“Present-day Benefits of Nature to Humanity” by Tandena Wagner

This article was written with the aid of AI for research, structure, and phrasing. It may contain >10% AI-generated text. What Has Nature Done For Me Lately? In this sequence I try to determine the most valuable aspects of nature, after observing that lots of people find it valuable. One of the major candidates is “ecosystem services,” a term describing benefits we get from nature.[1] I find that the total value of all ecosystem services is high, but the marginal unit wouldn't meaningfully diminish the benefits we receive. In this post I explore How valuable ecosystem services are (about $45 trillion per year) What those ecosystem services are (nutrient cycling, etc) How possible it is to get those same benefits from other sources besides nature And whether biodiversity is providing the instrumental gain we get from nature.  A quick clarification: Biodiversity is a measure of how many distinct species exist in nature (although it ambiguously can refer to local density of species, total extant global species, diversity within a species, and/or variety of ecosystems). Biodiversity is not equivalent to ecosystem services - as I demonstrate in this post. Breakdown of Ecosystem Services The estimated dollar equivalents of [...] ---Outline:(00:19) What Has Nature Done For Me Lately?(01:31) Breakdown of Ecosystem Services(03:53) The Value Estimates In This Table Are Flawed(06:00) Some Other Ideas for Measuring Value(08:16) Option Value(09:19) A Case for Biodiversity as a Biotech Resource Library(14:07) Conclusion(16:03) References:(16:06) Sources for my Claims about Ecosystem Services(16:26) Nutrient Cycling(18:24) Water Supply(19:00) Pest Control(19:44) Wild-Caught Fish(20:22) Pollination(20:43) Disease Control(21:40) Flood Control(22:21) Water Purification(22:52) Major Assessments of Current Value from Nature:(22:58) Recent Assessments:(24:31) Older Assessments:(25:19) Other Assessments: --- First published: May 20th, 2026 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/z7AYzXSW3JGQvPSzi/present-day-benefits-of-nature-to-humanity --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.