[Ecology] I think I'm nuts about ecology

mheslep

They're necessary for support of the ecosystems.

phungus420

Aesthetics and morals have their place in the discusion. It's the main reason beautiful places and megafauna are usually overemphasized in these types of discussions. But again the issue is really all about the economy. Lots of money will be lost, effort wasted, and likely many famine deaths will be the end result.

Warehouser would be making an order of magnitude more money right now if they had followed their sustainable forestry plan they had in effect until the eighties where they went for max profits in a couple of years, which not only has become economically stupid when you compare the money they'd be making right now and for years to come, but also devastated the Oregon economy due to lost logging and mill jobs. In effect a small group of investors stole resources from the state, from future investors and the company as a whole, and out of working families pockets simply because we as a society emphasize short term profit and greed above long term and overall profits. It should be criminal to do these things, yet our laws emphasize self destruction for the short term benefit of a few individuals.

The economy is the biggest reason why protecting the environment is important, and this is interrelated to other important issues such as health. Bottom line is being "conservative" about the environment really just means being short sighted and willing to make a dime today to lose a dollar tomorrow.

Evo

Phungus, it's sad that you only care about the money, IMO. But overpopulation has begun to cause an economic impact in that there are too few jobs for the number of people and it's only going to get worse. We can't just keep increasing the population and expect jobs to match the number of people that need jobs.

But this is completely off topic. The thread is in biology and is about the ecosystem. So all posts must be on ecology.

russ_watters

I think you may have misunderstood my point: I'm in favor of saving the rainforests. But the position that we're overpopulated now says that we can't stop the depletion of resources without lowering the population.

russ_watters

Their own ecosystems? Why should I care besides thinking they are cool? Agreed. Aesthetics is a real issue and not fundamentally different from other choices not borne out of necessity. Indeed, some of the more fervent environmentalists place a high priority on aesthetics. What does bother me though is when aesthetics are valued above other environmental considerations. That's typically nimbyism and generally a poor, short-sighted choice.

russ_watters

Why? Money is really, really important. Besides which, if someone's goals are the same as your, doesn't it make sense to partner with them even if their reason for sharing those goals is different?

Evo

It seems greed is the reason that so much is being destroyed.