A Planetary Crisis Is
A Terrible Thing to Waste

There are striking similarities between the current economic and ecological crises — both involve indulgent over-consumption and a failure to consider the impacts on future generations. But it’s not too late to look to new economic and environmental models and to dramatically change course.

by christian schwägerl

While the economy and ecology are often pitted against each other, they share the same linguistic root: “Eco” is derived from the ancient Greek word, oikos, meaning house, or household. So both words refer to the art of managing or understanding the household — or environment — in which you live. These days, the linkage of the economy and ecology takes on new meaning.

The financial crisis that erupted in 2008 was driven by governments and consumers wildly over-spending, abetted by bankers and financiers who got rich doling out loans to people who often had little chance of repaying them. A bad loan is one where one or both sides don’t expect repayment and design ways to pass on the risk to somebody else, for example the taxpayer or central banks.


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