Friday, October 10, 2008

why sustainability makes sense

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I just read this article. The $2-5 trillion loss every year that they calculate for ecosystem services and functions lost to "development" dwarfs the banking crisis and continues each and every year unabated. This astounding annual loss from the planet's balance sheet is simply ignored by the neo-classical economic dogma that sees fit to pay failed business executives hundreds of millions. That this level of dystopia is the product of the prevailing dogma has been publically proclaimed by figures such as Karl Polanyi and Ernst Schumacher for decades. Its pretty much the whole reason the environmentalist movement exists. Back in the 1970s environmental economics was created as a discipline in order to put prices on the various externalities and services the ecosystem provides but this eminently sensible and egalitarian way of doing business has simply been marginalised by those in power at the behest of those who stand to gain fat bonuses and hefty dividends. This research reveals how unsustainable and unjust those practices are as they are based upon the exploitation and pillage of our collective, mutual heritage for the exclusive benefit of a small percentage of society.

So, do you want bankers to continue to earn multimillion bonuses for failing to perform or would you prefer the entire financial industry- that contributes and produces little tangible benefit for society- to continue to plunder our children's heritage.

I may sound like a tree hugging hippy but the facts to support my position are available for anyone who cares to see.

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