Custom «Worlds Ecosystems» Essay Paper

The issue surrounding this opposing debate has been brought about by the externalities that face the environment and the subject of whether to put a price tag on the ecosystem and the goods and services which it provides. The ecosystem has experienced tremendous changes in the past, which has contributed to its degradation as compared to the past (Leavy, 2012). If the ecosystem is undisturbed, it benefits its inhabitants in more ways than when it is disturbed. We need to put a price tag on the ecosystem because of various reasons that will enable everyone to benefit from it. Placing price tags on the ecosystem will deter people from disturbing and exploiting the ecosystem. Human beings as well as animals survive on the products and services provided by the ecosystem and rely on the ecosystem for survival. The ecosystem is, therefore, a fundamental part of life through providing its support of services. The ecosystem is central in provision of timber, water, pharmaceutical products, firewood, and animals, which we rely on for a living. It is important that a price tag should be set which will prevent people from harming the ecosystem (Iansiti, 2005). Such a price tag can take the form of court fines and taxes for using the ecosystem wrongly. For instance, illegal logging has contributed to ecosystem degradation and, thus, if anyone is found guilty of the offense, he or she should be punished. Moreover, a price tag should be set on the ecosystem since it offers natural resources that make important contributions in both the long-term as well as the short-term economic performance and should be well thought-out as economic assets. In addition, we can only manage what we measure. The ecosystem has often been overlooked because some services, which it provides, are basic to existence of life, such as air, soil, and water and are considered as public goods and services. A price tag should, therefore, be set to make sure that a real value has been derived from the ecosystem and not the usual cost associated with it (Kellington, 2009: Chapin, et al., 2007).