You Can't Eat GNP: Economics as if Ecology Mattered
by Eric A. Davidson
"In the debate about
global warming, one economist argued that we need not worry much about the
effects of global warming on the economy, because the only sector of the
economy that he considered strongly influenced by the climate is agriculture,
which contributes only 3 percent of the United States' GNP. Like Marie Antoinette's
suggestion that French peasants without bread could eat cake, this view
of how the world works seems to suggest that if the crops fail, the people
could eat the 97 percent of the GNP that remains....Food production is a
good example of how imperfect GNP is as a gauge of our well-being...."
Eric Davidson does an excellent job of laying
out the information about what's wrong with how we account for the cost
of the depletion of our natural resources. He advocates changes that would
require the corporations (or others) who profit from this resource depletion
to factor the cost of it into their business strategy. His last chapter
(9) subtitled "Some Modest Proposals for Profound Change" is full of ideas
for action that range from personal change to advocacy for regional, national
and global change.
Suggestions for Working
from the Top Down
- Stop building new roads. Contrary
to common expectations, however, the landless people who migrate to areas
newly opened up by road building
usually remain locked in poverty. While a small political and economic
elite of the country reap nearly all of the economic benefit of frontier expansion.
- Eliminate the tax deductions for more than
two children in countries that have income taxes. Develop incentives for
family planning that are respectful of the norms of each cultures. Disentangle
family planning from the politics of abortion.
- Reduce taxes on income and
increase taxes on consumption.
- Eliminate
governmental subsidies, such as water projects that hinder the market
forces that would otherwise promote water conservation, more prudent us of
groundwater and surface water, and prevent soil salinization. SImilarly, eliminate
government subsidies of grazing and mining rights on public lands, which
result in overgrazing, disturbance, and degradation of soils.
- Support governmental and nongovernmental
extension efforts to encourage farmers to make more efficient use of their
land while also conserving soil and using only essential quantities of fertilizers
and pesticides.
- Eliminate government subsidies for industrial
fisheries and foster agreements among nations and within communities to protect
the fisheries commons.
- Ratify and enforce the binding international
agreement reached in Kyoto for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
- Negotiate international agreements on maintaining
forest cover and managing forests to maximize genetic diversity of plants
and animals. Find national and local policies that provide economic incentives
for landowners to keep significant portions of their land under forest cover.
Suggestions
for Working Locally
- Lend this book
- Analyze your habits of using
electricity, heating, water, automobiles, consumer goods, and food.
- Insist that your local elected
representatives understand that you can't eat GNP.
- Figure out you can best your
particular set of skills to contribute to helping change the way our society
currently values and uses our resources.
