Yet another article I read today puts the blame for non-sustainable exploitation of resources on big companies, claiming that the environment is being destroyed by big companies. That is relatively comfortable for readers to believe. The uncomfortable truth is rarely touched upon. Big companies do not exist without us. Big finance does not exist without us. Governments do not exist without us. The global environment is being rapidly changed, not by institutions but by the people who make up these institutions, by the people whose pensions are invested in these institutions, by the people who buy the products manufactured, transported and sold by these institutions and by the people who use mobile phones, use electricity to store photos in the cloud, buy new clothes following fashion, buy vegan meat-like products, buy fruit and vegetables grown in heated greenhouse, drive around in electric cars mistakenly believing that it has zero impact on global warming, ride around on rented electric scooters or electric bikes instead of walking or using public transport and, most harmful of all, have children who then do much the same. The global environment is not being exploited and damaged by companies; it is being destroyed by me and you and everyone else. We are all to blame. It will continue to get worse unless we are each willing to live on a lower and lower income each year, continually lower our quality of life, have fewer children, accept death when we get sick, eat less food, use fewer and only locally-produced products, while focussing our environmental concerns on the big issues like construction, manufacturing and ocean goods transport instead of relieving our conscience by signalling our “virtues” regarding minor issues like plastic bag use. Of course this will not happen. What will happen is that our greed and aggression will eventually lead to the demise of our civilization, in 10s or 100s or 1000s of years. We will be replaced either with another different form of powerful human civilization or, more likely, we will simply regress to a much less prevalent and less dominant species.
Liam Mor's Blog