EQ 12: Ecological Strain + Wealth Inequality = Civilization Collapse

Dear Friends,

A cross-disciplinary group led by applied mathematician Safa Motesharrei of the US National Science Foundation using the new Human And Nature DYnamical (HANDY) model according The Guardian (here) has reached the following conclusions:

It finds that according to the historical record even advanced, complex civilisations are susceptible to collapse, raising questions about the sustainability of modern civilisation:
"The fall of the Roman Empire, and the equally (if not more) advanced Han, Mauryan, and Gupta Empires, as well as so many advanced Mesopotamian Empires, are all testimony to the fact that advanced, sophisticated, complex, and creative civilizations can be both fragile and impermanent."
By investigating the human-nature dynamics of these past cases of collapse, the project identifies the most salient interrelated factors which explain civilisational decline, and which may help determine the risk of collapse today: namely, Population, Climate, Water, Agriculture, and Energy.
These factors can lead to collapse when they converge to generate two crucial social features: "the stretching of resources due to the strain placed on the ecological carrying capacity"; and "the economic stratification of society into Elites [rich] and Masses (or "Commoners") [poor]" These social phenomena have played "a central role in the character or in the process of the collapse," in all such cases over "the last five thousand years."

 Except for the science deniers in the Republican Party, there is almost universal agreement that climate change brought on by human activity will destroy our planet if we do not act quickly to reverse human's impact on the environment.  Yesterday it became clear that there is at least one Republican that is not a science denier perhaps his courage will give other Republicans the courage to face an existential issue for our planet.  You can read his op-ed in The New York Times here.

With respect to the wealth disparity, the United States is clearly off the charts.  It has been widely reported that the Walton Family (Walmart) has more wealth than the bottom 40% of Americans.  See here and here.  That analysis uses 2010 data.  In 2007 the Walton Family's wealth was estimated at $73.3 billion.  In 2010, it was estimated at $89.5 billion.  During those same three years the median wealth of American families dropped by 38.8%.  The Walton Family wealth is now estimated to be $111.5 billion.

Huff Post Business recently published an analysis of which billionaires could purchase all the houses in which cities (here).  It is a fun article even if extremely frightening.  The top four billionaires have a combined wealth of over $322 billion.  Here they are along with the cities in which they could buy every home:
Walton              $111.5 billion     Seattle
Koch                  $78.1 billion     Atlanta
Gates                 $76.6 billion     Boston
Buffett               $56.1 billion     Charlotte

That concentration of wealth in four families is astounding and certainly speaks to the haves and the have nots.  I do not know if the HANDY model works or if our civilization will actually collapse but I do know:
The disparity between the really rich and the rest is immoral and not sustainable.
The fact that the really rich can buy our elections will destroy our democracy.
The science deniers will continue to block action to reverse climate change and other environmental disasters so long as they are backed by super rich like the Koch brothers.
That all means that we will destroy our country and our planet.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal