You describe a doom and gloom scenario. I would hope, yes hope that smarter heads will soon prevail in our leadership, or that the grassroots will express their discontent in allowing the status quo to remain with all its attendant consequences. So I am hoping you are wrong in all your conclusions.

((Growth is what’s killing us.))

Yes, but it’s overpopulation that is driving the growth. It’s a positive feedback cycle; the growth drives overpopulation and the overpopulation drive the growth. Each new person that is born intends to enjoy his “fair share” of global production and consumption. Not one out of a hundred is ever going to reduce his consumption or limit his reproduction because his conscience is telling him he contributes to environmental degradation. Humanity doesn’t have the technological competence to support the present population without serious environmental degradation. The atmospheric CO2 burden will reach levels that trigger an avalanche release of polar region methane. If mankind won’t limit its numbers, nature will.

All the smart people see what’s coming, and they refuse to spend their last years before climate catastrophe making personal sacrifices frantically bailing down in the bilges. No, they are going to try to enjoy the final cruise in the first class ballroom and on the top deck. The wealthier ones will invest in comfortable survival sanctuaries in the remote Northern Canadian Rockies or the Scottish Highlands and figure the devil can take the hindmost of the rest.

The problem as I see it is our focus on economic growth as the measure of our society’s progress. It shouldn’t be. Growth is what’s killing us. We make more things. We take more from the Earth. We give birth to more people. We need a new paradigm upon which to build our human society, one that is more in harmony with the planet.

What does that mean for the Ford Motor Companies of this world? How do you measure the intrinsic value a company provides by looking at more than its bottom line?

((What Ford is publicly announcing is at least an acknowledgement that as an industry leader they need to deal with freshwater usage as well as their carbon footprint. All businesses need to acclimatize to the reality of water scarcity and climate change.))

Yes, but it’s just empty PR. The basic problem is overpopulation not fresh water shortage. Ford products contribute to the overpopulation problem. Ford is part of the probleml, not part of the solution. Nearly every product Ford makes increases demand for fossil fuel, and that increases demand for freshwater..

What Ford is publicly announcing is at least an acknowledgement that as an industry leader they need to deal with freshwater usage as well as their carbon footprint. All businesses need to acclimatize to the reality of water scarcity and climate change.