How much is a dolphin worth?

This is the question being asked in the US as BP gets ready to cough up compensation for the Gulf oil spill. The Guardian report seems to think this is a hypothetical question, but its not. Its an increasingly common way of assessing damage to human health and the environment. There are a lot of ways of estimating it including working out how much it would cost to provide the same 'ecosystem services' that nature provides and asking how much people would be prepared to pay to save a habitat or species or to see them survive.

For example, I've never seen a dolphin when surfing and would be prepared to pay £5/surf to do so. The massive problem with this is that a government or corporation can now argue that if it compensates me and every other surfer £5 / surf they can argue they can destroy the dolphin and massively underestimates the intrinsic value of a dolphin or any other organism that has taken millions of years to evolve but seconds to destroy.

What does a surfer smell like?

I doubt the creative luvvies at Chanel are old enough to know they're rehashing the classic 1980s advert for gents aftershave Old Spice. But that's not stopped them using surfing and a hunky surfer to sell perfume to blokes (or more likely, their partners) . The Chanel Allure Homme Sport ad is just the latest example of surfploitation by companies selling their wares, in this case the olfactory essence of surfing (admittedly, it is a nice stall under the lip).

But what DOES a surfer smell like? Chanel think their Allure Homme Sport evokes a' Sparkling and invigorating freshness, a natural and radiant sensibility, heightening the scent of a breeze against bare skin...to create an infinitely seductive allure.'

Bizarrely, when I asked my wife what I smell like after surfing, she said it was more like 'a heady cocktail of decaying neoprene, dilute sewage, crusty saltiness and occasionally stale pee.'

Surf economics :how to keep the crowds down?

Spotted on Surf Nation, The Economist has a very interesting article about surfing's increasing problem with crowds and how access can be 'rationed' using a number of classic economic means. In recent years, surfing has suffered from its own version of the 'tragedy of the commons'. Charging for access in one form or another is the classic economic answer and one (in the form of expensive boat trips to the Maldives) that some surfers are prepared to use. Rationing access in one form or another to waves is another possible answer.

As a bit of a lefty, this bothers me. As a bit of a surfer, it attracts me. The crowds at my local break are partly kept down by its heavy reputation for localism. But, worryingly, it could easily be controlled by a clampdown on unlawful parking. A few years ago, access was almost prevented by coastal defence works but surfers still found a way round it. So controlling access doesn't work.

The answer that the Economist seems to favour is travelling to far-flung unsurfed spots. Mine is travelling to near-flung spots still (unbelievably) waiting to be discovered by the masses.