An Exhortation from Yellowstone
Reminding us of limits, even for the foolhardy who believe there are none.
THE POWERS that be, as if divinely ordained, insist on infinite growth on a finite Earth. This despite blunt warnings from Nature herself, the most poignant being rapid climate change and wholesale species extinctions.
Undeterred by the flaws of “sustainable development,” the powers assure us that things now will be different because “it is theoretically possible to have limitless economic growth on a finite planet, and to turn theory into actuality by decoupling, or separating, economic growth from unsustainable resource consumption and harmful pollution.”
And so, the future of life on Earth hinges on a fanciful theory that defies history, ecology, and logic. All of humanity would miraculously achieve the material wealth of Europeans and North Americans, expand to 10 billion strong, and simultaneously restore nature and biodiversity. Sensing the impossible, the more imaginative look to colonize other worlds.
On this platform, we are down-to-earth on the matter of overgrowth. An exhortation from the wild to “gracefully and generously scale down” brings us confidence and hope.
I stay hopeful. Gen Z has such a challenge ahead of them! Stop the baby making and there is a glimmer of hope.