It is troubling because it challenges the current paradigm that the economy holds the answers to our individual and collective woes.

It is also troubling because reporter Kristin Mattis doesn’t shy away from shining the
spotlight on industries that usually slip under the radar when it comes to ecological scrutiny – the arts and entertainment, in particular film and television, education and schools, medicine and pharmaceuticals.

In: An Economy That Does Not Consider Ecology Is Not Sustainable, by Kristine
Mattis, (Common Dreams, Wednesday, December 19, 2018) says, “As long as economics always takes precedence, ecology will inevitably come back to bite us in the ass.”

“We can keep deluding ourselves, that economic growth and technological innovation will save our planetary ecosystem from utter annihilation, but that presumption is not based on sound knowledge of history or science. Economic growth hasn’t even created the more equitable economic prosperity that it supposedly should (though we should know by now, that assertion was simply a lie).”

“Just because we have been programmed to think the economy is the most important system on earth, this erroneous notion will not stop the rapidly deteriorating ecological conditions on the planet,” writes Mattis.

“Economics is a man-made invention, a “science” with “laws” that may be modified or discarded at our whim. It may operate based on certain principles that have been implemented and inherited and maintained, but ultimately, these constructions are arbitrary and alterable. Biology, chemistry, and physics are sciences whose natural laws are immutable. We may not fully comprehend all the laws of natural and physical sciences, but they will exist nonetheless, no matter how much we try to manipulate them. Until we prioritise these natural laws – more basically, ecology, over economy – and until we learn to think about and integrate our ecological limits, our ecological needs, and
our ecological realities into all aspects of our lives, we will never even come close to a sustainable future. To be blunt, as long as economics always takes precedence, ecology will inevitably come back to bite us in the ass,” concludes Mattis.

Kristine Mattis holds a Ph.D. in Environment and Resources. She is no relation to the mad-dog general. Email: k_mattis@outlook.com

Read the story at this link: Economy needs to consider ecology