When academics get together, it can be pretty entertaining to watch. Sometimes the better part of a meeting or conference is spent hashing out perceived differences only to realize that they have been talking about the same thing using different words. This leaves only the continental breakfast the next morning for some real progress to be made.
The idea of ecosystem valuation is just one example. The folks over at the aptly-named website Ecosystem Valuation have put together some great resources for understanding just what economists are talking about when they tell me I assign passive use value to the Arctic Refuge.
