Here’s a harsh reality most people don’t understand.
It is hard for humans to get their head around the fact that the Earth is a finite place. We can’t see the edge of the sky when we go for a walk. The ocean looks like it goes on forever as we collect seashells on the seashore. Walking in a forest we are in awe of the size of the trees and the seeming endlessness of them.
The world seems endless to us. Each of us. But there are a lot more of us today in 2022 than there were in 1972 or even 1992. And that infinite space we each believe exists is becoming more and more finite as we add more beings to the world. Especially more human beings.
In 1950 it was possible for every American to have a house in the suburbs and a car. The harsh reality is that isn’t possible any longer. The size of the houses, the number of cars and the amount of food Americans eat needs to change.
The cost of living has increased dramatically over the last year for Americans. This is the harsh reality of the rest of the world that Americans have been shielded from for a generation. Living like the world is infinite has its limits.
In fact natural resources are quite like financial resources. The difference is that humans share natural resources with all the other beings on this earth. The harsh reality is, we need to share these resources. Humans don’t want to do that. Each of us don’t want to do that.
Natural resources aren’t something that humans can create. That by definition is impossible. Nature creates natural resources. Humans can only steward them. And we aren’t doing that.
Dave Ramsey became famous for telling people to cut up their credit cards. His statement, “Live like no one else now so you can live like no one else later.” has created a lifestyle revolution. Live below your means now, invest the difference, so that you can live well off the income from your assets later. We can get behind our own money. When it comes to Natural resources, humans are doing the opposite. And we don’t care.
Aldo Leopold is the author of “A Sand County Almanac”. If you haven’t read it, please do.
He writes, “We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” – Aldo Leopold
Can you prove Aldo wrong?
Organic to the Core 