Economists hope that the outcome of such a cost/benefit analysis is an equilibrium between the benefits accrued from an additional unit of a good (marginal benefit) and the costs of aquiring that additional good (marginal costs). Simply put, where Marginal benefits equal marginal costs, the market is said to be efficient. There are three commonly accepted, though hotly debated, methods of valuing environmental assets such as the Galapagos Islands. These methods attempt to capture the benefits, in dollar form, of gaining additional units of environmental assets. The reason for needing these valuation techniques is that there are no efficient markets for the assets in question. There is essentially a public goods problem, or free-rider problem, in which there is non-rival consumption allowing for benefits to be derived by people who do not pay for consumption. There is also an external costs and benefits (outside the market) influence on the present value of the Islands. This makes market valuation of The Galapagos Islands very difficult especially since they contain a unique collection of species not found anywhere else on earth with nearly limitless research value. As such, many feel a need to protect the islands from the destructive forces of mankind. Protection, like any other decision, has costs and benefits that must somehow be captured without an efficient market to dictate a demand schedule. In cases such as this, studies involving Hedonic, Travel Cost, and Contingent Valuation methods are necessary in order to produce some estimation of value to be used in a cost/benefit analysis.
These valuation techniques attempt to capture three specific values that people place on assets: use, option, and existence. Use values are those that people who actually consume the asset place on that asset. The Galapagos Islands can be said to be consumed by those living on them for various reasons and by those who travel to them for research, leisure activities, etc.
The diversity of views concerning the relation of science and religion today can be grouped under four basic headings. The first heading is Conflict and includes proponents of a philosophy of materialism, on the one hand, and advocates of biblical literalism or creationism, on the other. The secon...