Conservation of biodiversity: what does it mean to the everyday person?
By Jonathan L. Gelbard
UC Davis Chapter of the
Society for Conservation Biology
As conservation biologists, we seek to
understand how to remedy
the environmental problems that lead to the
loss of the Earth’s biological diversity, in particular:
habitat destruction, pollution, the spread of invasive non-native
species, and overexploitation.
To many, “the environment” is something “out
there”, aesthetically or spiritually pleasing, but otherwise disconnected from
their livelihoods. There is a
general lack of awareness of how an unhealthy environment that threatens
biodiversity results in unhealthy people and unhealthy economies. However, there are many ways by which taking
steps that benefit biodiversity can improve the quality of our lives, even our
wallets.
Below, we provide examples of how taking steps to help protect biodiversity can improve our quality of lives and even save individuals, families, businesses, and governments money. We provide references and a bibliography for those interested in obtaining further information on these topics.
There are many more—just
think along these lines and see how many you can come up with!
Ø
Low-wattage
fluorescent light bulbs frequently consume just 28 watts of electricity to
produce as much light as 100 watt bulbs, and thereby reduce both pollution and
electricity bills. The short-term cost increase is compensated by immediate
environmental benefits (reduced pollution that threatens biodiversity), and
immediate and long-term economic benefits (reductions in energy use,
electricity bills, and the need to spend time and money purchasing bulbs).
Ø
Turn off the
lights! Reduce pollution and your
electricity bill, and in turn help protect the environment!
Ø
Hybrid
gasoline-electric vehicles, which reduce both fossil fuel consumption and
greenhouse gas emissions, save individuals and families money on fuel. For example, by replacing a four-cylinder
pickup that gets 25 miles/gallon (mpg) with a hybrid vehicle that gets 70 mpg, one will save over $1,000 every for 15,000
miles driven (on California’s gasoline prices). This action reduces air and water pollution, including acid rain
and tropospheric ozone (which is poisonous to plants and harms humans’ lungs),
and thus benefits biodiversity, human health and our wallets. That
$1,000 previously spent on one sector of the economy—oil—can now be spent in
multiple sectors of the economy, from technology to home improvement to
travel to food, or simply donated to one’s favorite environmental group or land
trust.
o
This action also
reduces our use of oil from the volatile Middle East, and thus our “need” to
spend $$billions of taxpayer dollars and increase our budget deficit by
fighting expensive wars in that region.
Ø
Improving our
fuel efficiency standards by just 30% would save Americans more than $330 for
every $1,000 that they spend on gasoline. With an average gas price of $1.75/gallon, that’s more savings than President Bush’s much-baleyhoo’d $300 tax
rebate every year for a person who drives 15,000 miles/year in a car that
gets 25 mpg and has a 15 gallon gas tank!
Better for the quality of the air we breathe, better for biodiversity,
better for our wallets.
Ø
To encourage private landowners to help conserve
biodiversity, owners of biologically important private lands can “pay” a
portion of their taxes in the form of conservation actions that benefit
biodiversity. These include several
types of agreements negotiated between private landowners and land trusts or
governmental agencies:
conservation easements:
a popular preservation option that is flexible, allowing landowners to
permanently restrict development and logging on
certain pieces of land. Restricting
these uses often results in a lower property value and this decrease in value
can be written off as a charitable donation.
In addition, the lower value works to decrease estate taxes, which can
be as much as half a property’s value!
conservation rewards:
private landowners who take steps to benefit biodiversity receive a
financial reward, often
given annually.
safe harbor agreements:
a private landowner makes an agreement with a federal agency to
follow a scientifically-advised plan to improve land
management practices to protect an endangered species on their land. Such agreements both protect landowners from
being penalized for violating the Endangered Species Act, and help to protect
endangered species.
Hopefully, such steps will help change the perception of biodiversity conservation from that of “a threat” to private property owners to that of “an opportunity” to obtain tax breaks and other financial benefits.
Ø
Individuals and families can both provide wildlife
habitat and reduce their electricity bills by planting native trees in their yard. The native trees provide habitat for native
birds and pollinators, and provide shade that reduces the need for costly
summer air conditioning.
Ø
By riding your bicycle to work, you can save money on
gas, reduce your consumption of oil from the volatile Middle East, reduce
pollution that threatens biodiversity, burn fat, look better, and feel better!
Ø
Buy recycled paper, napkins, TP, and more: for the same price, sometimes even cheaper,
or sometimes slightly more, you can buy tree-free paper! In doing so, we help sustain forests and
their biodiversity.
Ø
Buy organic produce: a recent study found that 75% of
conventional produce contained pesticide residues, while only 25% of organic
produce contained pesticide residues!
Pesticides have been linked to cancer and other health problems, not to
mention the disappearance of birds such as the bald eagle.
Further reading:
Websites:
American
Council for an Energy Efficient Economy:
http://aceee.org
Green
Business: www.greenbiz.com
The
landtrust alliance: www.lta.org
The
Natural Step: www.naturalstep.org
Daily, G. and K. Ellison.
2002. The New Economy of Nature: The
quest of make conservation profitable.
Island Press, Washington D.C.
Daily, G. C., S. Alexander,
P. R. Ehrlich, L. Goulder, J. Lubchenco, P. A. Matson, H. A. Mooney, S. Postel,
S. H. Schneider, D. Tilman, and G. M. Woodwell. 1997. Ecosystem Services: Benefits Supplied to Human Societies by
Natural Ecosystems. Issues in Ecology
Issue 2:1-18.
Hawken, P., A. B. Lovins,
and L. H. Lovins. 1999. Natural
Capitalism: the next industrial revolution.
Earthscan. 296 pp.
Romm, J. J. 1994. Lean and
clean management: how to boost profits and productivity by reducing pollution.
Kodansha International. New York. 220 pages.
Suzuki, D. 1996. Earth Time.
Island Press. Washington D.C.
287 pages.