The new realities of consumption and the economy
York Energy Efficiency Committee member Leah recommends a web site that presents a somewhat different view on the current economic crisis and explains how and why we need to re-examine our whole approach to growth and sustainability. The organization behind the site is the Center for a New American Dream. Their stated mission is to help “Americans consume responsibly to protect the environment, enhance quality of life, and promote social justice.”
Here is an excerpt from a recent article written by Dr. Juliet Schor, an economist, author, and professor at Boston College:
People who are following the news on climate, bio-diversity and other ecological issues also understand that the standard remedy of getting consumers and/or government, to spend more can’t work this time around. We’ve lost the ability to profitably or responsibly grow our way out of recession. The usual kinds of consumer spending (cars, electronics, furniture, apparel, travel) degrade vital eco-systems and have an economic cost. [Business as usual] puts us deeper into an economic hole, because every dollar of GNP creates new and unacceptable damage to the planet. A government program which mainly goes to shoring up a failing automotive infrastructure (roads and bridges) suffers from the same problem. It’s throwing good money after bad. The latest findings about climate are that we need to stabilize greenhouse gases in the atmosphere immediately. Whatever government and consumers spend on needs to reflect that reality.
Read the rest of the article at http://www.newdream.org/blog/?p=332.
