Mother: Caring for 7 Billion Page #5

and to absorb the according waste

and that would be entire planets,

leaving nothing for other species.

It's a model that is not

globally replicable.

Of course, some areas can use more

than what their areas can regenerate

because of trade

but not all countries can

replicate this model

of being net importers

of ecological services.

Just physically, mathematically,

it doesn't add up.

The lifestyle of average

residents in India

could be replicated around the world;

possibly even at the population size

of about 8 billion people.

But that means eating much much

lower on the food chain

with very little extra energy

to either heat

or cool houses or to

drive cars around.

We've got to set an example

and stop our own population growth,

if we are going to have any

moral basis for lecturing

to the people in other

countries and say,

You've got to stop your

population growth.

The rich countries, broadly wrought,

pointing to the poor countries

and saying,

"The problem is population growth. "

"You should get your populations

under control.

The poor country is saying

"No, the problem is inequity,

and you should get your

over consumption under control.

So here this kind of fight goes on.

The solution we have is,

OK, grow like us.

We have fetishized,

we have worshipped,

we have created an ideology

out of growth,

that has now, taken over

our economic planning and

development.

Our economy has grown highly

dependent on people,

or more precisely on consumers.

It always needs more to sustain

its endless appetite for growth,

and always manages

to find more of us.

We became its lifeblood.

The people who are promoting

growth

are the people who make

the profits from it.

You know, the one thing that

people don't understand

and the developers like

to hide is that

the growth never pays for itself.

Your taxes have to go up to pay

the cost of this growth.

Local officials still sort of see

all growth as good.

Research has shown that sprawl

ends up costing more money

than it will ever bring in.

You need more police

and more parks

and more fire departments

and more schools

and expanding the sewer system,

another water treatment

plant probably.

More everything.

If the growth was paying

for itself,

there would be money

in the bank

to pay for a downturn in the economy,

to keep the state government going,

but that hasn't happened.

Everyone,

the cities, the states,

are all turning to the federal

government

to get money from the feds

because the federal people don't

have any responsible limit

on the appropriations

and on their budgets.

So what we are having then is

essentially a ponzi scheme

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