We don’t profess to know whether or not allowing natural asset companies to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange is good or bad, nor what it really means for Warren County.

The company Intrinsic Exchange Group, IEG, developed the idea for Natural Asset Companies as a way to enable investment in the valuable services that nature provides. It is estimated that clean water, pollination of crops, storage of carbon dioxide and other natural products contribute more than $100 trillion annually to the global economy, and IEG officials said the company had developed a way to measure ecological performance and convert the value of nature into financial capital that could then be listed on the New York Stock Exchange to drive investment into environmental issues.

It’s a difficult concept to wrap one’s head around. And that’s why we can understand Councilwoman Wendy McCain’s frustration before voting on a resolution last week to send a letter to the NYSE opposing the listing of natural asset companies.

“How would anybody have any idea what that means?” she asked. “We received something Friday and something today (on this issue). I don’t think it’s fair to send a letter from our city when city residents haven’t had a chance to weigh in on it. We need to stop doing things at the last minute. There’s no reason to rush through things.”

While the idea had been public since last fall, it didn’t come to a head locally until Allegheny Forest Alliance signaled its opposition and asked other local groups to do the same. Before the ink on the City Council’s letter, as well as a similar letter approved by the Warren County School District board, was dry the the New York Stock Exchange pulled its request.

We’re not sure there are many city residents who care about the issue of natural asset companies’ being listed on the New York Stock Exchange. But city residents should care about the process the council undertakes before it votes – and the rush to vote last week was a bad process even if the council and school district arrived at the right answer.