The Accounting of the Natural World

[unspeakablehorror]

It occurs to me that a lot of the vital studies done to understand the flow of resources, while many times utilizing advanced scientific techniques, are essentially, at their core, accountancy.  Like the study I mentioned in my earlier post today about the aquifers.  That's all about measuring the inflows and outflows of water.  Climate change studies do that too, via measurement of greenhouse gases and other related indicators.  Maybe one of the problems in our world is that there are too many accountants focused on money and not enough focused on the environment.

Comments

[unspeakablehorror]

Ah, yes, that does sound interesting to me! I'll have to look that up!

And it's not surprising to me that people who look at these resources and see only 'natural capital' are not really looking for ways heal our broken planet, but at ways to further exploit it (and other people) while calling themselves environmentalists. And these are also exactly the type of people who would be willing to fudge their numbers and straight-up lie as long as the results are benefiting them.

Enclosure of the commons is an actively malicious act and I think something that desperately needs reversal.There are ways to establish systems to ensure the protection of the environment but also give the people who need it most access to the resources it provides. I don't think we can address the problems our environment faces without also addressing wealth inequality and oppression. The people with the wealth and power have been actively destroying our world and we have no reason to trust them any further with it just because they put a shiny green sticker on their exploitation.