Finger on the spot

"Deciding what to saveWHEN a house is on fire, most people find the initial decisions about what to save quite easy. Humans (and by tradition women and children) first, then pets (dogs before goldfish), then photos. But after that it gets a bit tricky. The antique armoire or the new computer? Expensive or sentimental items?Conservationists face a similar problem deciding where to set up protected areas. One might think it would make sense to create them where they could save the maximum number of species. After all, about 50% of plant species and 71% of vertebrate species are concentrated in ?hotspots? that cover only 2.3% of the Earth?s surface. ..." (2008-4-14)

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