"Environmental Protection Requires a Steady State Economy"
The world's economy has grown so large that its demands are overwhelming our planets ability to generate resources and absorb waste. If you consider that our economy grows at about 3% per year then it is predicted to double in size every 23 years, grow 16 times in size in 100 year, 250 times in size in 200 years, and 4000 times in size in 300 years.
It is unlikely therefore that the world can sustain many more doublings of industrial output under the present system without experiencing a complete ecological catastrophe. Indeed, we are already overshooting certain critical ecological thresholds.
For us to persist and preserve our environment, we must realize that economic growth, as gauged by increasing Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is a dangerous and obsolete American goal. The most viable and sustainable alternative is a steady-state economy, in which the path of economic progress must shift away from quantitative expansion (growth) to qualitative improvements (sustainable development).
