This was written by a friend of mine who said it almost 30 years ago. Prescient? Too many environmentalists ignore the financial component of the problem. The last sentence is classic.

”As every environmentalist knows, over the last few centuries we humans have created an ecologically unsustainable industrial economy. Unless we radically reform our way of doing things and create a sustainable economic system we are doomed to suffer drastic changes.

“What most environmentalists – and indeed most economists – do not know is that over the last few centuries we humans have also created an economically unsustainable financial system. Unless we radically reform this financial system it will recurringly break down and thwart our efforts to heal this planet.

“Our current financial system diverts us from our real problems to ask: ‘where is the money going to come from?’ This should be the least of our worries. As long as we have vast unmet human needs and idle human and nonhuman resources … finance should never be allowed to stand in the way of doing what must be done.

"Could anything be more insane than for the human race to die out because we 'couldn't afford' to save ourselves."

Dr. John Hargrove Hotson, Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Waterloo and co-founder of COMER. 1993 [25-1-1930 to 21-1qq1996]”