Economic Growth and Natural Resources Protection: How Long Can We Have Both?

Abstract

Since colonial times, Americans have taken abundant natural resources mostly for granted. Virgin timber, wildlife, minerals, fertile soils and clean water, coupled with a free market system, provided the basis for a vibrant economy during the early years of nationhood. A vast expanse of undeveloped land and the freedoms guaranteed by a new system of government provided apparently endless opportunities. Growth and prosperity became synonymous in the minds of most Americans, and it remains so today in spite of vastly different conditions. Georgia's natural resources face ever-growing pressures that are directly related to human population density and a consumption-based society, but government leaders continue to promote growth as a goal and a measure of success. It is time for leaders to embrace the sustainability concept and understand the resource constraints to unlimited growth.