Friday, May 15, 2020
Myopia and Deep Denial by Too Many People
Continuing on with the Introduction to Ecological Liberalism---
Any informed, reasonable assessment of the current state of humanity on finite Earth surely would conclude with the following.
1. The Powers-That-Be and too many Main Street people apparently believe we humans are separate from and superior to Nature... and thus not subject to the Laws of Nature.
2. As a consequence, we have been and continue to be on a path of subduing Nature, rather than extracting natural capital in a sustainable manner.
3. The results have been: overuse, degradation, and dangerous disruption of our natural habitat... plus, pollution in the extreme.
4. Much of the above is due to propaganda, a lack of knowledge concerning natural science (especially ecology), economics, & ethics, and a deep denial of readily apparent facts.
5. Too many people have bought into the fallacies of unlimited population and economic growth, expanding consumption/consumerism, and the ability of technology to overcome any problem whatsoever.
Fortunately, amidst all the short-sightedness and denial, many institutions and people are working hard to provide valuable education toward a sustainable, ecological path forward. Here are a few of them---
https://naturalcapitalproject.stanford.edu/
https://mahb.stanford.edu/blog/never-let-a-good-crisis-go-to-waste/
https://mahb.stanford.edu/
https://psmag.com/magazine/fallacy-of-endless-growth
http://williamrees.org/on-herman-dalys-economics/#more-261
https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2020/04/06/The-Earth-Is-Telling-Us-We-Must-Rethink-Our-Growth-Society/
If you really want to educate yourself, you're going to have to read and/or watch relevant videos. Twitter is great, but 140 characters only points the way. 😊
Not only my opinion. Everyone Be Well
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Would that we could educate our leaders to actually lead us into harmony with Nature. As it is, the main thing too many of them and too many of the masses value is short term financial security and gain, ignoring the reality that long term financial integrity requires attention to Nature (famines, floods, pandemics, etc.). I suppose that's human nature. (I want my piece of the pie.) Perhaps we need to focus more on making ecoharmony profitable in the short term. Side-step the value change and go straight for the $$$$$$$$ motivation, or, to be less cynical, at least do both.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your cogent comment. A combination might be good. I believe some of that is ongoing. One example, a few businesses make money (and employ people) by selling solar panels. Although, manufacturing the panels is somewhat problematic. At a "higher" level, people such as Al Gore are making money being involved in Sustainability Funds (Hedge funds). That, too, has problems.
ReplyDeleteOne thing is obvious to me: we are in need of a massive cultural change in the developed world (in particular). There will always be trade, manufacturing, and business, but that doesn't mean it's necessary to grossly & negatively impact natural ecosystems in order to have those things. Part of the change we need is spiritual (not "religious") in nature. I intend to address that aspect later down the road. Without that change, I believe we're just tinkering around the edges of a series of monumental problems.
Planet Earth will survive us if we don't make changes, but it will be mostly uninhabitable for the organized existence of humanity. That's what we're facing, and it's exactly what too many people simply don't believe. Or, they're too distracted to even think about it. Our challenge is to focus everyone on what's coming... and solutions. Efforts have been ongoing for decades, and they must continue. While some progress has been made in that regard, too many humans are way behind on the learning curve. It's a tough row to hoe, but we have to keep trying.
Happy Trails