Cost of Deforestation is Vastly Greater than that of the
Current Financial Crisis
While your 401K smolders in ruins, take a gander at this BBC article and
it might give you some perspective. Unfortunately, it's not immediately an
optimistic perspective: We are actually losing more money through
deforestation than through the current financial meltdown. The reasoning
behind this is clear when we start calculating the often overlooked value
ofNatural Capital - resources provided by our environment including
minerals, water, air, sunlight, heat, plants, animals, and other organic
matter.
Looking at the costs of deforestation and other forms of resource depletion
from a purely economic perspective may seem perverse to many
environmentalists, but it may be the only way that these issues are ever
going to get real attention from government, big business, and society at
large. The study cited by the BBC comes from a Deutsche bank economist who
states:
... whereas Wall Street by various calculations has to date lost, within the
financial sector, $1-$1.5 trillion, the reality is that at today's rate we
are losing natural capital at least between $2-$5 trillion every year
(emphasis mine)
Bear in mind that's an annual cost... and it's just about forests.
Burning or bulldozing complex ecosystems such as tropical forests removes
the benefits that those ecosystems provided for a short term gain - such as
whatever price you can get for the lumber. But leaving an ecosystem
more-or-less intact allows it to continue to provide "ecosystem services"
such as clean air and water, plant pollination, climate regulation, soil
regeneration, ozone protection, shade and shelter, etc. - all of which must
be replaced by artificial means costing lots of money. If you want to get
even more depressed, read the Stern Review which attempts (not without some
criticism) to calculate the overall cost of climate change in general.
Now, the good news: The fact that calculations like this are being made
means that economists, governments, and businesses are starting to listen.
It also provides hard data that didn't exist in the past to make the case
for land conservation, resource efficiency and a more proactive stance on
environmental issues in general.
This is the essence of the Triple Bottom Line, and, I think, some good stuff
to ponder for the weekend. |