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Esa Environmental Law Environmental Law: Research Paper

Costs are difficult to determine, given the long-term nature of recovery projections and the fact that it is very difficult to quantify the benefits to the environment and humanity of saving a particular animal or plant species in most instances. Some species, such as the bald eagle, have additional emotional and symbolic importance, but that is a relatively rare case. "The biggest costs, opponents argue, are really all the logging, mining and polluting we can't do because of the pesky ESA," and tightening restrictions upon the ESA have been routinely opposed by a largely Republican faction of senators who argue that we cannot afford to be mindful of the environment during an economic recession (Vinzant 2009). On a purely cost-benefit analysis, the immediate economic cost of the ESA often seems to outweigh the benefits. "With a large fraction of endangered or threatened species inhabiting private land (75% according to a 1993 estimate by the Nature Conservancy), a significant portion of the ESA costs are borne by private property owners…From society's perspective, endangered species with limited commercial or consumptive benefits are undervalued by market prices" (Shogren 1997). Private interests will always place the economic...

The certain 'opportunity cost' of not using the land. However, this underlines the need for environmental legislation rather than acts as an argument against the ESA's existence. The question of endangerment forces us to reconsider what is meant by beneficial as a society: do we prioritize the health of the ecosystem as a whole, or merely the health of our own species?
References

Endangered Species Act (ESA). (1973). Cornell University Law School. Retrieved:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/endangered_species_act_esa

Endangered Species Act: Overview. (2013). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved:

http://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/

History of the Endangered Species Act. (2013). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved:

http://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/esa-history.html

Shogren, Jason. (1997). Economics and the Endangered Species Act. University of Michigan.

http://www.umich.edu/~esupdate/library/97.01-02/shogren.html

Vinzant, Carrie. (2009). How much does the Endangered Species Act cost? Daily Finance.

Retrieved: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/09/animals-and-money-how-much-does-the-endangered-species-act-cost/

Sources used in this document:
References

Endangered Species Act (ESA). (1973). Cornell University Law School. Retrieved:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/endangered_species_act_esa

Endangered Species Act: Overview. (2013). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved:

http://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/esa-history.html
http://www.umich.edu/~esupdate/library/97.01-02/shogren.html
Retrieved: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/09/animals-and-money-how-much-does-the-endangered-species-act-cost/
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