THE DYNAMICS AND CONSEQUENCES OF GROWTH: A FINAL WORD

This is the last of a series of six articles that have appeared in the HERALD on consecutive Sundays since July 23rd. The series came about when I expressed my grave concerns regarding the dynamics and consequences of growth to Morley Ballentine, the Herald's publisher and editor. She suggested the series.

The problem became one of condensing ten years of reading, thinking and discussion into a few thousand words. That task turned out to be far more difficult than I had imagined it would be when I first agreed to write the articles.

God, motherhood, democracy, free enterprise, apple pie and growth are the cornerstones of out society. I did not expect to win any friends by revealing growth's 'true' nature to the Herald's readers. Yet, in putting a 'black hat' on growth, I am defending - in a very real, sincere and necessary sense - all of the other cornerstones of our society.

If we continue to grow in the future as we have in the recent past, our culture - yea, civilization itself - will crumble from the sheer numbers of people, from the magnitude and variety of pollutants, from the mass of energy consumed.

I don't see how any reasonable person feels growth can continue indefinitely. Or, even much longer. The basic needs of a majority of the world's people are not being met in an adequate way. How can serious-minded people believe the needs of even more will be met better?

When the human race was subject to the regularly occurring control mechanisms of nature (disease, drought, pestilence, etc.) and its numbers reduced by war, genocide, infanticide, etc., "go forth, be fruitful and multiply" made good sense.

The human race has caused too much to happen to the balancing mechanisms of nature and of culture. The natural and the contrived factors of control no longer work as they once did. Too few humans die before they have "gone forth, been fruitful and multiplied."

Population growth is out of control. The billions now living will 'spawn' even more billions. These billions will ravish the Earth as no plague of locusts ever has.

The use of the Earth's resources is also out of control.

The Earth's resources are being 'gobbled up' at an enormous and at an ever-increasing rate. It cannot go on. Soon the resources will be all allocated or gone.

Conservation, whether it be of energy or of any other resource, might as well be a dirty word for all the good it does to try to get people to talk about it or to do something about it. Per capita energy consumption, for example, continues to increase, even in the face of temporary shortages and within the certainty of eventual energy resource exhaustion. Not solar, not nuclear, not any combination of energies can meet the expanding needs.

Big cars, trucks and big homes filled with every kind of energy intensive gadget are the AMERICAN DREAM. And, the rest of world wants to follow the U.S. into this technological jungle, because the gadgets look so pretty and seem to promise so much.

Since the world is finite and the world's life-sustaining resources are finite, GROWTH WILL STOP(!), as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow, even if NATURE is the one who stops it.

In an earlier article, I suggested that Homo sapien may follow the dinosaurs into extinction. Many readers may feel I have taken an unnecessarily severe and pessimistic view. Actually, that is not so. Over the long-term, I am extremely optimistic. For, I feel that once Homo responsibilus becomes the dominant species, a truly 'golden age' will come to pass.

Some of you may now be persuaded of the suicidal nature of growth. You may ask, "What can I do?"

To this question, I would answer: Write to our political, economic and spiritual leaders. Tell them of your concerns. Speak with them when you see them. Impress upon them the magnitude and gravity of the problems. Spur them into thought and action. Join organizations that are dedicated to NO-GROWTH policies and practices. Enlist converts to the cause. Spread the word.

It is not too late, though it is very late, to meet the challenges successfully. Awareness of the dynamics and of the consequences of growth and of the actions necessary to stop growth can also grow EXPONENTIALLY. Exponential growth of awareness and of action is the one great hope we have.

Author note: I wish to publicly thank Morley Ballentine for suggesting that I do this series and for offering space in the Herald for the articles.

Thanks to Louis Newell, the editorial page editor of the Herald, for his cooperation, encouragement, editorial skills and understanding.

One final word: Several people have asked me how much I was paid to write the articles. I considered this project a public duty; I was not paid.