Present Economic Value of Miss. Delta System - $1.3 Trillion

I was listening to WWL Radio the other day and some eco-economics guy was on talking about their newly released report on the value of the Delta System to our national economy.

Look at this:

quote:

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Mississippi River Delta ecosystems possess economic value. Findings of the world’s foremost experts on ecosystem services, valuation, and the Mississippi Delta show that ecosystem services provide people tens of billions in yearly benefits. By protecting against hurricanes, assuring water supply, buffering climate instability, supporting fisheries and other food and fur stocks, maintaining critical habitat, providing waste treatment, and additional benefits, these ecosystems provide people between $12 - 47 billion in benefits every year. If this natural capital were recognized as an economic asset, the present value of the Mississippi Delta would be between $330 billion and $1.3 trillion. These are the findings of our report "Gaining Ground".

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You can find the whole report at: LINK

They say that the oil disaster threatens goods and services (our wetlands and our industry) worth more than BP's entire value.