Pavan Sukhdev: Put a value on nature!

http://www.ted.com Every day, we use materials from the earth without thinking, for free. But what if we had to pay for their true value: would it make us more careful about what we use and what we waste? Think of Pavan Sukhdev as nature's banker -- assessing the value of the Earth's assets. Eye-opening charts will make you think differently about the cost of air, water, trees ...

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[lollerfisk]

Oh, ew. Angry dumb people fighting each other. Remind me not to scroll down on TED videos ever again.

[jemmre]

@pvaultinfish Have you seen Zeitgeist documentary. This is my ideal world, and it completely does away with the monetary system. This talk has some good ideas, im not against what he is saying, i just think that to suggest that we have to put a monetary value on things in order to appreciate them is the wrong way to go. We should appreciate them for the intrinsic value they give to our lives, and the the lives of other species and the ecology as a whole. Nature is not a resource, it is life.

[Pemmee]

Your world will end if you do not make a big chance towards mother Earth....

[goshinbi44]

as much as I don't like the idea of a "price" on nature, a value a bit different. It's nice to see very quickly what it's worth in some quantifiable means. It it leads nicely to "why is it worth that much". Not a bad idea.

[kbomber12]

Valuable Information

[nmryda]

@eluap You would think they would right? lol

[nmryda]

@jemmre The dude who made the Zeitgeist movies didn't even bother to do basic research (not even a quick google search) for all the topics he covered before spouting out a bunch of CRAP, supported by ZERO evidence (citing barely any credible sources at all in all of those vids) half of which is easily refutable by wikipedia. With such blatant incompetence, why would you trust his ideas in important things like socio-economic restructuring?

[SourcesAreEverything]

Very important talk.

[jemmre]

@hempartist420 Fair enough. Can you give me some examples of models that are better? I agree that Zeitgeist is unrealistic in our current economic and social climate, but it is an example of how the technological advances made by our civilization could be better utilized for the benefit of human and environmental wellbeing. I think demanding that people pay the true cost for environmental degradation is as unrealistic as doing away with the monetary system. What do you think?

[jemmre]

@ritchloui By intrinsic value, i mean, the sustenance nature provides us with. Whats the true value in monetary terms of this sustenance that provides us with life? It doesn't and cannot have a value, because it is in its essence invaluable. To give a monetary value to life is to degrade it, we cannot and will never be able to put a price on nature because we cannot afford to under this economic system. Not until the economic system changes can we truly appreciate the value of nature.

[ritchloui]

@lllraverslll I can see that the 'black market' could appear to be a response to huge hikes in price - as for example in ivory. However, the more recent initiatives to save the elephants, tigers and other highly prized 'black market' animals, has been to ensure that the preservation methods are of immediate and obvious value to the local people too. Previously they were just chucked off their land and were left with no legitimate means of income nor benefit from the so called 'reserves'.