The great contradiction -- the great irony in a cacophony of ironies -- in economics is that our economic system values the death of the planet more highly than it does its survival. As an expression of human choice and human behavior, economics betrays us as ignorant and self-destructive. Oil and coal are among the most valuable commodities, the Chinese dirty energy economy is booming, resource depletion is not even a footnote in GDP, and on and on, down to the phenomenon of NASCAR racing.
The poster child of this contradiction is the SUV.
This large, heavy, gas-consuming vehicle has created want out of plenty by increasing demand all out of shape from what might have occurred with more modest transportation schemes. It has enriched oil countries in the Mideast, Russia, and elsewhere. It is the major cause of the tragic and shameful and disgusting intervention in Iraq, with its consequent costs in lives and fortune. And all the time it is overweight in contributing to the greenhouse gases that hang over our planet and our futures.
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