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War, Waste, and Moneylenders: factoring social and economic instability into ecological catastrophe and the decline of western civilization

› Posted November 13, 2008, by Ryan King, mongabay.com

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"If war, waste, and moneylenders were abolished, you'd collapse. And while you people are over consuming the rest of the world sinks more and more deeply into chronic disaster… as prosperity goes down political ruthlessness and one-party rule, nationalism and bellicosity begin to rise."

-Aldous Huxley, Island

Gold mining in the Amazon rainforest, Peru

When proposing and exploring solutions to environmental crises we rarely, if ever, consider social and geopolitical factors such as massive refugee migrations, economic market instability and collapse, wars for resources, the peaking of oil, civil uprisings/riots, and the rise of fascism/military oppression. If we hope to create lasting and effective solutions to environmental issues of the 21st Century it is clear we must consider facets beyond the realm of traditional environmental science and shift towards multi-disciplinary systems-level approaches. In addition to the long list of existing and impending environmental crises (passing points-of-no-return in tropical deforestation and climate change, widespread coral bleaching, and the accelerating mass extinction of biodiversity) we must recognize and adapt to the effects of current and emerging social issues (resource wars, economic collapse, and the rise of fascism).

It is becoming increasingly evident that....

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