Declaring that it is time for the industrial age to end is guaranteed to provoke endless objections from conservatives who support industrial development.
However, before you start blowing the alarm and screaming about the impending disaster, let me clarify. I am not proposing to end the industrial age and economic development, I am proposing a transition to an era of sustainability by redefining the notion of success.
For the past 263 years or so, “success” has been defined as economic growth that ignores externalities in order to increase profits. Externalities are usually defined as a side effect or consequence of an industrial or commercial activity that affects other parties without being able to be taken into account.
The neglect of externalities during the industrial era is clearly seen in the large agro-industrial complex of Hawaii. Prior to Hawaii’s statehood in 1959, many of the big farmers came there, attracted by low land prices, cheap labor, and a lack of health and environmental regulations that would impose externalities that would slow production and cut profits.
At first glance, the first industrial export of sugarcane and molasses in 1836, the beginning of rice production in 1858, the establishment of the first pineapple plantation by the Dole Corporation in 1901 brought benefits to the people of Hawaii, as all these measures created jobs, spurred growth and provided an opportunity for the accumulation of wealth. , which was considered an indicator of a successful “civilized” culture in most of the industrialized countries of the world.
However, the hidden, dark truth of the industrial age reveals a deliberate ignorance of actions that had a negative effect in the long run, such as the use of chemicals in growing crops, which had a harmful effect on human health, soil degradation and water pollution.
Unfortunately, now, 80 years after the sugar plantations of 1933, some of Hawaii’s most fertile lands contain high concentrations of arsenic herbicides, which were used to control plant growth from 1913 to about 1950.
Over the past 20 years, the development of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture has led to a huge number of externalities that negatively affect human health, local farmers and the environment. The pursuit of intellectual property rights for GMO technologies and seeds by big industry has narrowed the economic opportunities for small farmers. Complicating the problem is that heavy use of harmful chemicals has further damaged the environment and threatens to limit the diversity of food sources for many crops.
On a global scale, the fossil fuel energy system that fueled the industrial age has significant negative externalities, such as the release of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. When these greenhouse gases are released somewhere, they spread everywhere and upset the Earth’s natural energy balance, which in turn affects all life on Earth.
As I wrote in my previous article, The Reality of Climate Change 1896-2013: Mauka-Makai, the externalities caused by fossil fuel burning have a 95 percent chance of causing global warming, causing extreme weather events, killing millions of people, and costing the world economy in the trillions of dollars every year.
To put it simply, until we move from the normal business practices of the industrial age to the era of sustainability, where humanity strives to live in harmony with the earth’s natural energy balance, future generations will experience the slow death of a fading “success” that could lead to the end of life on earth. as we know it. As Leonardo da Vinci said, “Everything is connected with everything.”
But before you succumb to pessimism, take comfort in the fact that the problem can be solved, and the gradual change in the concept of “success” for a sustainable future is already slowly taking place. Around the world, developed and developing countries are investing in renewable energy and closed-loop waste management systems.
Today, 26 countries have banned GMOs, invested $244 billion in renewable energy development in 2012, and 192 out of 196 countries have ratified the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement dealing with anthropogenic climate change.
As we move towards global change, we can help redefine “success” by participating in local community development, supporting social, economic and environmental sustainability advocacy organizations, and spreading the word on social media to help drive the transition to sustainability around the world. .
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