Greening the stimulus

There are two things the proposed economic stimulus package should do, in the very broadest sense:

1) foster economic growth

2) foster lasting economic growth

Sound obvious?  Not necessarily, and that’s where a healthy dose of ecology and science can be valuable.  

American prosperity in the last decade and the American recession of the past year seem to hinge on the rapid increase of real estate and complex, poorly-regulated financial arrangements based on homeowner debt.  In other words, there was a great deal of wealth created without any tangible goods, services, or knowledge behind them.

During the same decade of sky-rocketing American home prices, the rest of the world was entering a period where the competition for limited resources (oil, natural gas) and the effects of using those resources (climate change, pollution) became the greatest threats to the well-being of humanity as a whole.  So as American politicians consider the best way to stimulate the economy, creating economic growth based on tangible goods and services that increase our quality of life seems a sensible solution.

What does this have to do with science and ecology?  First, we need a solid grasp on ecology to understand how our choices impact things like the climate, our agricultural lands, and the oceans.  This doesn’t mean the stimulus should include gobs of earmarks for ecological studies; instead, we should view the stimulus package through an ecological lens to make sure it helps get us closer to a sustainable future.

Secondly, none of the natural resources on earth offers the same riches as our scientific potential.  And if Americans are going to produce some sort of goods and services they can sell abroad, the smart money says it will be the result of accumulated knowledge based in the minds of its scientists and entrepreneurs.  

Making the stimulus more green isn’t just a hip idea – it might be the smartest way to create growth and to begin tackling the biggest challenges we face in the 21st century.