You are the last person alive. When you’re gone, the only life remaining will be plants, microbes, fungi. For some reason, the following thought runs through your head: Before I die, it would be nice to make the baobab tree extinct. Just for fun. Are you morally wrong?

This thought experiment is designed to help reveal where value lies in nature. You may have a strong gut reaction – but that’s not enough. We can analyse this philosophically, and challenge ourselves to justify our opinions. Watch this short video to see my response, or read my article on what’s the point of conservation.