Environment before Economy

Last night I listened to a talk by David Suzuki (at the university in Perth) - on "Nature should always be at the core of our thinking, urging us to strive for a sustainable future".

According to scientists, Perth is the least sustainable city in Australia - with the highest level of debt! I'd like to share with you some interesting notes I took during his talk (relevant to anyone, anywhere):

Why is our economy regarded much higher than the sustainable future of our planet? In Kopenhagen this year, 192 countries came together to find a sustainable solution, yet economics ended up being the highest priority in negotiating our planet's survival. With every economic meltdown, nature has to pay the price. There are laws of physics, laws of chemisty and laws of biology. The economic law was created by us and is fundamentaly flawed as it expects nature to fit into our economic system. Nature is the source of our wealth.

Suzuki had a confrontation with a CEO of a big company who said: "Are tree hunters like you willing to pay for saving those trees?" He forgets - nature is free - until we put a price on it. We now have a price on everything, including carbon. Companies are not interested in preserving the species that survive and flourish in healthy forests, they dismiss this as irrelevant to the economy. We fail to take into account natures' services before our economy. The CEO's of our economic system consider "growth" as the highest priority. What does "growth" do for us? Growth is the definition of "progress". Ask any CEO what the definition of "progress" is and they say it's determined by the size of their profits, the number of their employes and global expansion. Our economy can only survive with continued growth - hence the bailouts of companies and countries during the GFC.

Nothing in a finite world can grow forever. If just one of our body cells said: "I will grow forever!" - this cell would be called "Cancer" - and the result is death! Constant demand for growth is suicidal.

The resources of our planet are limited. Our planet's biosphere is fixed. We have a population problem. We're on a suicidal path to running out of water, food and other resources. We have created an illusion that everything is alright. Ask anyone what life used to be like 20, 40, 60 years ago. "It used to be so different" they would say. "Rivers used to be jammed with fish; waters were pristine; we could drink straight from the river; we could eat fish we caught without having to check how many toxins are in that fish and how much of it we can eat in one week..."

Our earth is already fully occupied. It's not progress to use up the legacy of our children and grandchildren. We lack the humility to realise our limits and accept the fragility of our biosphere.

Headline News: "The Aussie Dollar reaches parity with the US Dollar"! Yet, "20% of all planet species could be extinct within 20 years" barely makes it into the papers. By 2050 there will not be any commercial species of fish left on our planet. In 20 years there will not be another single complete forest left on our planet. You don't see that in any news headlines.

When Suzuki's father was dying, he said to David: "I die a rich man". His father's wealth was his collection of memories and experiences with his family and friends - not the car he bought or the house he lived in. During the GFC people are encouraged to "buy up" properties to add to their financial portfolio. A real estate agent does not see the true value of your home. What value to you put on your home? Suzuki's grandparents lived upstairs - that was wealth! His best friend crafted a beautiful handle for his gate. His father built the cupboards now in Suzuki's kitchen. The cupbourds don't fit, but he enjoys the memories of his father everytime he uses those cupboards.

Memories are created by the richness of the experiences in our lives. What is the value of your home - to you? What transformed your property into a home? On the market these things are worthless. How do you put a value on something that is sacred? That is a problem when everything is slotted into an economic system. We know in our hearts this is wrong. So what should we do? Slow down! What is the rush? We're all going to die anyway! We need to slow down to nature's pace. We can't rush nature. What are we going to leave our children?

We have to reimagine the future. We have to dream of something that we can work towards with sustainability. Imagine every roof capturing water, every house capturing the sun, logging forests the right way - at nature's pace, imagine the economy in balance with nature. Let us dream of what is possible. Let's work towards that dream. Let us show what we are truely capable of as a species!

David Suzuki's Legacy

Every effort counts. What are you doing to help save our environment?