Pollution refers to the byproducts of human invention that do harm to ourselves and the planet. Industry, Agriculture, Transportation, Energy, Land Use, Waste Management – each are themselves byproducts of human agglomeration, that in turn carelessly create further disruption to the environment around us, through waste products that range from unusable to outright lethal.
Thankfully, the creation of a National Public Bank would reward us for building new infrastructure, and this infrastructure could be fashioned to encourage a more thoughtful design. Clean and safe transportation, clean and green energy, regenerative and vertical farming, sustainable waste management and land use strategies – by utilizing biomimicry (taking tips from how the Earth runs its business), we could innovate in ways that leave a minimal waste footprint.
For example, hydrogen fuel is clever because there is an unlimited amount of hydrogen available – compared to oil and coal – and when burned, leaves pure water as its only byproduct. The only real downside to hydrogen fuel is that it is currently more expensive to produce, which makes it less profitable, and thus not appealing to profit-seekers.
However, when We the Taxpayer own the money-source – though our National Public Bank – whatever we spend comes back to us in dividends rather than National or personal Debt. This would in effect encourage more work, more innovation, and more consumer spending. When people produce more and spend more, Capitalism is said to be successful, so in essence, the National Public Bank actually enhances Capitalism. It probably would cause the eventual ‘creative destruction’ of the oil or coal business, but as Amazon creatively destroys other businesses, for instance, no one seems particularly indignant. When gentrification creatively destroys the lives of impoverished citizens, no one seems to care much at all. It seems a bit hypocritical for us to care if a handful of super-wealthy people are inconvenienced by having to re-invest in some other more sustainable form of existence.
Deep down, we all have a parental gene. It is difficult for some parents to provide tough love to their children, even when they are clearly being selfish, destructive, greedy, or just plain spoiled. The best thing for children, however, is to create firm boundaries, and hold them accountable. All people, once they have consistent (aka Fair) boundaries set, will figure out how to navigate within those boundaries, and achieve success. A little bit of ‘tough love’ up front will lead to happy well-adjusted capitalists later.
