In two centuries, human population has spiked seven-fold and consumption by 100 times. ‘The Earth will have its revenge,’ warns noted UBC systems ecologist William Rees, co-inventor of the ecological footprint concept. As the pandemic builds, most people, led by government officials and policy wonks, perceive the threat solely in terms of human health and its impact on the national economy. Consistent with the prevailing vision, mainstream media call almost exclusively on physicians and epidemiologists, financiers and economists to assess the consequences of the viral outbreak. The Tyee Is Seeking Its Next Emerging Indigenous Reporting Fellow We’re offering a three-month paid position through our partnership Journalists for Human Rights. Please share. Fair enough — rampant disease and looming recession are genuine immediate concerns; society has to cope with them. That said, we must see and respond to the more important reality. However horrific the COVID-19 pandemic may seem, it is merely one symptom of gross human ecological dysfunction. The prospect of economic implosion is directly connected. The overarching reality is that the human enterprise is in a state of overshoot. We are using nature’s goods and life-support services faster than ecosystems can regenerate. There are simply too many people […]
Click here to view original web page at The Earth Is Telling Us We Must Rethink Our Growth Society
