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think we are talking about isolated problems. I do not think we can afford to question each specific situation. I want to convey that endangered species are just the tip of a much larger problem. This larger problem is the loss of biological di versi ty. It is very easy to tri vialize the importance of any particular species. The original title for this talk did that in a way. Who cares about some stupid fish? I hope no one thought I was going to tell them that Squawfish are worth $99.00 per pound. You cannot place a monetary value on these things. Therefore, when addressing controversial endangered species issues, we must not lose sight of the fact that it is the tip of a much larger problem that we all have to deal with. It is important to reiterate why we care about these issues. While sentiment and nature appreciation are fine qualities, there are utilitarian reasons to be concerned with endangered species and the loss of biodiversity. Environmental services We are all part of an environment which provides our basic life requirements. I do not think many people appreciate that the habitability of this environment is dependent upon the temperature, moisture and oxygen available. Those are the products of a living, physical, chemical system, as well as of living organisms. Prior to the emergence of life on earth the atmosphere was very different. It contained only very small traces of oxygen. Our ability to live here is a property that is not only physical and chemical, but also biological. Many people simplify the system by saying a plant is a plant, an animal is an animal, a microbe is a microbe, and if we lived in a world of rice patties, wood lots and pastures we would still be have enough oxygen. There would still be rainfall. The machinery would keep going. That maybe true, we do not know. However, ecologists are skeptical that a very simplified world would function well. The reason why is because of something we call ecological services. This theory suggests that not only does every variety of life playa role in maintaining the overall environment, regardless of how significant, they also playa role in the ecology of the community that they are in. A good example are honey bees and pollination. The possibility of African bees migrating into the United States from Mexico is a threat to our apiary industry. Many crops require insect mediated pollination. Without bees those crops are lost. This is only one example. Consider the approximately thirty million species on earth and all their interconnections. There are serious reasons to believe that by diminishing the overall diversity of the system, connections are diminished and the remaining parts are at risk. The ramifications are unknown, but we have to be aware of the possibilities. Commercial goods . Obviously, all our food comes from living things. By and large, they are cultivated living things. I do not think many people realize that since 1930 there has been a tremendous increase in per unit agricultural productivity in this country. The yield of wheat from an acre, or the yield of potatoes from an acre have dramatically increased. Most people associate those increases with technology and 83