Anthill Economics : Animal Ecosystems and the Human Economy

Does modern economic theory violate some basic, fundamental laws of physics? That is the question that award-winning environmental and energy writer Nathanial Gronewold sets out to answer in Anthill Economics. Gronewold points out that the modern school of economics is missing a significant piece of the puzzle: energy. And not just oil, or natural gas or wind power, but rather the fundamental importance of energy in transforming matter into food, shelter, and material possessions. Ecologists have been using the principles of biophysics –population density, energy return on investment, and habitation patterns –to study ecosystems for centuries. But what if those same principles hold the key to the global human economy? After all, at its core, the global economy is simply humanity’s ecosystem. Anthill Economics puts forth an innovative and cross-disciplinary approach, asserting that biophysical laws are just as fundamental to the global economy as they are to zoology and entomology. The rollercoaster-like rise and fall of caribou population on a remote island can teach us about resource allocation and global inequality. The behavior of squirrels gathering nuts is a lesson in economic energy return on investment and wage stagnation. Could human traffic patterns mimic the daily pulse of ants in the forests marching in and out of their own central business districts? And, will global warming change these patterns for humans and insects alike? This clearly written book full of illuminating ecological analogies gives readers an informed and entertaining introduction to the cutting-edge field of biophysical economics –also known as thermoeconomics –that seeks to provide a more complete understanding of the global economy. The result is a radical new way of looking at the world and how the laws of physics and nature can be used to more precisely understand human demographics, population patterns, and economics.

Does modern economic theory violate some basic, fundamental laws of physics? That is the question that award-winning environmental and energy writer Nathanial Gronewold sets out to answer in Anthill Economics.

Gronewold points out that the modern school of economics is missing a significant piece of the puzzle: energy. And not just oil, or natural gas or wind power, but rather the fundamental importance of energy in transforming matter into food, shelter, and material possessions. Ecologists have been using the principles of biophysics –population density, energy return on investment, and habitation patterns –to study ecosystems for centuries. But what if those same principles hold the key to the global human economy? After all, at its core, the global economy is simply humanity’s ecosystem.

Anthill Economics puts forth an innovative and cross-disciplinary approach, asserting that biophysical laws are just as fundamental to the global economy as they are to zoology and entomology. The rollercoaster-like rise and fall of caribou population on a remote island can teach us about resource allocation and global inequality. The behavior of squirrels gathering nuts is a lesson in economic energy return on investment and wage stagnation. Could human traffic patterns mimic the daily pulse of ants in the forests marching in and out of their own central business districts? And, will global warming change these patterns for humans and insects alike?



This clearly written book full of illuminating ecological analogies gives readers an informed and entertaining introduction to the cutting-edge field of biophysical economics –also known as thermoeconomics –that seeks to provide a more complete understanding of the global economy. The result is a radical new way of looking at the world and how the laws of physics and nature can be used to more precisely understand human demographics, population patterns, and economics.