Economics and earth care go together

For days we have read about the threats of a global financial crisis as great world economies of America and Europe work out a bail out plan.   Similarly, in October 1929, the stock market prices at the New York Stock Exchange collapsed. Before this, house mortgages were at a high and credit was cheap. As stock market prices continued to fall, the value of assets declined, greatly straining banks and forcing them to close. This led to reduced levels of spending and production that worsened the crisis and greatly increased unemployment.   With the same scenario now, we could not help but be reminded of scenes from the Great Depression in the 1920s where thousands of unemployed people lined up daily for food donations and slots for bed space.

They say that conservative and less aggressive financial establishments did not get affected by the crisis unlike the bigger and more sophisticated banks. They say all these stemmed from greed and the unending desire for more wealth so that greater and bigger things can be made possible. Greed is as old as when time begun. Today, man has not stopped from building and converting natural resources into manmade creations. There is nothing wrong with this except that, as a consequence of manmade activities, our environment is going haywire. Trees and wild life are disappearing. Land and rivers dry up due to pollution and overuse. The air we breathe makes us sick and there is no clean water to drink. As a consequence, even storms get worse than before, flowers don’t know when to bloom, diseases get resistant and food gets more expensive. Even humans die in the process.

US and Europe and great economies have gone through financial crisis repeatedly in history and, in the process of their recovery, natural resources get used up and environment gets more degraded than before.   The more money there is to spend, the more development there is. Right now, the need is not only for more money, the real need is to keep environment sustainable and conducive for man’s continued existence. 

It’s about time capitalists and opportunists take up this challenge. If they must make money, it must be in a non-harmful way. The Chinese manufacturers who want more profit substitute the cheaper but harmful chemical melamine for protein in milk. Developers have put up resorts and subdivisions but forests are destroyed in the process. This kind of marketing must stop. 

Governments must think of bailing out the environment this time. Aside from allotting more funds for preserving the environment, it must actively monitor manufacturers who increase carbon emissions in the air. It must work towards increasing the production and use of renewable energy. We should take more advantage of cheaper solar power and air power through windmills to power up plants and factories. We must maintain the cleanliness and freshness of air and water.

God gave us a clean and healthy world to live in. Although He puts the earth and its resources at man’s disposal, abuse and greed are not excused. We must think of the future for our children, not in terms of material wealth but in terms of a peaceful and healthy life. This is priceless.