White-tailed Deer and Beaver? MW
----- Original Message ----- From: Wayne Tyson To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 1:32 PM Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] the precautionary principle makes sense and should be applied to GCC arguments Passenger pigeon, anyone? WT ----- Original Message ----- From: "James Crants" <jcra...@gmail.com> To: <ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU> Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 10:35 AM Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] the precautionary principle makes sense and should be applied to GCC arguments > On the contrary, examples exist (sea mink, cod) of animal communities > being >> greatly diminished at the hands of the very people turning a profit from >> their harvesting. >> >> Phil > > > The tragedy of the commons. The benefit from harvesting a resource > accrues > only whoever collects it (and probably to some middlemen), while the costs > are shared by everyone with a stake in the resource. The economically > rational thing to do, on the individual level, is to harvest as much as > you > can, but this produces the collective result of putting all the harvesters > out of business. The only way for them to stay in business is for them to > accept some set of rules (either their own or someone else's) that keeps > them, collectively, from over-harvesting. If the resource is very scarce, > the rules might say not to harvest at all, on the assumption that all the > rule-breakers will harvest at unsustainable or barely-sustainable rates. > > It's an economic theory, but while almost every ecologist I've talked to > about it seems to be familiar with it, every time I've mentioned it to an > economist, I've gotten a blank stare in return. > > Jim > > > ----- > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 10.0.1204 / Virus Database: 1435/3511 - Release Date: 03/16/11 >
