As an "Earth Action Network" email protest participant, I just wanted to provide one last example of our new "Earth's Newsdesk" release, which speaks eco truth to power. I will not send you any further releases or feature articles, unless it updates an action campaign, or you change your preferences to subscribe at:
http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/subscribe/[EMAIL PROTECTED] *************************** PRESS/SOCIAL MEDIA RELEASE Urgent Environmental Action Must Be Maintained in Bad Economic Times - Ecological Internet warns converging economic, climate, food and fuel crises are symptoms of massive global ecological bubble, and that without ecosystems there can be no economy September 15, 2008 By Earth's Newsdesk, a project of Ecological Internet http://www.ecoearth.info/newsdesk/ Dr. Glen Barry, +1 (920) 776-1075 (Earth) -- Current economic difficulties are largely caused by failing global ecosystems and resource scarcity, and are not an excuse to reduce environmental commitments, warns Ecological Internet. The bursting of the mortgage and financial bubbles, and food and energy price increases, are the logical and inevitable economic consequences of over- population, inequitable and unreasonable consumption, and unsustainable economic growth. "The global growth machine is seizing up because it is hitting ecological limits and because of its own greed. Current global economic difficulties must not stop urgent ecological measures -- like dramatic emission reductions and natural habitat protection and restoration -- necessary to maintain a habitable Earth. Without ecosystems there can be no economic recovery," warns Dr. Glen Barry. Sufficient environmental policies find it difficult to achieve political support even in times of rapid economic growth, yet this growth is the primary factor driving greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental ills. Human needs for water, air, food and housing are no less in hard times. More than ever ecological sustainability depends critically upon establishing a steady state economy, whereby production is right-sized to not diminish natural capital. Whole industries like coal and ancient forest logging will be eliminated even as new economic opportunities emerge in solar energy and ecological restoration. This economic cooling may offer a welcome respite to reconsider the growth at any cost madness devouring the EarthÂ’s life giving ecosystems. Growth and livelihoods based upon over resource use from dwindling ecosystems, that mostly benefit the elites, are a dangerous, unprecedented "ecological bubble" that threatens not only widespread economic hardship, but the future of civilization and terrible human suffering. "In the mortgage bubble's bursting, we see signs of ecological bubbles to come. The world is not only at peak oil, but at or near peak water, land, climate, oceans, food and usable energy. The human enterprise and each global citizen's family size and consumption aspirations must be downsized to a scale appropriate to ecosystem limits. Or the Earth herself, with the assistance of the human created economic system, will do so brutally. Even the best high-yield financial instrument is ultimately only paper and cannot be eaten," observes Dr. Barry. ###ENDS### Dr. Glen Barry is a leading global spokesperson on global environmental sustainability policy. Ecological Internet provides the world's leading climate and environment portals at http://www.climateark.org/ and http://www.ecoearth.info/ Dr. Barry frequently conducts interviews on the latest climate, forest and water policy developments and can be reached at: [EMAIL PROTECTED], +1 (920) 776- 1075. DISCUSS RELEASE: http://www.ecoearth.info/blog/2008/09/release_urgent_environmental_a.asp --- You are subscribed to ecological_internet as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Before unsubscribing, please consider modifying your list profile at: http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/subscribe/[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or click here: http://email.ecoearth.info:81/u?id=84041H&n=T&c=F&l=ecological_internet To subscribe visit: http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/subscribe/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
