Definition: Willingness to pay for the existence of an environmental resource without on-site use. It can be motivated by an ecological ethic, altruism toward others or bequests to future generations. Example:
One of Earth's last frontiers lies off the Carolina coast, on the cold, black ocean bottom 1,200 feet below the waves.
Scientists are just beginning to explore these deep-water coral reefs, possibly millions of years old, that stretch from North Carolina to Florida. They form pristine oases, alive with fish, crabs and creatures that one researcher said "look like Dr. Seuss went crazy down there."
The discoveries have also caught the attention of the Bush administration, which is reported to be interested in protecting 25,000 square miles of reefs off the Southeast as a national monument.
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No more than 40 people have ever seen them.
