When people think of value, more times than not an image of monetary value appears in their head. Value can be something real or not that has potential. That potential can be stored in anything or anybody. Yet in our consumer world value is mostly seen in the form of material possessions. However, in the unfortunate event, someone gets sick their perception of value shifts from material to health. As quoted by legendary Jazz drummer Art Blakey, “ There is no armored car following the hearse to the cemetery.”
The issue is that a large part of the monetary system’s value is based on the consumption of the natural world. Trees have a price for wood, cows have a price for beef, oil a price for gasoline, and minerals, etc all have a potential price in the market. And with the majority economic objective for the world being, to profit, the game of commerce has been established for the players.
The contradiction lies with the creation of wealth by conversion of raw resources at the Earth’s expense. This has been clearly documented by scientists from all over the planet to the effects of treating our atmosphere as an open swear for our way of life for the past 100 years. The Climate Crisis is upon us and its effects are moving faster than originally anticipated.
It seems clear that our society’s actions must line up with the health and the well-being of the natural world. So what to do in this pickle, continue on with limited resources until all is spent?
The Green Back was originally the United States currency used during the civil war period. This currency was backed by the reputation of the US government. This form of currency is called fiat currency, which means it is backed by the government that issued it. And with no limit to the amount of currency created we have a situation where money can be created even when the environment is a finite quantity.
We must do what we have always done under life-threatening situations throughout our history… think our way out of the problem. How about creating a form of currency that has its value derived from the health and well-being of the natural world and society?
For example, Brazil with the greatest rainforest on the planet might raise the Brazillian Real to a high value. The huge biodiversity that exists in the Amazon is a wealth of value as one of the most diverse living biomes on the planet. It is these environments that have contributed to the stability of the planet. This makes Brazil a very valuable country and it should be reflected in the currency. However if Brazil continues with the high poverty, destruction of the rainforest it would obviously lose value. This type of currency creates an incentive for Brazil to protect and respect the Amazon. Government, corporations, and people would all have an interest in keeping their natural and urban environments valuable for the strength of their currency is directly tied to it.
The Green Back may not replace the dollar but the idea of a country’s currency tied to the natural and societal environments is something that should be pondered. The name fits perfectly for this moment in our history, the wealth of currency backed by the health of the environment, hence the Greenback.
This is just an idea to spark individuals into thinking outside the box. It is my belief that solutions do not drop from a vacuum. Einstein could not have formulated Relativity Theory if it had not been for all the previous scientists that led him to see the contradictions that required a new theory. The point is to think way out in front even if all the details are unclear. We have to begin somewhere in order to get to a point where our civilization is in balance with nature. Imagine a future where the abundance of health is reflected from the natural environment all the way to the exchange rate of a country’s currency?
