Down to the wire : confronting climate collapse / David - Index of
Down to the wire : confronting climate collapse / David - Index of
Down to the wire : confronting climate collapse / David - Index of
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governance S 25<br />
access <strong>to</strong> oil in order <strong>to</strong> perpetuate consumerism a while longer<br />
at considerable expense and risk. But we pay for our oil imports<br />
mostly by borrowing from lenders, including China. Much <strong>of</strong> that<br />
money goes <strong>to</strong> people who in turn fund terrorists. All empires,<br />
however, eventually rot, subject <strong>to</strong> arrogance, overreach, debt, and<br />
defeat at <strong>the</strong> hands <strong>of</strong> resourceful and agile adversaries—and ours<br />
is no exception.<br />
The fi fth challenge is <strong>the</strong> necessity <strong>to</strong> repair <strong>the</strong> <strong>collapse</strong>d<br />
fi nancial system and reform an economy built on excess, debt,<br />
and dishonest bookkeeping. The economic <strong>collapse</strong> that began in<br />
2008 came as a surprise only <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> comfortably drowsy. In <strong>the</strong><br />
years leading up <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> crisis we had ample warnings, including<br />
some from insiders like George Soros. But those in charge were<br />
paralyzed by <strong>the</strong> ideology <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> free market, <strong>the</strong> sheer complexity<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> global fi nancial and economic system, and <strong>the</strong> artful practice<br />
<strong>of</strong> greed. Unsurprisingly, <strong>the</strong>y failed <strong>to</strong> take preventive action<br />
in time because <strong>the</strong>y saw nothing <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir advantage that needed<br />
preventing. 16 The economic and social consequences <strong>of</strong> that failure<br />
will be felt for a long time, and <strong>the</strong>y go well beyond this book.<br />
Suffi ce it here <strong>to</strong> say that <strong>the</strong> denomina<strong>to</strong>r common <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> fi ve<br />
is a mind-set that blends <strong>the</strong> philosophy <strong>of</strong> “after us <strong>the</strong> deluge”<br />
with <strong>the</strong> proposition that <strong>the</strong> devil can have <strong>the</strong> hindmost. The<br />
lesson is that bovine indifference <strong>to</strong> defi cits and debt, whe<strong>the</strong>r<br />
pertaining <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> atmosphere, ecosystems, energy, or even international<br />
goodwill, tend <strong>to</strong> compound each o<strong>the</strong>r and sooner or later<br />
take <strong>the</strong>ir <strong>to</strong>ll on <strong>the</strong> “leading economic indica<strong>to</strong>rs.” But by any<br />
full reckoning we were never as rich as we thought we were. We<br />
were living on credit by drawing down natural capital, as Herman<br />
Daly and o<strong>the</strong>r ecological economists said long ago.<br />
While each <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fi ve challenges can be described separately,<br />
we will experience <strong>the</strong>m as interactive parts <strong>of</strong> a single long emergency.<br />
Each part will amplify <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs, generating novel results.<br />
The challenge posed by <strong>the</strong> deterioration <strong>of</strong> planetary ecosystems<br />
will be worsened by higher temperatures, larger s<strong>to</strong>rms, and