the value of the earth

As the world's economies inevitably collide into one market, the urgency to develop international business policies becomes ever-apparent. I’m left skeptical, however, that such a capitalistic vision for growth – spurred by production and consumption – has accounted for environmental debits. We have long enjoyed economic expansion accompanied with the luxury of downplaying costs of ecological damage; as industrialization spreads, however, the lust for growth no longer justifies our disregard of its effects.

The Earth is finite. Similarly, its ability to provide resources for our consumption and its ability to absorb waste is finite. Many people now contend that, in order for natural resources to hold weight the market, they have to be measured against conventional commodities - that is, they must be given a dollar value.
"Can it be true" author James Gustave Speth asks, "that the only way to save the marvelous natural world we inherited is to convince people that it is worth more economically alive than dead?" Has it truly come to a point where the world's population must be convinced that the Earth's services are valuable? The answer is, apparently, yes. Indeed, established and evolving industrial nations around the world must gain appreciation for the environment and begin to “see the world as a resource for the economy rather than seeing the economy as nestled in the natural world.”

It is apparent that the merit of preserving the natural environment (and its resources) can no longer be regarded from a “romanticized” perspective of a tree hugger. On the contrary, the environment is now analyzed from an economist’s viewpoint; that is, in direct correlation with the market’s performance. Therefore, the first step to preserving the environment is to give it literal credit in the economy; to curb government subsidies and promote trading or tax-based pollution permits.

If such regulations were implemented internationally, in sync with the economical growth that has become the indispensable ideology of the world, we would see a global environment truly capable of supporting us. Though the transition to a global market seems obvious and even automatic, the adoption of global sustainability schemes is not as quickly embraced. As our economies merge, though, it seems only plainly obvious that the health of our global resources be just as collaborative. Economic expansion can come either at the cost of the environment, or can evolve in its benefit. This is the time to prove whether or not the dollar is indeed green.


Sources
1. James Gustave Speth's "Red Sky at Morning"
2. Lester Brown's "Plan B 2.0"
3. Fred Cheever's discussion of legal remedies for climate change