Environment and Economy
by kahy@truthisbetter.org

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Economies need a supply of natural resources to supply human wants. To put it simply, without environmental resources, the economy dies and people die. Environmental resources must be preserved to have a thriving economy.

Here is a sample historical story to illustrate this point. You may have heard about Easter Island. It is the island in the Pacific where an ancient civilization erected large stone statues of faces, facing the sea. You have probably seen pictures.

Studies by anthropologists and archeologists were done, digging in the soil on the currently treeless island. Archeologists and anthropologists discovered that, although the island has few inhabitants today, during the time of the Stone statute civilization Easter island had a thriving population and thousands of bird species and abundant wildlife. Furthermore, Easter island used to be thickly forested with lush Rain forest that had plentiful food, warmth and shelter for its inhabitants who ate the birds. So what happened?

The islanders felled all the trees on the island in order to erect the stone statutes. When the trees began to run out, the islanders began fighting and killing each other over the last groups of trees on the island. The anthropologists learned this by studying the skull fractures and bone injuries. The last trees were felled and the Easter island society collapsed, starving. A few survived and learned to eat fish, but most died. The island no longer supported a large population of people.

Today

Something very similar is happening today on our space "island" Earth. Advanced civilizations today depend on oil and fossil fuels to move food, clothing, build and heat shelter, provide electricity, and manufacture and ship all our other "necessities". Oil is more finite than trees because oil is not renewable, although Rain forests once completely destroyed cannot be rebuilt either. We have perhaps a 50 year supply of oil left. Scientists can develop alternatives to oil for energy, but it takes oil to manufacture the parts to build and develop alternatives. If we run out of oil first, our advanced civilization will collapse and we will be unable to develop alternatives.

Our scientists are smart enough to see what is happening this time. We can avoid another "Easter island" collapse if we begin to plan and convert our civilization now from dependence on oil and fossil fuels to something new. However, what are we doing?

Under the leadership of the current U.S. administration the only super-power of the world is greedily using up and fighting over oil resources, killing thousands of persons in order to gain control of the oil. At the same time U.S. leadership has tremendously accelerated oil use through war (as much fuel as it would take to drive an SUV for about 200 years is used in just one B2 bombing mission), it has cut funding and support for development of alternative energy systems.

We are heading into rapids that cannot be negotiated if we follow the leadership of the current U.S. administration in fighting over and accelerating fossil fuel usage while dropping efforts to conserve and develop alternatives. We have a choice whether or not to destroy civilization millenia sooner than geological forces naturally would.

Possible Solutions for the Future

Change our accounting and economic practices so that they do not require growth. Inflation is an enemy of conservation of ecological resources for our economy. Devise new mathematic procedures for accounting, banking, taxing, and a transition plan for getting from our current system to a new one.

Running up debt is bad for an economy that wishes to preserve its ecological base and hence its civilization. It is imperative to have leadership of the U.S. that understands how important to our environmental ecology it is to balance budgets, spend less, and not run up large debts.

Federal legislation, such as HR 6 that the House recently passed, that funnels taxpayer dollars to companies that develop fossil fuels, is counter-productive to efforts to preserve civilization. It is imperative to have new leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate that understands the relationship between federal funding and preserving our civilization's economy.

Peace preserves the environmental base of the economy better than war. It is imperative to have leadership of the U.S. that uses every clever means possible to maintain peace.

Our tax structure needs to encourage conservation, not materialism. Giving tax breaks to the very wealthy so that they can spend more and consume more is counter-productive to preserving civilization. Money is not a motivator, but a de-motivator, so most very wealthy people enjoy not just the material rewards but even more the feelings of accomplishment from their achievements. Higher tax rates for the wealthy do not discourage innovation, inspiration, or creativity. Sales tax on non-essential items means that persons consuming more, pay more tax. Items sold over the Internet should be taxed based on the state they are shipped to. All states need to agree on a single rate to simplify the burden for businesses to collect and pay Internet sales taxes.

Alternatives can be developed. Anything into Oil?

We must all take personal responsibility for making each small decision to conserve our ecology, each imperfectly in our own way. Every decision we make every day has an environmental effect. Do things that conserve or create new energy sources.

• Not getting enough exercise and need to be somewhere? Ride a bike.
• Studying engineering and like to exercise? Design exercise machines that store the energy in batteries or fuel cells for health club lighting, cooling, or heating needs.
• Hate to iron? Go with the "beach" look.
• Hiring someone for your company? Give priority to applicants who live closeby.
• Trying to pick between different products at the grocery store? Pick one that is produced locally or with less unnecessary packaging; pick the one that is made from bio-degradable or recycled materials.
• Want to go to a movie? Pick one that does not destroy, burn up, and otherwise needlessly destroy property.
• Hate to spend so much money on clothes? Shop at thrift stores that "recyle" clothes.
• Driving somewhere? Get directions and plan your trip to minimize driving mileage, or take public transportation if it is cheaper. Include registration, tax, fuel, parking, and maintenance costs in your calculations.
• Buying a new vehicle? Buy the least expensive one per the life of the car including purchase price and operating expenses, and maintain it well so that it lasts; or buy a used vehicle that does not require more resources and pollution in its manufacture.
• Tired of shaving? Grow your hair.
• Not thinking clearly and having emotional problems from doing illegal drugs? Save the Rain Forest by quitting.
• Lose one earring? Wear mismatched earrings.
• Have too much debt? Spend less money and buy less because everything you buy takes environmental resources to manufacture, transport, and sell.
• Tired of filling your garbage pails? Recycle anything your city allows, and compost your vegetable scraps.
• Tired of dark, overheated, energy consuming, or unhealthy air in buildings? Encourage passive solar buildings with natural ventilation that naturally stay cool in summer and warm in winter, have sod roofs and roofs slanted to allow winter light to strike surrounding buildings. Ask the building owner or manager to turn the heat down.
• Hate dirty air and asthma? Find ways to use less heating oil, less fuel, and less electricity.
• Participate in electric utility efforts to convert to wind and geothermal power by buying into their customer programs.
• Building a home? In the northern hemisphere face big windows south and minimize east and west windows so that your house will stay cool in summer and be heated by the sun in the winter.