Excerpts from "The Fundamental Argument"

In recent years, we have been confronted with evidence of a looming environmental catastrophe. Apparently, the nearly seven billion of us are consuming resources faster than the Earth’s ability to replenish them. Symptoms of overconsumption include global climate change, the destruction of ecosystems, a reduction in biodiversity, and overall worldwide environmental degradation. We have also seen the world economy, key to life as we know it, teeter on the brink of collapse. Wages have been reduced, jobs lost; meanwhile, the costs of essential goods and services have risen, and we’re working longer hours just to get by.

What do our current economic woes and environmental sustainability problem have in common? Us, of course. Or, more specifically, it's the way we live.

Instinctively, we know that the whole of civilization is out of whack, that the time has come for a shift in human consciousness, a return to the basics, toward a simpler, more frugal lifestyle. Everywhere—in our homes and in the coffee shops, at the workplace and even around the family dinner table, and especially on the Internet—the conversation about a need for changing the way that we think and do things is taking place. Most of us are genuinely concerned about what the world is coming to, but we are not really sure what to do about it. So, we carry on in the only way that we know how. We recycle what we can, and we are increasingly aware of the purchases that we make, in terms of what we know about how some products impact the environment. Little by little, we are replacing our incandescent light bulbs and other appliances with new, more energy efficient technologies.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that the emerging interest in environmental concerns has created a whole new industry of “green” jobs and “green” products, setting the stage for debate over the role technology must play in the way forward.


“What you lack is faith in the human spirit, in man’s ingenuity and adaptability,” cries one. “But civilization is doomed, if we do not change our ways,” says another.

Consequently, we are divided over many issues concerning the development of our towns and cities, and there is a growing tension between environmentalists and pro-business advocates. While the environmentalists are calling for the preservation of our last remaining wild places and sustainable building practices, the pro-business advocates are calling for more jobs and a stronger economy. Both are very noble and worthy causes, of course; each seeks to improve the conditions of life for us all. But as the population grows and our cities continue to expand, it is becoming increasingly obvious that we cannot have it both ways.

Now, to make matters worse, the environmentalists are divided among themselves. The division is over the matter of “going green.” To some, it means installing solar panels and driving a hybrid automobile. To others, it means “buying local” and a show of support for environmentally conscientious businesses. Still others, myself included, believe that neither of these ideas will go very far toward achieving the desired result, which is, of course, a worldwide sustainable human and ecological wellbeing.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with installing solar panels, driving a hybrid, or “buying local,” except that the research, development, and application of the new “green” technologies stimulate economic growth; and buying local does not isolate one from the world economy. The problem is that we consume too much, and a growing economy enables, encourages, and even forces us to consume more in some ways.