Re: [GreenYes] if you're not driving, who is?

[Muna Lakhani <muna@iafrica.com>]

don hughes wrote:
> 
> "True cost" accounting is great in theory, but I'm not sure it translates
> well into practice.  For example, what economic value do you put on:
> - species diversity
> - ability to breathe easily
> - beautiful landscapes
> and all those other impossoble-to-quantify things that come up so often as
> environmental issues?  Sure, in many cases it can help to level the playing
> field, so to speak, by including  costs associated with health problems
> caused by toxic exposure, or cleanup of hazardous wastes, etc.  But i think
> there is a danger in relying completly on economics.  THere is a moral &
> ethical aspect to environmentalism that transcends dollars and cents.

absolutely! far from implying that economics is the only solution, it
was, as you guessed, a start at levelling the playing field a touch...
we have been trying to raise the consciousness of authorities here that
life has a right to exist - it does not have to have an economic value
to justify it's survival.. but it is a long, hard uphill battle at this
stage.. we have gone some way, believe it or not, on the aeasthetics
issue, where for example, a proposed power line across a game farm may
be rejected becasue it takes away from the experience of the bush...


thanx for the balance!!


******************************************
To post to the greenyes list,
email to: greenyes@grrn.org

Subscription information for
this list is available here:
http://www.grrn.org/general/greenyes.html
******************************************