Has anyone been giving thought to how the current economic downturn might be affecting rates of habitat conversion? In the U.S., housing-based habitat conversions have been one of the leading drivers of habitat loss and degradation, during the most recent decades. This perhaps represents an opportunity for an empirical test of the steady state economy ideas. GDP has measurably dropped in the last months; have rates of habitat conversion likewise dropped?
-- Robert Baldwin Assistant Professor, Conservation Biology/GIS Department of Forestry and Natural Resources Clemson University Clemson, SC (864) 656-4857
