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To: letters@nytimes.com Re: Environmental alarmism or our addiction of a growth-dependent economy? Date: Saturday, 12 February 05 |
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Dear Nicholas (Mr
Kristof),
When a doctor warns
his patient - an
alcoholic still in denial of
his addiction - that he
has to radically change his drinking
habits, he is likely to be
accused of exaggerating the
problem and being
"alarmist".
As a civilisation, we
are addicted (quite literally)
to our growth-dependent
economy and grossly
materialistic lifestyles. Our
dependency on them makes us
blind to the fact, and to the
consequences that must ensue.
Instead of facing up
to the difficult truths
contained in the Club of Rome's
book, "The Limits of
Growth", back in the
early 1970's, we went into
collective denial.
Environmentalists are not
being alarmist (at least, not
this one), any more than that
doctor.
Either we get dry, or
we die.
Greetings from across
the pond (where it all
started)
Roger Hicks
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