How Valuable is our Natural Environment?

Good stuff. I look forward to their final evaluation. It should be interesting. Unfortunately, greed will still exist and will still have effect on special interests both in government and in the private sector. But, this report will be a good start to another important debate.

Its pretty natural around Deer Lake State Park and Grayton Beach State Park. This question really needs the word "natural" to be more specifically defined by you. I can show you many pictures of Eastern Lake from the 50's /60's vs. today and you would be very surprised at the difference. Lets just say it was a whole lot cooler back then.

Defining "natural" - When environmental groups speak about restoration, they typically note a reference point to give definition to the natural state they want to restore to. One common reference point is "Pre-European settlers." For example, we know that what we would have seen here 100 years ago is completely different from 500 years ago.

This measure of value for nature in terms of dollars has been happening for some time. Ecological Economists, Herman Daly and John Cobb wrote For the Common Good in 1989 about the economic value of our ecosystems. Glad to see Florida is catching up.

Puget Sound is one example where ecological economists determined that the near shoreline ecosystems produce an annual value of $140,000 per acre. This estimate of value is low due to the fact that the ecosystems have been compromised by nearby Superfund sites. How do I know this? I took an ecological economics course and the professor was one of the scientists that worked on this project.

By having solid numbers to work with, even greedy folks can be made to pay, one way or another.

A Price Tag on Nature - Environmental Economics - EPA - from Florida Trend, Florida's Source For Business News

This is an interesting article; I would love to see our local leadership take a serious interest in this approach.

I would love to see our local leadership take a serious interest in something.

Defining "natural" - When environmental groups speak about restoration, they typically note a reference point to give definition to the natural state they want to restore to. One common reference point is "Pre-European settlers." For example, we know that what we would have seen here 100 years ago is completely different from 500 years ago.

This measure of value for nature in terms of dollars has been happening for some time. Ecological Economists, Herman Daly and John Cobb wrote For the Common Good in 1989 about the economic value of our ecosystems. Glad to see Florida is catching up.

Puget Sound is one example where ecological economists determined that the near shoreline ecosystems produce an annual value of $140,000 per acre. This estimate of value is low due to the fact that the ecosystems have been compromised by nearby Superfund sites. How do I know this? I took an ecological economics course and the professor was one of the scientists that worked on this project.

By having solid numbers to work with, even greedy folks can be made to pay, one way or another.

I haven't read that one, but I am just about to finish Paul Hawken's Natural Capitalism, written around 1998 I think. Similar ideas, with dozens of examples of how this approach is working quite profitably for businesses all around the world. I just wish I understood business and economics lingo a bit better, so I could communicate this information coherently to local leaders and fellow citizens....it's not always easy to convince someone to read a book, and they want the soundbite instead!