We can’t afford to abuse Earth

The first Earth Day, April 22, 1970, rallied 20 million Americans who believed the environment wasn’t receiving the attention it deserved in national politics. It gave a single voice to numerous grass-roots movements protesting oil spills, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides and loss of wilderness.

The success of that event led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency as well as the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species acts.

Better industrial practices have decreased direct environmental threats to communities across the United States and abroad.

But the overall condition of the planet has worsened since 1970, as its human population has nearly doubled to 6.8 billion. Natural resources like fresh water and tropical forests are dwindling, and it’s becoming more difficult to hide our waste, much of which is plastic and will be around long after our children —- and theirs —- have lived through future Earth Days.

But after nearly 40 years, saving the Earth is finally at or near the forefront of American politics, pushed there by growing awareness of global climate change and a national energy policy that leans too heavily on imported oil and other limited fossil fuels.

Major policy changes rarely take place during high times, but these are not high times. The financial crash has cleared the ground for rebuilding the U.S. and global economies on the promise of green technology, and for the first time U.S. and world leaders are poised to begin the work together. International negotiations are under way for a long-range climate change treaty, and Congress is debating how to best cap greenhouse gas emissions and transition the nation to renewable energy.

But we are stayed by one fear: cost. How much will our bills rise if we mandate solar, wind and geothermal power? What will happen to existing industries? Can we afford to switch to clean energy when coal and natural gas are cheaper?

Such misgivings are understandable but shortsighted.

The true costs of burning fossil fuels are not tabulated in our current system of accounting. The Earth subsidizes this and other dirty habits. But its reserves —- what scientists call ecosystems services —- are nearly tapped. And if those are depleted, then our cost of living will truly skyrocket.

For instance, the Earth provides free water for drinking and crop irrigation. But climate change is reducing snow pack in mountain regions around the world, threatening the water supply of millions of people, particularly in parts of Asia and the American West. Desalinating enough water for the city of Los Angeles would make a 10 percent increase in electric bills look like nothing.

Furthermore, drought conditions in California will cause 1 million acres of the nation’s most fertile land to go unplanted this year, costing the agriculture industry at least $2 billion. And since the region provides 50 percent of the nation’s fruits and vegetables, we’ll all be covering that cost at our local grocery stores.

But these costs aren’t just limited to climate change. Overfishing likely will wipe out the breeding population of Atlantic blue fin tuna in about three years, yet the fishing season resumed recently without a quota change. A suspension of fishing now, though costly, could mean the difference in saving the species as a managed source of food and revenue for the future or letting it vanish altogether.

Natural resources like these underpin every industry. The sooner we begin balancing the health of the planet with the health of our economy, the less expensive it will be in the long run.

In some regards, it was easier to join the movement in 1970 because the environmental issues of the day were much more visible. Today, unless you live in an Appalachian community affected by mountaintop removal coal mining, the issues are not right in your face. You might know about climate change, topsoil depletion, toxins in the environment and the ongoing mass extinction of biodiversity, but making next month’s rent or mortgage is always going to be a more immediate problem.

Nonetheless, it’s time to act boldly. Because capping carbon dioxide emissions and generating clean energy is only the first step in reassessing the value we gain from a healthy planet. We must begin paying to preserve these benefits now, because once they are gone, we won’t be able to buy them back at any cost. And then the idea of celebrating Earth Day will seem like a cruel joke.

> Bart King of Athens is the news editor for SustainableBusiness.com.