Thomas Friedman posed the following question, “What if [the "Crisis of 2008] is telling us the whole growth model we created over the last 50 years is simply unsustainable economically and ecologically?” in a New York Times opinion piece late last week. In a recent post, “The Future of Capitalism”, 2nd Green Revolution makes the argument for what is being referred to as a “regenerative economy”. Mr. Friedman quotes Joseph Romm, physicist and climate expert, who equates the current conditions with a giant Ponzi scheme wherein society borrows from future generations in order to support its over consumption of goods and resources. The very definition of sustainability, developed by the United Nations more than 20 years ago “implies meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Humans cannot continue to deplete resources, bankrupting future generations. Buckminster Fuller often referred to Earth as a spaceship hurtling through space and time. While he claimed that the planet did not come with a manual, he worked to provide one. A regenerative economy, one that grows fiscally, environmentally and socially, provides an opportunity to right the ship. Nonrenewable resources on this “vessel” are by definition finite. However, the renewable resources, especially biomass (including food supplies), can sustain the human race when properly managed. Biomass, made from plant material, plays an essential role in the regenerative economy due to plant life’s ability to grow year after year.

At the end of his column Mr. Friedman hints at a hopeful future. He points to numerous individuals working on clean energy and technology, as well as to the wealth of green energy projects in stimulus bills from Germany, Britain, China and the United States. For an extremely thorough account of the issues touched upon in this post refer to the United Nations Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future.

- Eric Wilson