I'll speak to your question about basic science.
I am a basic scientist, and I think many of the people who are active in science believe themselves to be fundamentally interested in the processes that have led to and maintain the diversity around us. But I can't study the evolution of biodiversity without caring about its current status either. I don't think there is a clear dividing line between what's basic and what's applied. For this reason, I think we need to continue to support a broad base in science, because we will never know when something is of critical applied concern that, to us, seemed originally like basic fundamental knowledge.