2.2 How much is a whale worth? (Ecosystem Services)

Why did whales get valued at $2 million?

• Their poop feeds phytoplankton, which fuels oxygen generation.

• You can sell whale meat for $2 million

What is a benefit of valuing the ecosystem services of an ecosystem?

• It allows you to know the value in case something like an oil spill happens to that area. 

• It lets you sell the ecosystem for maximum profit.

What is a drawback of pricing ecosystem services?

• It can allow companies to just pay and keep up the same behavior.

• It lets anyone buy up nature and own it.

Who do they argue that valuing ecosystem services is important for?

• The people that see value is dead nature - they need to know the value that living nature has.

• The people who already love nature - they need to see a price that goes with their love. 

One thing that this video doesn't specifically talk about is the idea many of the goods and services we use harm nature, but that harm isn't included in the cost of the goods and services.  This is called negative externalities.  One thing valuing ecosystem services does is allow us to create a framework to include those costs into the costs of goods and services.  That was a lot to read, so you can just choose "Negative Externalities" to get a free point here :)

• Negative Extenalities

• Positive Externalities.