Paul Krugman, the Nobel Laureate and NY Times columnist, wrote in today's Times about the slow emergencies our nation and planet face in the economic and ecological spheres. We seem to manage these problems based on their symptoms rather than on theory or knowledge, often making our actions too little too late.
One thing Krugman did not emphasize, but of which he is all too aware, is the tension between addressing the economy vs. the ecology. One of the reasons the Waxman-Markey climate bill that passed the House of Representatives on June 26th was so weak was because of this perceived tension.
However, these issues are not in tension at all, but are in fact aligned. Going back to the root meanings of the words economy and ecology we find that from the Greek economy means 'the management of home' and ecology 'the study of home'. Since when has the management of a subject not required study? How can we expect good management without knowledge? As if it is not obvious, economy requires ecology.
Economy and ecology come into alignment when we realize that the problems of the 21st century are going to be about managing resources to live sustainably. When we realize that the problems we face are systems problems, we will see the system as the earth and everything else as a subsystem within the earth system thus requiring alignment to the workings of the earth system.
For centuries human beings have put the earth in service of the human activity, now with knowledge we must begin to put human activity in service of and alignment with the earth.
