The preservation of the forests, in the Northwestern United States, is surrounded by controversy. The argument, over the use of the forest, is not confined to the environmentalists and the loggers. It has progressed to include the scientists at state, federal, and university levels along with the general population. A large part of the controversy involves the northern spotted owl, which lives mainly in the old virgin forest, and is included on the endangered species list. The controversy is based on the cost and benefits derived from logging the forest. In the northeast, the forests are being destroyed by acid rainfall. Both of these problems are essentially economic in nature. Acid rainfall is caused by industrial polution which is not accounted for in the cost of production. Lestruction of the forest is not counted as a cost of logging. The continued preservation, of the forests today, will be dependant on finding economically viable solutions to equating the costs and benefits, for preservation of the forests to society, if the forests are harvested of old growth timber. The government has an unpopular job of deciding how to measure the costs, without having a market price on which to baase the costs and the benefits of having an old growth forest and increased potential for biodiversity.
The environmentalists belong to two different camps. The first believes that the environment deserves to be put back into pristine condition--no matter what the costs to society. The second group, of environmentalists, is more mainstream and acceptable to society's capitalistic belief system. Both groups, of environmentalists, generally, believe that where there is any question of harm being done, to a species or ecosystem, the government should compel private industry, or the government itself, to refrain from any activity which might have negative effects, in the long or short term.
The radical environmentalists protes...