The money-based economy

As we watch the global economy nearly collapse, it becomes increasingly clear that Wall-street type of wealth is an mirage--numbers piled upon numbers...with only artificial value. This may be a blessing in disguise, for the cause of sustainability, because it brings home the fact that the only substantial basis of economy is the natural environment--the Earth itself.

Meanwhile, by way of a fix, the US treasury hands over trillions of dollars to the very shysters blamed for this economic meltdown.

Pretty crazy.

The currency of the future may be fish...and bananas.

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The Problem with Sustainability

The old Environmentalist battle cry: "Use less, reuse, recycle!"; echoed by the 'Sustainabilitists', has an ominous over-tone of "Buy Less, buy less, buy less!". That is, while this may be sensible advise for the consumer, it can not be a very comforting thought for established retailers and venders.

Taken to extremes, it could be the fatal blow to an economy that has been thriving, at least, since the 50s--and which is founded on the exact opposite premise--"buy buy buy...sell sell sell". This is the sustainability ethic we are used to. It seems to have worked fine, all this time. But now the environment is feeling the backlashes of all that buying and consuming. And, the economy, itself, is suffering. [See why.]

All this has been obvious 'theory'...not even worth mentioning...up till now.

But today I went into Long's Drugs, Ala Moana, for a few items and was startled at the 'lack of buying' going on. Five check stands open and not a line in any of them; at 3:00PM in the afternoon--Long's prime time. I meandered from one side of the store to the other...and back again--several minuets worth of meandering; and not a single person purchased a single thing the entire time. It was downright spooky. The checker girls were tapping the counter-tops with their finger-tips, or chatting amongst themselves--like on break. One of them looked like she was on the verge of dozing off. I took my items to her, as she looked most in need of a customer.

I commented, to her, on how "slow" it was and she shook her head in agreement, saying it was "really strange"; and said that "...even the tourists were buying only 'cheap stuff--on sale'. Usually," she said, "they just take 'whatever' off the shelves and buy it." She was genuinely dismayed.

Of course, it was probably not sustainability-consciousness at the root of this shopping lull, but rather, the blows to the current (oil-based) economy...taking their toll. People are just holding on to their money; or just don't have it to squander on frills from Long's, like before.

The effect is about the same though. "Buying less" may be the trend, for awhile. It shows that large retailers, like Long's Drugs Store, face challenging days ahead...as the sustainability ethic evolves towards a more environment/energy based economy. It might take some imagination, on the part of the owners of these large, established retailers, to survive.

It's no great wonder that Long's was just bought out by CVS.

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