Got it Wrong

Today the two senior UN climate change officials warned the World Economic Forum that the pending recession may harm humanity's efforts to slow climate change. They claimed that politicians will focus on the immediate (job creation, tax cuts etc) and ignore the more long term (climate change). Obviously compared to the threat of climate change, jobs seem pretty measly considerations.

Unfortunately these two esteemed gentlemen got it wrong. A recession, and a protracted one at that, is exactly what we need.

Every time the economy grows, our carbon emissions go up. What else is the economy but the consumption of energy and other resources? It's an (un)natural law. Right now most of civilized human beings' energy consumption is from fossil fuels like gas, oil and coal. Economic growth is tied to emissions.

The idea that economic growth can somehow fight climate change is a joke. I presume that these UN officials are also bowing to that hallowed god of technology. They'll have you believe that when humans are consuming a lot and buying a lot and have lots of imaginary money flying around that they are in a position to come up with innovative solutions to problems like climate change.

Is anyone else tired of hearing how technology is going to save us?

Recession is a dirty word. We are told to fear it from the day we turn on our first bright television to the day we die. Never once do we question this view. But in truth, growth is our problem. Engineered or natural recessions are the proper reaction given the situation we now face (climate change, peak oil, resource depletion, displacement and extinction of other species, overpopulation). Once we get to an ideal point (population, lifestyle etc) we should then aim for neither growth nor recession but balance.

Endless growth, our god, is the definition of cancer.

I can live without an Ipod, without a computer, without a car, without DVDs. I can't live without my landbase, my family and friends, shelter and healthy, nutritious food. Let's figure out what we really need and ditch the false dreams of the death economy.