We cannot sustain this lifestyle
Share your Thoughts
Posted on March 15, 2006
Filed Under Deep ecology, Ecological overshoot, Ecological hope, Consumer culture, Earth spirituality, Inspiration and reflection
From Margaret Swedish at the ides of March:
A thought for the day — it is abundantly clear that we can no longer sustain our lifestyles. Back in 1997, a deputy director at the World Bank, Sven Burmeister of Sweden, put it this way: the earth has the carrying capacity to support the consumption levels of the US indefintely for about half a billion people. If we reduce consumption to the levels of Japan and Europe, the earth could support that level indefinitely for about one billion.
Okay — and we are at 6.5 billion, headed to 9.1 billion by 2050.
Or to put it another way, it would take more than one earth to continue current consumption levels indefinitely.
This conflicts mightily with the myth of US expansion, ever-increasing wealth and opportunity, but the earth is telling us that there are limits, and that we have already reached them.
Like it or not, human survival depends upon our not fleeing this reality in fear, nor denying it and consigning our world to a dreadful future. It depends upon reclaiming our real humanity, our place in the life systems of the earth, and loving ourselves and this planet into a gentler, simpler, more healing way of life.
Some of the links here will take you to web sites with more info and suggestions for things we can do now to help heal this earth.
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