Ecosystem Services

Romney's Rising Oceans Joke- http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnmcquaid/2012/08/31/romneys-rising-oceans-joke/

Even though I know it is going to drive me crazy, I can't help paying attention to what is going on in the world of politics.  Of course, because we are just a couple of months away from the elections there are plenty of things going on to keep my blood pressure raised to a completely unhealthy level.

I saw the portion of Governor Romney's speech at the Republican Convention where he appeared to make fun of President Obama saying that he would "slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet" (here is where you are supposed to laugh uncontrollably and derisively if you are a Republican delegate).  Instead Gov. Romney claimed that his promise is "to help you and your family".

Not surprisingly, this clip disturbed me for a number of reasons.  Ultimately, I decided that there must have been a complete failure by the environmental education community (that includes me) for failing to (1) inform people about the important services that provided, for free, by the environment (Ecosystem Services) and (2) inform people of how human activity has affected the ability of the environment to supply these services.   Thus, the topic of Ecosystem Services suddenly got added to our syllabus for Wednesday.

However, when I reviewed my notes about this topic I rediscovered an article published by World Resources Institute entitled "Ecosystem services and human well-being synthesis: summary for decision-makers" (the link is presented below).  HA!  Thus, the information is out there for any "decision maker" that cares to have some info to make "informed decisions".


Readings

Classic Paper

The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital by Costanza et al.
NATURE |VOL 387 | 15 MAY 1997

http://www.esd.ornl.gov/benefits_conference/nature_paper.pdf

Other Readings

Biodiversity and ecosystem services- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Biodiversity_and_ecosystem_services

Marine ecosystem services- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Marine_ecosystem_services

Ecosystem services and human well-being synthesis: summary for decision-makers.
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Ecosystems_and_Human_Well-being_Synthesis:_Summary_for_Decision-makers

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course a fully engaged student should be able to

- define ecosystem services

- discuss the variety of services provided by the environment

- discuss how scientists have attempted to determine the monetary value of ecosystem services