Economy, Environment, And Us

Economy And The Environment Are At Odds

A strong economy is essential to prosperity.  It gives us financial security, opportunity, and a sense of well being.  A good economy is fueled by consumption of resources and growth of business and industry.  A byproduct of consumption is the effects that mining, logging, drilling, and similar activities have on the land as well as the effects that fishing, agriculture, and similar activities have on wildlife.  A byproduct of growth is the conversion of land for human activity and the depletion of open space and wild areas.

A world without wild lands or wildlife, without open space and natural beauty, is not somewhere most of us would want to live.  In fact, the earth could, with unchecked consumption and growth, cease to have the essentials necessary for human life altogether.  Science and technology cannot compensate beyond a certain point for the natural processes that sustain us.

It is time that we consider the environment above everything else.  The economy and use of resources and space must be redesigned to conform to the health of the environment.
To do this will require new thinking, new ideas, and a new concept of economy and of the human  condition.  We can become stewards of our planet, or continue as we have and likely become extinct.  It’s our choice.