Climate and Economy...

I have been thinking for some time about the connections between the climate and economic crisis. The economic crisis was, they say, partly caused by DEBT. We are trying to service debt at unsustainable levels. The climate crisis is caused by similar mechanisms. Higher levels of 'credit' than we earn give us the opportunity to purchase more goods, burn more energy and drive more cars. It is a similar economic machine causing both things.

We have been building economic growth on unsustainable ground for some time now. Not built on resources we can grow or plant ourselves, it was built on energy resources that we dug out of the ground. Energy laid under by millions of years of plant and animal growth. Not energy we earned, but that we borrowed from previous generations of organisms.

Moreover, little did we know that we were also 'borrowing' that energy from future generations too. We were removing fuel that could not be replenished. We may also, by changing the climate, be removing their ability to grow new crops or resources for themselves. We were, in effect, stealing from future generations.

People were consuming at a rate that outstrips their resources; their own financial resources, and the planets. "Living for the moment" has become the order of the day. Therefore we built more houses, schools and hospitals, even with public-private financial loans (PFI's) that have to be paid off by future generations.

The entire debt of the economy looks almost as large as the credit. "Growth" became the buzzword for politicians - assuming that makes everything better, or makes us happier. Yet it seems obvious - we cannot build unlimited economic growth on a finite energy base. Our economic, jobs and daily lives depend on energy. Fossil fuel prices will rise, putting a strain on our economy in its dependent state. (Is it a coincidence that oil prices rose before the current crisis?)

If the benefits of energy use are to be spread to the millions without access to energy, now and in the future, we will need a renewable energy basis. This economic blip could be a sign of what's to come if we don't shift to sustainability. Or predictably, we may reach the carrying capacity of our planet. Luckily (or perhaps not) we can be conscious of it. Conciousness could either be the saving grace, or the tragedy.

Luckily, a sustainable world is possible, without even causing an 'economic' problem. Doing a simple calculation will show you that installing renewable energy pays for itself, after what ever period, in comparison to the continual payments we spend on fossil fuels.

When a child is born, they would see it as extremely worthwhile to fit their home with green energy - so their parents have no energy bills thereafter. Maybe, in this case, it would be something worth getting into debt for. Maybe, we should start spending our debt on SUSTAINABILITY. Then, at least, it is something we can actually repay.