Natural Resources

Natural Resources: Quality and Quantity is a compelling collection of essays presented during an interdisciplinary faculty seminar at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1961 to 1965. Sponsored by the Chancellor's Committee on Natural Resources and supported by the Conservation Foundation, this volume explores the multifaceted concept of quality and its relationship to quantity in the context of natural resources. The contributors, spanning diverse fields such as botany, sociology, law, and agricultural economics, examine the pressing challenges of resource management from unique disciplinary perspectives. The seminar's central theme—understanding the qualitative dimensions of resource use—drives a rich dialogue on the complexities of balancing precision in quantitative measurement with the broader, often subjective, qualitative evaluations critical to public policy and interdisciplinary research.

This seminal work is organized into three parts, with essays ranging from the philosophical dimensions of quality in civilization to the technical precision of measuring water and air quality. Contributors explore the intersections of physical science, social science, and humanities, emphasizing the importance of evaluating quality within the broader context of societal needs and ecological sustainability. By addressing both the opportunities and limitations of current methodologies, Natural Resources: Quality and Quantity invites scholars, policymakers, and resource managers to engage with the nuanced, multidimensional challenges of resource conservation and governance in a rapidly evolving world.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1967.