A few perspectives on the current world situation

Story One:

New Scientist 18 October magazine’s feature article Beyond Growth – Why our economy is killing the planet and what we can do about it – includes several Free to Read interesting articles by prominent key thinkers from politics, economics and philosophy – view Beyond Growth article here.

In one article ecological economist Herman Daly states that “Economists are still failing to grasp the simple message that Earth’s resources are finite and that until they do, we will never switch to a sustainable economy and avoid the ultimate crash.” (New Scientist, 18 October 2008)

While Tim Jackson, Professor of sustainable development at the University of Surrey, UK, states, “With the environmental situation reaching crisis point, however, it is time to stop pretending that mindlessly chasing economic growth is compatible with sustainability. We need something more robust than a comfort blanket to protect us from the damage we are wreaking on the planet. Figuring out an alternative to this doomed model is now a priority before a global recession, an unstable climate, or a combination of the two forces itself upon us.” (New Scientist, 18 October 2008)

Story Two:

Georg Kell, executive head of the UN's Global Compact, tells Ethical Corporation why he feels the current financial market turmoil will, in the end, be good for the responsible business movement. View podcast here.

“While the financial meltdown here now casts really dark clouds over short term prioritisation and there is a crisis sense really, I am totally optimistic that the fundamentals on the long term importance of environmental, social, and governance issues, if anything, will come out much stronger of it. I should add here that the investment banks, which are the biggest victims of the current crisis, very few of them, if any at all, took these issues seriously in the past. They were all obsessed with short term profit maximization and paid little attention to the long term systemic issues including environmental, social and governance issues.” Georg Kell, executive head of the UN's Global Compact, speaking to Ethical Corporation

Story Three:

Money & the Crisis of Civilisation Story by Charles Eistenstein, author of The Ascent of Humanity.
An interesting and different perspective on this issue which champions the value of local enterprise and economies – this is a long article so read when you have the opportunity, with a cup of tea. View article here.