Quote from: westkybitcoins on August 02, 2012, 04:55:26 AM

Quote from: FirstAscent on August 02, 2012, 02:10:43 AM

Quote from: westkybitcoins on August 02, 2012, 12:15:37 AM

Quote from: Elwar on August 01, 2012, 10:16:55 PM

Quote from: FirstAscent on August 01, 2012, 06:38:51 PM

If not greed, then what is the cause of species going extinct or on the verge of going extinct due to poaching?

Sumatran rhino horn is now valued at $30,000 due to its dwindling supply. Nothing like a dwindling supply of Sumatran rhino horn, a sky rocketing price, coupled with greed to accelerate the demise of this species.

Communal property leads to species going extinct.

This one is something I'm surprised still has legs: the idea that declaring a species off-limits (or as belonging to "the commons") helps it to survive.

There's no shortage of cows or chickens. No one holds protests with signs saying "Save the Corn!"

When people are allowed to have ownership of a thing, and have a free market where they can profit from said thing, and have no guarantee of a bailout or entitlement should they screw up, then they have every incentive to manage their property well enough to continue profiting. When it comes to animals & plants, that generally means managing them well enough that they continue to reproduce more.

Should I forgive this post for the reason that you just haven't learned enough about ecology and species preservation yet, what its goals are, and how it works? Or are you being willfully ignorant on the subject, and hoping that your misguided post is actually perceived as a solution to what see as the problem? Because I'll tell you, you're missing the problem altogether.

.......

I'll bite.

If it isn't the elimination of a given species, then what is the problem that greed is causing in these instances?

I think he was arguing that in fact the people causing the elimination don't actually own the species. Their livelihood depends on it, but who cares as long as there are enough for them to harvest within their lifetime?