Early Retirement Blog

Buy Green!

Welcome to the Green Age! A new era is about to begin, gone is the era of consumption capitalism, welcome to the era of green capitalism.  It is no coincidence, that both capitalism and the environment, are on the verge of collapse at the very same time.

And the reason is simple, and obvious, the American Venture Capitalistic system is unsustainable.   Ever increasing consumption of human and natural resources has a limit, the limit has been reached, and both the stock market and the planet are in simultaneous decline.

Economists are scratching their heads, unable to address the current economic crisis, with either a Keynsian or Supply Side approach.   Some are even questioning the survival of capitalism and are busy searching for new economic models.

Capitalism will not die, greed is too embedded in human nature,   instead capitalism will transform from consumption to conservation.   Greed will become green.   Profit will be derived from conserving resources, as opposed to the current economic model of over-consumption, and exploitation of human and natural resources.   It is already happening.

Individuals are becoming more economically green, and through their purchasing decisions, forcing corporations to deliver green products.  Humvees and S.U.V.’s sit on the lot, while Toyota dealerships can’t get enough Prisus’, and Detroit’s fateful decision to damage the world with their gas guzzlers will place them in bankruptcy.

Plans are already in place to save America, Capitalism, and the Planet, by going green.   Barack Obama, and a Democratic congress, have already promised to pump billions of dollars into green infrastructure projects.   From this government backed investment, companies and products will emerge to reduce carbon emissions, provide jobs, and profits for American corporations.

Noble as all these plans may be, the transformation to a green economy faces many obstacles, beginning with the price of oil.   The historic equilibrium price of oil is less than $20 per barrel.   Only when the price of oil is less than $20, can an industrial and consumption based society grow, over $20 and growth stops.   The credit bubble masked the anti-growth effects of high oil prices.   Oil will return to $2o per barrel, and when it does, any green energy business who based their plans on high oil prices will fail.

A slowing global economy reduces consumption, which reduces global warming, and shrinks the market for carbon credits.   Governments will be hard pressed, not to force companies who are in the midst of laying off employees and fighting for survival, to take on the added financial burden of buying carbon credits.

Governments such as the United States with large debts, could easily for sake green infrastructure development, in a necessary effort to balance their budgets.   The economic drag of high debt and deficits, combined with low carbon energy prices, may make it difficult for governments to justify green investments, laws, and regulations.

Individuals, faced with an economic collapse will make economic, not green purchasing decisions.   Any green product, which costs the consumer more than a traditional product, will have a very hard time surviving in a down economy.   Arguments about health, saving the planet, fair trade etc., will fall on the deaf ears of people who are struggling to survive.

Even with all these challenges, and more, the Green Age is inevitable.   So far, American Venture Capitalism has embraced green, based on the same erroneous consumption based economic model.   However, this will change, as venture capitalists come to the realization, that it is more profitable to practice conservation as opposed to consumption.   Businesses that are successful will combine, saving human, land, natural, and capital resources.

The current American economic model of continuously expanding consumption, is inherently unsustainable, and will eventually collapse.   Green Capitalism, still in it’s early stages, may lead us into a sustainable economy, helping the world   avoid a complete environmental and economic collapse. Either way – Welcome to the Green Age!

Also Read:
10 Green Ways to Save $1 Million and the Planet
How to Retire Early
Early Retirement Planning