> "Using the example of apple tree pollination...
>  we argue that destroying and replacing the 
>  free gifts of nature can be an economic benefit."

The above seems a classic example of Frederic Bastiat's "broken window"
fallacy. I think that this is taught in the first semester of any
macroeconomics survey class.  To put it in beekeeper-friendly terms, when
Gary Shilling's hives are reduced to toothpicks by bears:
http://agaryshilling.com/beekeeping.html
he will spend money to replace the gear and the bees, and it might seem that
the destruction has helped to economy.  

But buying the replacement hives reduced his DISPOSABLE income, which he
would have spent on something else, such as a new pair of shoes.  So,
replacing beehives already been purchased is a maintenance cost, not a
purchase of truly new goods, and "maintenance" doesn't stimulate production.
Gary, being an actual economist and a beekeeper in NJ, is an apt example
here, as he would know both bees and Bastiat.   

The far more important example is that war does not stimulate a country's
economy.  It is only after a war that economies, returning to normal, can
once again expand.  

> As for child labor, I mowed lawns and helped 
> on farms when I was a teenager,

A teenager earning extra pocket money by working after-school is part of the
life of the massively privileged and is NOT "child labor".

I've met many migrant farmworkers. Any beekeeper pollinating any fruit or
veggie crop is certain to meet quite a few.  It may surprise you to hear
that "Child labor" is something that is still not outlawed or even regulated
in US agriculture, so these migrant kids are working in the fields with
their parents:
http://motherjones.com/print/139467

No surprise, the kids move around too often to get an education, and many
end up dropping out. More end up with serious injuries.  Most have nothing
except a change of clothes, and they work as hard as they do simply to
survive.  These are the people who suffer the most from pesticide exposure.

There's a documentary called "The Harvest" that introduces such children to
those with no boots-on-the-ground experience with US agriculture:
http://thepiratebay.ac/torrent/8915243/Harvest_2013_-_Plus_Documentary_on_Fa
rming_-_Xvid_-_Slimoo
http://tinyurl.com/lwrzuaa

I travel a lot, and I go off the beaten path as much as I can, so I can
verify that it is far worse everywhere else:
http://motherjones.com/print/239756

Many of these overseas workers lack even "basic sanitation", meaning that
clean water and some form of latrine is a dream of luxury:
http://unicef.org/media/media_45481.html
"2.6 billion people or 39 per cent of the world's population live without
access to improved sanitation. The vast majority live in Asia and
sub-Saharan Africa."

The issue of "regulated" vs "unregulated" is obvious.  I need only mention
that the "Volcker Rule" has returned, yet it exempts "market-making", so it
has far fewer teeth than before.  That's not good for anyone but Goldman
Sacks, et al.  As proof, Goldman Sachs' stock climbed 1.2% and Morgan
Stanley's stock went up 1.3% on the news of the exemption staying in the
regulations.

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