July 2016
I don’t normally get involved with politics or religion in this blog.
Today I’m making an exception, because it’s a topic that’s just too important to ignore.
Dr. Glen Barry is, amongst other talents, a political ecologist. He has written a most interesting article, and I have taken some of his points and adapted them for this EcoExpert Blog.
Do please read it, and tell me what you think in the Comments below.
Environmental Collapse Fuels Fascism
Over the past 130 years the human population has grown from one to seven billion people.
Many live highly consumptive lifestyles, while others are mired in numbing abject poverty.
This wonderful economic growth that so many of us have seen (living better than our parents, for example) has come at the expense of destroying natural ecosystems.
Massive economic expansion was easy. We just destroyed ancient old-growth forests, we bottom-trawled verdant oceans, and intensively over-exploited the soil.
Now, many of these natural resources are nearly exhausted. We have surpassed the planetary ecological boundaries required for a habitable Earth – we are in ecological overshoot.
Loss of natural ecosystems and climate change are currently causing much conflict, suffering, and reduced opportunity for material advancement.
Natural capital has declined so much that further massive growth in material consumption is no longer possible.
At least 90% of old growth forests and stocks of large ocean fish have already been harvested, and 50% of topsoil has eroded.
The natural ecosystems that sustain life are being destroyed for short-term profit.
Global Crises Threaten Environmental Collapse
Our one shared planet is threatened with imminent collapse and death, and together we are all faced with nothing less than the end of being.
As if that weren’t bad enough, there are other threats too:
- Grotesque inequity (one billion people live on under $1.50 a day while similar numbers live opulent lifestyles) is the norm and worsening.
- As is often the case during hard times, many are returning to old religious myths that teach that those that believe differently are bad and should be killed. Christian militarism and radical Islamic terrorism are rife.
- A state of perma-war has arisen. Tribal and racial conflicts are not new, but now there’s a scramble to exploit the last bits of natural capital – which also provide the ecosystem habitats which make Earth livable.
It’s really quite simple: diminished economic prospects and less social cohesion are the direct result of environmental decline.
The expectation in much of the world that each generation will be materially better off can no longer be sustained by plundering remaining resource-rich ecosystems.
Sadly, this simple logic is not seen by the many people who have lost their ecology ethic, and live empty lives in pursuit of more “stuff”. And of course it’s not seen by those who scramble daily just to survive – they have more urgent priorities.
Absolute Power and Environmental Collapse
And so we see, all over the world, the rise of those who promise to make us safe, rich, and great again – if only they are given absolute power.
Donald Trump springs instantly to mind.
His scapegoating of the less fortunate, overt nationalism, racism, misogyny, and continuous threats of violence are classic fascism. (Don’t believe me? Watch this it-would-be-funny-if-it-weren’t-so-ghastly video).
His entire demeanor and agenda for America will worsen environmental decline and social discord.
Personally, I find it shocking to see him mocking the disabled, saying he would date his own daughter, and demeaning women and minorities. Trump supporters’ Nazi-style salutes are extremely worrying.
Of course people have real concerns over security, jobs, and uncontrolled mass migration.
But Trump’s “solutions” are highly suspect. He proposes further division, conflict, and over-development.
They will not solve any of the problems – instead they will divert the resources needed to protect and restore nature to avoid environmental collapse.
Green Liberty is the Answer to Environmental Collapse
Graphic via Irina Green Voice
If we want each generation to be better off materially, we need to replenish natural capital through a sustained program of ecological protection and restoration. Otherwise, it simply won’t be possible.
- We need sustainable economic advancement instead of growth by plundering our natural resources.
- We need to remain free by firmly rejecting authoritarian fascism.
- We need skill and knowledge, profound empathy and sharing.
Building a just, verdant, and equitable world depends upon returning to the land to grow products, and providing services of lasting benefit instead of useless consumer rubbish that destroys resources.
We are living on a planet which is collapsing and dying.
We will only survive and thrive by coming together in common purpose to sustain natural ecosystems, remain free, and more equitably share nature’s bounty.
Please share this post widely – spread the word about what awaits us if we don’t get it right. (Quick sharing buttons right and below). Thank you!
P.S. If you want to help by making small changes to your life that will help you to live greener, download this free ebook right now!
Warm regards
