In Praise of Economic Pain
The threat of recession could lead to an environmental boon
September-October 2008
by Hannah Lobel
This article is part of a package brushing off the gloom and doom with good green news. Also included are:
Tomorrowland: An eco-smart urban design competition turns “what ifs” into “what is”
Hiring Mother Earth To Do Her Thing: Are capitalists the new conservationists?
Green All the Lawyers: Legal expert Mary Wood on how Lady Justice could tip the scales
Environmental Innovations to Give You Hope
Special Online Project: Mother Earth’s Big Comeback
Not long ago, Hummers hulked down city streets, angling for social status and house-sized parking spaces. The grasslands once considered “the country” morphed into exurbs where families longing for a McMansion of their own could choose between blue and beige. Ever-expanding malls restocked their Made in China lines quicker than any middle American Paris Hilton wannabe could say “Charge it.”
A well-heeled class of liberal Cassandras perched atop recycled soapboxes warned us against such folly. But their appeals landed mostly on deaf ears, plugged up with Bluetooth headsets, corporate jingles, and MP3 downloads.
Fast-forward to the present day. SUVs sit alone on America’s sales lots, looking like wide-eyed dinosaurs witnessing their own extinction. The New York Times recently reported that the decades-long migration from cities to suburbia is ebbing toward reversal. Despite the Bush administration’s tax-break bribe, the consumption slump slouches toward thrift, sending shivers down Wall Street’s spine.
In less than a year, record oil prices have accomplished what only tireless environmental activists once dared to dream. Detroit is finally coming to its senses and gunning for fuel efficiency. Not only are consumers abandoning unsustainably gigantic exurban homes that rack up astronomical heating and commuting bills, Governing reports (May 2008) that cities and counties are buying up developers’ land to use for conservation and parks. Even blue-collar supermarkets like Safeway and Supervalu are, according to Sustainable Industries (May 2008), bolstering their organic offerings to capture penny-pinched high-enders eschewing pricey natural food stores.