Population + technology + energy use + consumerism + resource depletion + global warming + environmental degradation + ocean acidification + loss of biodiversity = totally fucked.
These
aren’t separate problems; they’re all part of the same problem caused by too
many people competing for too few resources using too much energy-dependent
technology in a constrained environment.
Over
the last few decades, global population more than doubled, while global energy
use went up even more. For the first time in history, humanity consumed more renewable
resources (on an annual basis) than planet Earth can restore. For the first
time in history, we maxed out the planetary credit card.
There’s
no denying that the global economy is hamstrung by a nexus of perfect
storms―overpopulation, overconsumption, overproduction, environmental
destruction, ecological mayhem, pollution, resource depletion, climate changes
attributed to global warming, and probably a few others. For the first time in history,
we simultaneously peaked on everything that’s essential to long-term human
survival. The implications, in terms of population numbers, are obvious.
A vibrant, growing economy results in major impacts to environment and ecosystem alike. Human
demand (consumption) drives production (exploitation of natural resources,
energy use) and all other forms of economic activity that, in aggregate, take a horrendous toll on the environment. The rational approach to averting climate
catastrophe (and a few others, too) is to take our collective foot off the
economic throttle and let the economy idle for a good long while.
We can fix the economy by making radical changes to it now and introducing
fundamental changes as we go along to ensure we get it right, but if we don’t
take immediate radical steps to fix the environment, then it’s game over for
most species―maybe all species, including ours. If ever there was a time for
radicalism, this is it.
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