"Mother Nature Doesn't Do Bailouts"

New York Times:

"We created a way of raising standards of living that we can't possibly pass on to our children," said Joe Romm, a physicist and climate expert who writes the indispensable blog climateprogress.org. We have been getting rich by depleting all our natural stocks -- water, hydrocarbons, forests, rivers, fish and arable land -- and not by generating renewable flows.

"Just as a few lonely economists warned us we were living beyond our financial means and overdrawing our financial assets, scientists are warning us that we're living beyond our ecological means and overdrawing our natural assets," argues Glenn Prickett, senior vice president at Conservation International. But, he cautioned, as environmentalists have pointed out: "Mother Nature doesn't do bailouts."

One of those who has been warning me of this for a long time is Paul Gilding, the Australian environmental business expert. He has a name for this moment -- when both Mother Nature and Father Greed have hit the wall at once -- "The Great Disruption."

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[aBr1t]

Well its about time someone said it, iv been saying this for ages in the other thread, about al gore...

you think this is bad? well wait till the climate bubble pops then you will see how much the govements can do..

all this crap about what? what is it you fear? MONEY?? the grandure of you house? your car? your " position in life?"

yes be my guest watch pop idol drink your beer infron of you brand new 52 inch plasma screen enjoy it while it lasts... beacuse when this thing is past the point of no returne

THEY AINT GUNNA BE NO BAILOUT sorry didnt you read the small print in that little contract called LIFE...

respect the planet or .. well im guessin you know what that OR entails.. if you have a brain that is

[valkyrie607]

Indeed.

We all know the solution to our environmental problems: CONSUME LESS.

However, less consumption is the cause of our economic woes.

Since getting a new ecosystem is not really an option, I'd like a new economy.

[AngieMom57]

Right on, they are both interconnected and it looks like you are going to get just what you want.

[RTIII]

This is a great summary of our situation.­..
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[Smithenergy]

The Case for Home Grown Power:

Last weekend, an op-ed piece by Ian Bowles was published in the New York Times that set forth the case for “Home Grown Power.” Mr. Bowles made some excellent points regarding community based, distributed generation power, which would obviate the need for new, expensive transmission lines. We all know that ample renewable energy resources exist in the United States. The question is how to bring power from the source of generation to the people that need to use it.

Read the whole Post at: www.buildbabybuild.net/blog

[AngieMom57]

Thank you, keep posting SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS!

[doriath22]

Personally, I prefer the Wile E Coyote analogy. If you think of the biosphere as that "giant-size Acme rubber band" he got. Now, humanity is stretching that band further and further all the time.....a­nyone remember what happens next?

[aBr1t]

snap? :P

[JoshuaLudd]

Great... now how long until some of these folks start to realize industrialism simply can't be truly green, just greenwashed, and that we face far more problems than climate change. How long till the same kind of article is being written... if the internet is still around by then... about folks like John Zerzan, Kevin Tucker, Derrick Jensen, etc...?

[alvdh1]

Climate change is a symptom of our collective behavior on the planet. Solving the causes of climate change will slow, and if we are lucky, make it go away. Thereby, removing the symptom improves the quality of our life, the health of Earth's life sustaining ecosystems and the survivability of all life on earth. Did you say there are more important thing to worry about. There will never be peace between man until we make peace with the planet. Unfortunately, as the world population continues to swell unabated, the demand for resources will lead to more wars. Without sustainable personal and business practices, this tragic scenario will be difficult to avoid.
Say again, did you say that there are more important problems.

Heading away from civilization is a pipe dream, unless a nuclear war wipes most of the life off of the planet.