Jason Scorse of Environmental Economics has published a book entitled "What environmentalists need to know about economics." it's based on a piece he wrote for Gristmill several years ago, and it's available online for free. I just downloaded my copy, so I haven't had a chance to do more than skim the table of contents and dip into Chapter 8, "Conservation and biodiversity preservation", but it looks like a pretty decent introduction to "how to think like an economist in the environmental realm".1 Some environmentalists may think that "thinking like an economist" is a disadvantage, but in my experience "thinking like an economist" can be a big help -- provided that an economic analysis takes account of all values that are important, not just the market values that are easily measured.
1Of course this is a non-economist writing this. Economists may see flaws in the presentation that would completely escape me.
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