I survived (thrived) during my first day at our economic summit at Pocantico.  I spent most of yesterday morning contemplating the above equation.  And it didn't change.  Impact to the Planet continues to be a product of population size and general income that is either mitigated by or worsened by the technologies that we use.  Much as I looked at it, the logic was inescapable.

So what do we do to lessen the impact?  Have fewer children is a good start, but that is clearly the elephant in the room that everyone wants to acknowledge, but few want to deal with.  Other options that we discussed after once again acknowledging population were:

--Switching to a four day work week.  It employs more people and we really have gotten past the point that where we have to feverishly build the country.  Maybe we should transition into a time when we enjoy it?

--Lots of talk also about localizing economies particularly in the realms of agriculture and diverse cottage industries with 50 or less employees.

--And we kept coming back to adopting renewable energy, eliminating waste, and maximizing efficiency.

All of these and others are good idea and I cannot help but be struck by the irony of discussing our move away from fossil fuel and the redesign of American corporation while walking casually by Picassos on an estate built by oil profits.  More later.

Bob Ferris

http://bob-ferris.blogspot.com/

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