Devouring the Amazon, One Bite at a Time

Aug 22, 2008 14:00

While in D.C. at the AR conference, I had the opportunity to chat with a native Brazilian about the murder of Dorothy Stang, and the situation surrounding the Amazon ( Read more... )

wood, destruction, oil, money, brazil, amazon, ethanol

Leave a comment

Re: DO as I say not as I DO valuesystem August 27 2008, 15:16:24 UTC
Thanks for the thought provoking question/comment.

As with all in the middle of change, there are always disparities between action and belief. That is a sign that change is taking place. If there was never a difference between action and belief, it would be impossible for change to exist. I'm glad that I have the courage to share parts of my thinking and actions that show how that change is taking place.

It is an interesting question: does making a bet on the future price of oil impact the consumption?

A bet is not equal to consumption. Perhaps making a bet on something can slightly rise or lower the actual sale price, but I'm not convinced about that, because in futures, there is a bet that the price will fall for every bet that it will rise.

It appears that the weather impacts the price much more than people betting on what the price might be at some future date.

Our choice to bet on the price of oil was driven by a search for a "store of value" for our nest egg. I think that oil will hold value (in the long term) better than the U.S. dollar (or any currency). Given the state of the monetary system, I'm still comfortable with that.

Here's another thought, what is an "ethical" use of money? Is sending $50,000 to an account in Chicago worse than having it in an account in Grand Rapids? Is spending $50,000 to build a zero-energy addition better than saving it?

Keep in mind that any use of money is destructive. I know that I destroying by my use of money, and I've wrestled with that. I also know that if I stopped using money (if I died, for example) that would have no impact on the economy as a whole.

The question in my mind is how to stop and reverse our destruction of Earth. It appears that rapidly transitioning away from global money is one way to work towards that goal, but probably not the only way.

Reply


Leave a comment

Up