Posted on by Art Powell

In this corner of the world recycling is almost universal. Plastics, glass, metals, compost and drink containers are separated from the rest of the garbage. Some people also take their own shopping bags to the supermarket. The exceptions are that we have not mastered the technology of recycling energy and most of us continue to drive a lot

Unfortunately we are still experiencing environmental degradation, inflation and unemployment. Recycling is not enough. Its main function is to allow us to feel we are doing something. It allows us to ignore the real issues – population levels and values.

I believe the most important way in to protect the environment is to reduce the number of people trying to live on this planet. There are just too many people and I do not like the idea of saying some people should not have the same standard of living as others. Who is to decide who gets shorted?

I also recognize it is a near impossibility as we cannot tell people not to have sex and not to have children. What are the consequences of not taking action to reduce the population? When the Europeans came to North America they brought with them some new diseases and close to 90 per cent of the native population died. I understand there is some archaeological evidence that there was a similar population reduction in the Mediterranean some millenia ago. If these precedents hold for us, then there is likely to be one hell of a stench.

We also need to get over our fear of death as so much energy and resources go into prolonging life. Quite a few years ago The Economist reported that 80 per cent of health care spending is in the last six months of life. I do not want to go into the 80 per cent and I hope that when my time comes I and those close to me will be able to accept it gracefully.

The other big challenge to protect the environment deals with values many of which are a part of our committment to economic growth.

According to anthropologist James Suzman who recently published the book Affluence without Abundance, the most successful and long-lasting civilization was that of the Bushmen of the Kalahari desert. These hunters and gatherers “worked” only ten to 15 hours a week. As they relocated up to ten times a year they had little interest in material things and their society had high equality. We cannot all go back to being hunters and gathers but we can choose some of their values and apply them to our daily lives.

If we really want to protect the environment then we should have fewer children, live in place, live a healthy lifestyle, have fewer and smaller toys, drive less, go easy on the travel and work as little as possible. Recycling may make us feel we are doing something but it is not enough.

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Filed under: Economics | Tagged: death, driving, economic growth, Economics, energy, environment, health care, inflation, population, recycling, Unemployment, values |