Wrap 4: Please reply to the following discussion in a post forum, must be min of 50 words and not to exceed 80 words:

This last week we learned about biodiversity and the impact businesses can have on the environment (good and bad).  Because we are losing species at such an alarming rate we know that we need to use a variety of strategies to protect these species. As stated in several posts, a possible strategy may be to focus on one or two “glamorous” endangered species within the ecosystem to achieve a significant support from the community. Some other great ideas included enlisting a celebrity as a spokesperson and approaching a large company in need for some positive PR. Are you ready to be grassroots advocates for the environment? Companies looking to expand often run into opposition from environmental groups.

Finding a balance between progress and the environment can be difficult. One of the strategies sometimes used by a company is to offer to “make up for the damage” by either restoring an ecosystem after the company is done (e.g., in mining operations) or creating a new preserve to replace the one they are proposing to destroy. While these are not new ideas, we are likely to see even more of them in the future. We had an interesting discussion revealing your reservations – and perhaps distrust – about such proposals. Perhaps as our understanding of the ecosystems continues to increase, we will be able to accomplish near-perfection in our re-creation of ecosystems lost to industrial progress. Time will tell.