Planet has its limits

Knowledge is the only unlimited and expanding resource. There are limits. This is a finite planet, with finite resources that are diminishing rapidly because there are too many consumers. This is unsustainable.

The majority of human beings have almost no vision of future time, so they don’t plan for the long term. It is called “status quo bias.”

The planet is Easter Island writ large. Except the Easter Islanders didn’t pollute. They just ran out of their key resources as we are doing now. They destroyed them by using them up with no plan to protect them.

The wealthier the majority of people get, the more resources they use without regard for future generations. There are now about 7.3 billion people on the planet, and it is sustainable for about 1.5 billion to 2 billion. Time is of the essence: The net population gain per year is about 75 million, or about 200,000 a day.

Economic growth on the planet is over. The only economic “growth” now is caused by debt. But debt is only sustainable if it is not growing out of control. When the interest on the debt, over time, is greater than the income from the debt risk, the game is over. There are limits.

Bart Haggin

Spokane