When the slim volume entitled TANSTAAFL (There Ain"t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch) was published in 1971, it was one of the first surveys of environmental policy to be written from a libertarian perspective. After selling many thousands of copies, it eventually went out of print, but over time, it has achieved the status of a classic. In its most basic application, the TANSTAAFL principle is a simple statement of reality: everything of value has a cost. The TANSTAAFL principle can also be interpreted as a mandate for a policy of full-cost pricing. In a world where resources are scarce, everything has a cost. Scarce resources are used most efficiently when the price paid by the final user reflects all costs, including waste disposal, harm from pollution, and depletion of non-renewable resources. Author Edwin G. Dolan is a leading environmental economist and academic. This 40th anniversary edition includes the full original text along with a new introduction and extensive commentaries...