Here’s the trick, don’t mess it up in the first place.

Separating fact from (science) fiction can be difficult. Hollywood takes liberties with science in the name of entertainment. Serious scientific debate about climate change has abated, but people hold strong beliefs about mankind’s impact on the earth. A recent NPR story delved into the recent flooding in China and Pakistan. Years of environmental degradation have left the earth’s surface unable to deal with the annual monsoons. Wildfires in Russia offer a similar cautionary tale of what can happen when biodiversity is sacrificed for short term gains. As was seen in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, wetlands that once protected the Mississippi delta from storms could no longer filter the water associated with the storm. The loss of wetlands and barrier islands allowed the storm surge to ride further inland and at a higher level.

Read John McPhee’s The Control of Nature and there is little question that man believes he has complete domain over nature. Multiple attempts to alter the face of the earth have had devastating consequences. Instead of living in concert with the earth and learning how to live off it, as opposed to remaking it in our desired image (look no further than the Palm Islands in the United Arab Emirates), man has altered the natural pathways and flows of water to better suit his aims and needs.

In order to extract the raw materials needed to build our economy to the point where it is today, massive amounts of petroleum, coal, ores, and water have been diverted or withdrawn from natural deposits. The long term effect is not completely known, although the side effects can be seen. It is time for a regenerative economy, one that replenishes both nature and creates fiscal growth. No longer can man carry out what amounts to an experiment with nature and hope for the best.

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