed burns prevent $2.8B in losses, reducing fire spread and severity.

Savings include $895M in avoided building losses, $503M of CO2 emissions, and $1.39B in health impacts and productivity losses.

A UC Davis study finds every dollar spent on forest fuel treatments saves $3.75 in wildfire damages.

06/12/2026

GDP is the dominant metric of economic progress. It also ignores natural capital unless it has been extracted and exchanged in markets. It completely omits social capital.

Last month, a UN commission published a dashboard of 31 metrics, including sustainability, quality of life, inequality, and peace and human rights. The dashboard is a compromise, but it strives to improve on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which includes hundreds of metrics.

https://ow.ly/eiXz50Z6Ck3

06/10/2026

*Last week to apply — applications due June 12!*

At a time when funding for nature-based projects is tight, it’s increasingly important to show the return on investment. Earth Economics is eager to help you compare benefits and costs of—and make a compelling case for—your projects, so you can secure the funding that nature-based solutions deserve.

If selected, you’ll receive top caliber economic analysis and communications support to put a dollar figure on benefits that aren’t usually quantified. Get started on your application today.

The Ingrid Rasch Legacy Fund The Ingrid Rasch Legacy Fund enables Earth Economics to provide technical assistance to one non-profit or community-based organization each year to advance local solutions to environmental injustice, climate hazards, or threats of displacement. Applications for 2026 fund...

06/09/2026

How can you meet urban greening goals when you're tight on space? Microforests are your win-win-win.

They grow quickly and work well in small spaces, they provide a range of tangible community benefits, and they are a smart investment that pay off quickly.

If you're a city planner working toward climate goals or work for an organization looking for creative and effective environmental justice solutions, you don't want to miss this LinkedIn Live on June 23.

https://ow.ly/5LV850Z8QEG

06/08/2026

Mālama ʻāina is the native Hawaiian ethic of caring for land and ocean. Indigenous Hawaiian knowledge connects the health of the ocean to stewardship on land, including loko iʻa, traditional stone fishponds built for centuries by coastal communities.

The porous walls of the ponds harness both tides and freshwater, allowing small fish in with the tides, but keeping predators out.

Programs like Blue Schools are helping children to reconnect with the sea. By restoring the loko iʻa and learning about reefs and marine life, the sea has become a classroom, a playground, and a shared responsibility.

Young stewards learn to protect Hawaiʻi’s coasts, embracing indigenous values and hands-on lessons in ocean conservation and care.

06/05/2026

Parks are not just pleasant amenities, they provide real returns to communities. For every $1 invested in parks and recreation, communities gain at least $3 in benefits, from reduced stormwater treatment costs, improved public health, recreational opportunities, and increased economic activity and tax revenues.

The Trust for Public Lands has just published its latest update to the ParkScore index of American cities, a synthesis of 11 case studies, surveys, and related literature.

There’s a myth that parks and recreation departments are nice-to-haves, not need-to-haves—placing their perceived utility below that of other municipal infrastructure and systems like schools, sanitation, police and fire protection, and libraries.

06/03/2026

If you have an urban greening project underway, we can help you measure and communicate the cost-savings and co-benefits—for free!

We provided this kind of support to LA-based nonprofit Amigos de los Rios through our Ingrid Rasch Legacy Fund (applications for this year’s fund are open through June 12). We measured the impact of greening schools and playgrounds—adding trees, pervious surfaces, and gardens—to help inform their discussions with the LA County Board of Education and make the case for expanding these projects.

We found that every $1 invested in greening the Jackson Elementary playground, for example, produces at least $3.60 in measured social, environmental, and economic benefits for the students, the school, and surrounding neighborhoods.

Learn more about this project and what might be possible for you through economic analysis.

https://ow.ly/JlTp50YZwmL

Greening at California’s school’s playground—adding trees, pervious surfaces, and a garden—provided nearly $400,000 in annual benefits and supported the equivalent of roughly three part-time, year-round jobs.