25
species.” And, to the point, have suggested that for a price tag of $500 million to $1
billion per year (for 50 years) every species could be identified, the scaling and
actual species numbers accurately calculated.
18
Even at that scale, and in view of
several conservation cost/benefits assessments, it is clear that money alone will not
necessarily save species, although in the case of one parrot taxon, approximately
US$2.26 million spent over 25 years brought the Lear’s Macaw from the Critically
Endangered to Endangered status in Brazil.
19
That might seem like a negligible step,
but it is the hardest, most critical one on the path toward species restoration.
Numerous other taxa-specific cost/benefits studies have been done with respect to
North American mountain lions, California condors, and New Zealand kakapos, as
examples. The costs per species are always in the millions of dollars. And while
various research estimates for saving all presently identified globally endangered
species, at between $59 and $76 billion annually, sound more than possible (given
the value of estimated free natural services exceeding $125 trillion, and the actual
ability of mints to print emergency dollars), the bigger looming costs are outside
cost/benefit algorithms (Fig. 3.2).
3.2 Trigger Effects and Moral Half-Resolutions
The inflictions that drive species to endangerment and extinction are simply too
myriad to simplistically capture in linear economic projections.
20
In 2012, the US
government spent approximately $1.7 billion to work toward saving its regional
endangered species.
21
At the same time, however, that meager investment was calculated to generate some $1 trillion per year in benefits.
22
Because the field data is
constantly being appended, the real cost/benefits over time has proven difficult to
track. Moreover, at every cusp of spending decisions, there are predictable other,
18 See “There Might Be 1 Trillion Species on Earth,” by Stephanie Pappas, May 5, 2016,
LiveScience, https://www.livescience.com/54660-1-trillion-species-on-earth.html, Accessed
February 21, 2020.
19 See “How much does it cost to save a species from extinction? Costs and rewards of conserving
the Lear’s macaw,” by Antonio E. A. Barbosa and José L. Tella, July 10, 2019, https://doi.
org/10.1098/rsos.190190, Royal Society Open Science, Royal Society Publishing, https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.190190, Accessed February 21, 2020.
20 See “Conservation Will Cost $76 Billion,” by Dan Cossins, TheScientist, October 11, 2012,
https://www.the-scientist.com/the-nutshell/conservation-will-cost-76-billion-40357,
Accessed
February 21, 2020.
21 See “How Much Did the U.S. Spend on the Endangered Species Act in 2012?” by John R. Platt,
November 1, 2012, Extinction Countdown, Scientific American, https://blogs.scientificamerican.
com/extinction-countdown/how-much-did-the-us-spend-on-the-endangered-species-act-in-2012/
Accessed February 21, 2020.
22 See “The Endangered Species Act Is Criticized for Its Costs. But It Generates More than $1
Trillion a Year,” by Justin Worland, July 25, 2018, Time Magazine, https://time.com/5347260/
endangered-species-act-reform/Accessed February 21, 2020.
3.2 Trigger Effects and Moral Half-Resolutions
species.” And, to the point, have suggested that for a price tag of $500 million to $1
billion per year (for 50 years) every species could be identified, the scaling and
actual species numbers accurately calculated.
18
Even at that scale, and in view of
several conservation cost/benefits assessments, it is clear that money alone will not
necessarily save species, although in the case of one parrot taxon, approximately
US$2.26 million spent over 25 years brought the Lear’s Macaw from the Critically
Endangered to Endangered status in Brazil.
19
That might seem like a negligible step,
but it is the hardest, most critical one on the path toward species restoration.
Numerous other taxa-specific cost/benefits studies have been done with respect to
North American mountain lions, California condors, and New Zealand kakapos, as
examples. The costs per species are always in the millions of dollars. And while
various research estimates for saving all presently identified globally endangered
species, at between $59 and $76 billion annually, sound more than possible (given
the value of estimated free natural services exceeding $125 trillion, and the actual
ability of mints to print emergency dollars), the bigger looming costs are outside
cost/benefit algorithms (Fig. 3.2).
3.2 Trigger Effects and Moral Half-Resolutions
The inflictions that drive species to endangerment and extinction are simply too
myriad to simplistically capture in linear economic projections.
20
In 2012, the US
government spent approximately $1.7 billion to work toward saving its regional
endangered species.
21
At the same time, however, that meager investment was calculated to generate some $1 trillion per year in benefits.
22
Because the field data is
constantly being appended, the real cost/benefits over time has proven difficult to
track. Moreover, at every cusp of spending decisions, there are predictable other,
18 See “There Might Be 1 Trillion Species on Earth,” by Stephanie Pappas, May 5, 2016,
LiveScience, https://www.livescience.com/54660-1-trillion-species-on-earth.html, Accessed
February 21, 2020.
19 See “How much does it cost to save a species from extinction? Costs and rewards of conserving
the Lear’s macaw,” by Antonio E. A. Barbosa and José L. Tella, July 10, 2019, https://doi.
org/10.1098/rsos.190190, Royal Society Open Science, Royal Society Publishing, https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.190190, Accessed February 21, 2020.
20 See “Conservation Will Cost $76 Billion,” by Dan Cossins, TheScientist, October 11, 2012,
https://www.the-scientist.com/the-nutshell/conservation-will-cost-76-billion-40357,
Accessed
February 21, 2020.
21 See “How Much Did the U.S. Spend on the Endangered Species Act in 2012?” by John R. Platt,
November 1, 2012, Extinction Countdown, Scientific American, https://blogs.scientificamerican.
com/extinction-countdown/how-much-did-the-us-spend-on-the-endangered-species-act-in-2012/
Accessed February 21, 2020.
22 See “The Endangered Species Act Is Criticized for Its Costs. But It Generates More than $1
Trillion a Year,” by Justin Worland, July 25, 2018, Time Magazine, https://time.com/5347260/
endangered-species-act-reform/Accessed February 21, 2020.
3.2 Trigger Effects and Moral Half-Resolutions