Sustainability Principles Online Dialogue

One of the postings I read wanted to know how to "account for" things like trees, flowers, rainfall, etc. etc. I suggested that the seminal environmental accounting "emergy" methodology of Crafoord Prize winner Dr. H. T. Odum can not only account for all such natural system behavior, but can also compare the emergy/dollar ratio to create a more appropriate "EM$" value which can be used in something like a "double-double entry" bookkeeping account, one which can validly be compared with other such values elsewhere. View my "cosmic accounting" forum topic for more info.
Point being: Odum's work can indeed deal with questions such as "how many solar equivalent joules does it take to produce this sustainability dialogue?" and is able to actually yield an objective answer, just as it could provide an answer for "what is the value in EM$ for shrimp from mariculture ponds in Ecuador sold to Red Lobster in the US?" (cf., "EMERGY Analysis of Shrimp Mariculture in Ecuador", H.

For us humans, "appropriate behavior in the biosphere" is a learned adaptation -- it does not come naturally or by instinct at this stage of our evolution. And without appropriate education there will be no appropriate behavior that is learned. so perhaps the domain of life is is where the key educational policy and operational implications fit best.

Re: The Domain of Life, P and OI; "Shape land use patterns to reduce human encroachment on other forms of life" --This does not offer much practical guidance relative to the 6th great extiction crisis that is unfolding on planet earth as we speak.

If current trends continue, one half of all species of life on Earth will be extinct in 100 years. (E.O. Wilson, The Future of Life, p. 102) The rate of extinctions has reached 100 times higher than the natural background rate. Fortunately, scientists and biologists have determined the major causes of the accellerated extiction rates. They have also precisely located 25 critical biodiversity hotspots which still contain upwards of 50 % of the world's remaining land based species.

Are the Policy and Operational Implications inclusive? Could you suggest additional ones? Could you suggest examples of best practices for any?