Is anyone listening?

I never thought I would be a 'blogger'. I am critical enough of my own writing, so the idea of making it public, and inviting criticism is terrifying. This blog is the product of an assignment that asked me to 'step outside my comfort zone' and present my research in an alternative way. So here I am blogging, in an attempt to engage you in my conversation on growth, environmental policy, and sustainability. Please join me, it promises to be a magical ride.

I have named this blog "The Skeptical Optimist." I have always considered myself an optimist, as a student of environmental studies what other choice do I have. But as I spend more time studying in this field I find myself growing skeptical. Not of the science, but of our ability to respond. The shear complexity and scale of the numerous environmental problems that now plague our planet are enough to stifle the most robust political, social and economic institutions.  This worries me!

I suppose the best place to start is with a question: what is driving global ecological decline?  That may seem like an easy one -- climate change is caused by the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation is caused by cutting down too many trees, and species loss is caused by overharvesting. Those may be the politically popular answers, but I suggest the cause runs much deeper.  Environmental problems cannot be separated from one another because they are all symptoms of a single, much larger issue: society's irrational commitment to exponential growth on a finite planet subject to the laws of thermodynamics. A mouthful I know, but over the next several entries I will unpack how this 'commitment' leads to ecological decline and severely limits environmental policy.

Much of the discussion that follows will be theoretical, but I will ground it in an interesting conversation that is happening right now in British Columbia around climate change policy. Tomorrow's entry will focus on the role economic growth play in our society, followed by entries on economic growth and ecological decline, and how the growth imperative shapes our response to environmental problems. Feel free to ask questions or challenge any of this, I will be happy to respond.

Until next time.