Ummmmmm. THis is an economically important insect, it just happens to not be a financially important insect. These are not the same thing. This insect would be a non-market good in the economic system. While it may not currently have a cash value, it may later develop a cash value. Additionally, ecosystem services (pollination, trap-crop functions of diseases, etc.) which it undoubtedly performs also contribute to the overall economic system. One could assess a cash value of this insect based on the amount of money that would be needed to return it to the system. For example, the thylacine was eradicated many many years ago. Now, people desire to bring it back and are trying to reconstruct its genome to clone it. The dollar investment will be extraordinary over the long haul. however, had the population been managed and conserved, it would still exist at a much smaller investment.
The complexities of explaining the role of non-market goods in an economy are far more extensive than I can elaborate upon here. However, enrolling in a course in environmental economics or welfare economics at a university will certainly answer your question. It is not something that can be satisfactorily explained in an email or short article! :) On Wed, Oct 29, 2008 at 12:10 AM, David M. Lawrence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I didn't know anyone measured the quality of basic science research in such > a manner. Applied scientific research, maybe, but not basic scientific > research. > > Dave > > Paul Cherubini wrote: >> >> David M. Lawrence wrote: >>> >>> What's frivolous about basic research like this? >> >> What potential return on the taxpayer's investment >> is there from studying the health of an economically >> unimportant insect? >> >> Paul > > -- > ------------------------------------------------------ > David M. Lawrence | Home: (804) 559-9786 > 7471 Brook Way Court | Fax: (804) 559-9787 > Mechanicsville, VA 23111 | Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > USA | http: http://fuzzo.com > ------------------------------------------------------ > > "We have met the enemy and he is us." -- Pogo > > "No trespassing > 4/17 of a haiku" -- Richard Brautigan > -- Malcolm L. McCallum Associate Professor of Biology Texas A&M University-Texarkana Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology http://www.herpconbio.org Summer Teaching Schedule & Office Hours: Ecology: M,W 1-2:40 pm Cell Biology: M 6-9:40 pm (don't ask!) Forensic Science: T,R 10-11:40am Office Hours: MW 12-1, 5-6, TR 11:40-12:30, "until we as a people stop killing each other and stop not getting our education we are never going to be successful." -Charles Barkley
