 |  Environmental Science: A Global Concern, 7/e William P. Cunningham,
University of Minnesota
Mary Ann Cunningham,
Vassar College
Barbara Woodworth Saigo,
St. Cloud State University
Preserving Nature
Chapter OverviewThe last chapter on forests and grasslands addressed two commodity-type resources whose economic values can readily be determined. This chapter deals with two distinctly noncommodity resources: parklands and wilderness.
Wood, principally used for fuel, paper, and construction, fits easily into the economic world of cost/benefit analysis. Grass, a product of the earth's plentiful grassland biomes and a precursor to meat consumption, likewise can readily be assigned dollar value. This is not so for park experiences and wilderness. What is the monetary value to the human spirit of a piece of undisturbed nature, a day in the backcountry of Yellowstone, or an ecosystem with its physical and biological pieces still whole? Unlike commodities, these resources are not easily converted into dollars and cents.
How much undisturbed nature do we need? What amount of commodity can or should be left unexploited in the interest of preservation? These are contentious issues in many places today.
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2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education