Hi All, I've been following the recent & on-going discussion on the conservation of threatened & endangered native plants (bulbs) with respect to seed trade ethics. For better or for worse, I feel indirectly responsible for initiating this discussion when on June 23rd I posted my experience...sticktly from the standpoint of a consumer...of buying Chilean Rhodophiala seeds from an online vendor. The discussions that have ensued...and the many topics that have been brought up... are indeed complicated and sometimes difficult to follow or to completely explore...inpart due to the nature of communicating this way in writing through emails. Also, the speed & convenience of using pronouns when writing a forum posting sometimes makes it difficult to immediately express (or understand) exactly what (or whom) is being referred to without taking the time to write it out in full (or go back and re-read earlier communications). But I do feel that to heighten everyone's knowledge & awareness of these and other related issues through discussion & contribution is exactly (in part) what an online forum is for. That being said, I keep hoping to read a member make a direct proposal or advocate a particular course of action to address and hopefully remedy a solution to these problems being discussed (conservation & commercial trade ethics). Purhaps there is a piece of communication that I have missed or have not understood correctly/fully? I feel that it is those members most educated, knowledgeable and experienced in these matters who are in the best position to not only *propose* possible solutions...but also could and should step into the online line of fire by * advocating* one. Otherwise, to my ear, all this fervent discussion starts to sound academic and hypothetical...and I find myself asking the all-to-familiar question '...yes, but how?' Recently (after my Rhodophiala posting) I added the book "Hearst Garden Guides: Bulbs" [John E. Bryan, Editor] to my collection, and under the heading "Conservation of Endangered Species" the book proposed and advocated that consumers purchase bulbs "from dealers who have publicly pledged to sell only propagated bulbs" and "purchase only those packages of bulbs that are labeled 'Bulbs grown from cultivated stock.'" Advocating a boycott by the individual consumer is certainly one valid soluation in seed (bulb) trade ethics, but in my opinion it doesn't actively address the source or cause of the problem, or take into consideration the nature of commerce...or human nature...or the difficulty of Government to regulate commerce. If I were to make one general proposal within this limited scope, it would be that we should focus on somehow putting the burden-of-responsibility on the respective governments to somehow regulate and/or restrict the commerce of a threatened or endangered specie of bulb within its established (and hopefully protected) native habitat. But what the most efficient & effective way of making/persuading a government...particularly a foreign government...to take this responsibility is...I couldn't say. As for addressing & hopefully illiciting positive change among the myriade of other contributing factors (i.e. development of native habitats) both in the U.S. & abroad...I think it all depends on how much each of us is ready, willing & able to take on. -d.