Maintains that policies that recognize the commercial value of resources and offer rewards for actions that preserve rather than deplete them, offer the best chance for environmental protection. Discusses recent experiments where the right to harvest a resource is sold as a commodity. Examines the role this plays in conservation. (MJP)

Argues that well-intentioned government policies, such as the Endangered Species Act, can actually cause harm to endangered species by creating disincentives to preserving the habitat for endangered species. Maintains that the use of incentives can lead to voluntary species protection. Includes instructions for an in-class teaching activity. (MJP)

Describes a classroom exercise designed to illustrate the economic aspects of common ownership, individual ownership, government regulation and to examine how these relate to conservation. The exercise involves the incremental distribution (via a turkey baster) of water between buckets marked "now" and "future." Different rules replicate different…