A Short Response to the Economic Objection to Climate Change Action

Let’s make an effort to overcome our cultural and human bias and realize the most precious and threatened resource in the known universe is LIFE. Life should be the focus and the highest priority in all human conversations and debates. It is more valuable than any profit, political, cultural or any other kind of human goal or achievement. If I was an alien and came to this planet, I would have a hard time understanding how these humans can call themselves rational by showing reluctance to taking environmental action arguing it will risk their economies or way of life. I’d be particularly puzzled by the expression ‘way of life’. What rational mind can seriously talk about a way of life when the very existence of life is threatened by such mind? The question of economical growth versus climate change safety does NOT make any logical or rational sense. It is the product of our emotional attachment to material comfort which blinds our sense of reality and logic. There have enough studies and warnings that show how intimately linked the economy and the health of the planet are. My favorite one is the Stern Review Report on the Economics of Climate Change by former Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President of the World Bank, Nicholas Stern. He showed the cost of inaction against Global warming would far outweigh the investment of taking action, but as Copenhagen showed this year, the governments of the world are still dragging their feet. They still do not see the business case…The roadblock to transitioning into the sustainable world economy is not technical, financial or for lack of any other resources. The roadblock is ideological and ultimately psycho-emotional. It is a mental condition where greed, fear and attachment blind our perception of reality.

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