I don't know if you have ever watched the show "Shark Tank" on ABC, but its where private entrepreneurs pitch their ideas and business models to "sharks" in hopes of getting an investment. Last night, two guys want to start a company that tries to eliminate/suppress the presence of invasive lionfish in the Atlantic and Carribean. They outline the economic and ecological harm this species causes in these environments and the entrepreneurs end up getting "eaten by the sharks" (no one wants to invest), but it shows the why topics in natural resource economics are so complex and there really isn't a quick fix solution that many laymen and outsiders believe there to be. The link below is the entire episode but the lionfish pitch is roughly 14:38 into the video. Be prepared to have to undergo 180 seconds of advertisement prior to the movie starting. [Actually I just skipped about 1/3 of the way in, right after one of the commercials, and didn't see any ads at all....]
I like the interactive approach you involve in this class via the blog and personally, a slight deviation away from reading articles would be a solid relief for students reading non quizzable posts on the blog. Hope you find it as relevant and interesting as I did.
http://abc.go.com/watch/shark-
