Blueprint for a Better Planet
(Page 10 of 10)
In total, this comes to $62 billion, less than one
tenth of what the world currently spends on military
programs! If the United States offered to cover
one-third of this additional funding, the other industrial
countries would almost certainly be willing to provide the
remainder, and the worldwide effort to eradicate hunger,
illiteracy, disease and poverty would begin.
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It is easy to spend billions in response to terrorist
threats, but the reality is that the resources needed to
disrupt a modern economy are small, and a Department of
Homeland Security, however heavily funded, provides only
minimal protection from terrorists. The challenge is not
only to provide a high-tech military response to terrorism,
but to build a global society that is environmentally
sustainable, socially equitable and democratically based.
Such an effort would more effectively undermine the spread
of terrorism than a doubling of military expenditures.
The challenge is not just to alleviate poverty, but also to
build an economy that is compatible with the Earth's
natural systems—an eco-economy, an economy that can
sustain progress. This means a fundamental restructuring of
the energy economy and a substantial modification of the
food economy. It also requires raising energy productivity
and shifting from fossil fuels to renewables. Lastly, it
entails raising water productivity over the next
half-century, much as we increased land productivity over
the last one.
We can build an economy that does not destroy its natural
support systems, a global community where the basic needs
of all the Earth's people are satisfied, and a world that
will allow us to think of ourselves as civilized. This is
entirely doable. To paraphrase Franklin Roosevelt at
another hinge point in history: Let no one say it cannot be
done.
The choice is ours—yours and mine. We can continue
business as usual and preside over a global bubble economy
that will expand until it bursts and leads to economic
decline. Or, we can adopt Plan B and become the generation
that stabilizes population and climate, and eradicates
poverty. Historians will record the choice, but it is ours
to make.
Mother Earth News
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