Confronting Capitalism

SIX

ENVIRONMENT EXPLOITATION

I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security. Defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad. Otherwise what is there to defend?

—ROBERT REDFORD

On November 2, 2014, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, consisting of scientists and other experts, warned that “failure to reduce emissions . . . could threaten society with food shortages, refugee crises, the flooding of major cities and entire island nations, the mass extinction of plants and animals, and a climate so drastically altered it might become dangerous for people to work or play outside during the hottest times of the year.”¹ Is capitalism neutral in its effects on the natural environment and planet ...