There is no point trying to debate the merits of economic development to people who don't want to hear it, or highlight corruption to people who don't want to see it.
As for these snails, whether they have value or not is not an huge issue to me. Although there are plenty of snails like them, if people have fallen in love with this particular snail so much they want them forever to live in a fridge, I am happy to let them pursue their passion in turning them into fridge snails. However, I’ve always marked the character of a person by how much they are prepared to sacrifice to pursue their passion, and these snails lovers wanted everyone else to sacrifice, but not make any sacrifices themselves. So for me, they have no honour, and no true character. They are merely parasites.
If you do, then you're more stupid than I give you credit for.
It was interesting seeing New Zealand. It has gone further down the Green road than Australia, but is heading for a self correction. The mining engineer was leaving for America. His attitude was that New Zealand can head towards being a tourist economy like Fiji, Philippines etc and have the social security, education system, and funding for environmentalism to match. Companies just don’t want to invest when $400 million developments can be halted for some ordinary snails. Furthermore, 20 per cent of New Zealand's brightest minds live in other countries now as they've got jacked off as well. As the number of parasites become disproportional to the animal, then the collapse should bring things back into line.
An increase of environmentalism in a nation is a positive move, not a negative. Start to realize this.
And Fiji and the Philippines are two nations that a western nation such as NZ should model itself on. Rather, it should model itself on successful nations such as Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, some of the wealthiest nations on earth, and not coincidently, nations with some of the highest developed environmental standards in the world.
And people leave NZ because there's better horizons to reach, not because of some scientists. Many of Australia's great minds are leaving, has the curse of the snail loving biologist reached Australia too?
At present, the only ones standing up to the Greenies are the Moari. It seems the Greenies want to be paid to eradicate the introduced animals from the Moari’s lands, and then the Moari, who love to hunt, are expected to devote their attention to making shell jewelery for the local crystal shop. As you can imagine, the Maori don’t take kindly to these outsiders coming in and telling them what they can and can’t do, and taking away their recreational activities. But once more of these mines are shut down, and more farmers are forced out of business, then the parasites are going to find conditions much tougher.
As for introduced species, even the average joe knows that introduced pests, like a rabbit, which started this whole conversation destroy the native habitat by eating local flora and fauna. Introduced species like rabbits and foxes are a breed that no-one likes. If anything, the greenies are doing everyone a favour, especially as some farmers have had problems with foxes eating their cattle and rabbits eating their crops.
you say that the MAORI (I spell it in capitals, maybe you can learn to spell it rightly) don't like these outsiders coming in, what do you call all the white population of NZ who arrived on boat and took the land of the Maoris? It seems that the same group that wants to stop these greenies bothering the Maoris are the same people who want to deny the Maoris their cultural rights and ownership to the land.
And why would a farmer be shut down if a mine closed? How are they linked? Oh dammit, I can't send my sheep to collect the gemstones any more.
More please stompie, this is like cannon fodder.

