Earth Calling: Don’t you forget about me
October 31st, 2008With the Financial Tsunami bearing down on us it’s easy to turn a blind eye to ecological concerns (or even human right for that matter). But really it’s all the same stuff: a loss of our centre, of who we are.
It’s just reflected in different ways.
Peak Oil is still a major problem and that is bearing down on us more quickly than we would probably care to know.
The monetisation of ecological damage has been estimated at around $3trln, plenty more than current losses in financial markets (though maybe not when the final bill comes in). It would come as no surprise that the two are interconnected. Consumption drives production and production requires ecological resources. When many ecological costs are externalised then we have a problem.
Who pays the bill in the end? Just as we are seeing who pays the bill for excess consumption of financial resources.
The answer: We all pay.
Tags: climate change, ecosystem, environment, externalities
June 13th, 2010 at 3:49 am
I believe that peak oil is accurate and that we are now past the point of peak oil. I understand many of the current events have to do with this downturn and it won’t be long before the main stream media and population wake up and understand what is going on. For me and my family, we are preparing for the next generation.
June 24th, 2010 at 10:20 am
[...] rapid rate (see Al Bartlett’s fabulous work on Arithmetic, Population and Energy) and using ecosystem services well in advance of their ability to [...]