Last October, an economy that had been running its course for the past three decades was laid to rest. Our country has been on a nearly 30-year credit bubble where we have binged on cheap credit to buy up homes at ever increasing values. This 30-year ascent made us think it could be forever. But this bubble was based upon unsustainable principles and ecological destruction. We destroyed as much land as we could to produce quickly and consume as much food, building supplies, minerals as we could get from the land as fast as possible. We utilize an extremely dense energy source – fossil fuels – to live lifestyles that are historically similar to those that kings lived before. In order to accomplish all this, we have put ourselves in debt for decades to come. We have borrowed from the future to live in the present for far too long.
Here in Florida the Ponzi scheme of real estate flipping ended as well. As my carpenter friend remarked: "We worked ourselves out of a job." The University of Florida released a demographic report showing that 58,000 people left the state of Florida this year, ending our over 60-year growth pattern. This is a turnaround for a state that based its economic model on perpetual growth. An economy strictly based upon tourism and building is falling apart. We are already witnessing the vast decline in states resources and even our own Governor is leaving for Washington D.C. But I'm here, and I'm a native of Florida and I'm not leaving my state any time soon. I've been researching a green economy for the past year and a half and I believe it's the way to move forward for this state and our country. It's based upon ethics, entrepreneurship and decentralization – a return to a local living economy.
This article appears in Sep 2-8, 2009.