[Coral-List] What is so special about science?

[frahome at yahoo.com]

I find disheartening reading this article prizing science
for being the major contributor to economic growth and thus to coral reef
decline.

The article states that up to 85% of unexplained economic
growth could be due to "technological progress".
Well, I would argue that instead that 85% has been coming
from converting natural resources into goods and energy  (clear cutting, mining, fossil fuel burning etc.)
plus unpaid environmental bills. I don’t think technological progress, as the
author intends it, would grow anything without that conversion. 


For Western countries, the time when economic growth contributed
to wellbeing is long gone. 
We entered the time when economic growth troubles have
greatly outgrown its benefits though many people do not perceive the troubles
as coming from the same system that provides them with gadgets, burgers, junk
food, all sorts of disposable items and SUVs. 


The end has been moved from improving people wellbeing to whatever
it takes to keep the GDP growing (bombing children with advertisement, assuring
people never feel they have enough, even if storage rooms need to be rented to
fit belongings, and that their phone and TVs are never flat enough).

We do not need new industries nor
new products (most of which end up into landfills within 6 months of purchase) as the author seems to imply, for
the sake of “growing” an economy, but rather we need finding ways to harness nature
abundance in a sustainable manner through regenerative agriculture and clever
system design aiming to satisfy fundamental human needs for everyone.

I wonder how the world would look like if science would be truly
and fully to the service of human and planet well being 
rather than too often being slave to a made economic system
based on consumerism and profit.
We need science, but we need it to work towards a different
objective.

Of course everything in my humble opinion.

Francesca


[Coral-List] What is so special about science?
vassil zlatarski vzlatarski at yahoo.com
Sat Nov 23 07:30:22 EST 2013


Dear colleagues,

Please allow me to draw your attention to "What's So Special About Science?"

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6160/817...short?goback=%2Egde_1440937_member_5809603875467984900#%21

Cheers,

Vassil

Vassil Zlatarski
D.Sc. (Biology),  Ph.D. (Geology)
131 Fales Rd., Bristol, RI 02809, USA;  tel.: +1-401-254-5121