Sep 9, 2006 2:15:00 PM cite

Sydney Possuelo: Yes. There are ecological limits for our growth. So we have to think prudently about why we are getting to a limit of raw materials. Our economical growth has a limit concerning the ecological utilization. While we are living and surviving on earth, it has also a limit of supportability.

by Sydney Possuelo

Sep 9, 2006 2:15:00 PM cite

Takashi Kiuchi: Absolutely yes. And we have made so much mistakes in assuming that endless growth was possible. It is not. So, we must put a lid on the Keynesian Economics, for instance. Because in Keynesian Economics encourages to do more and more. It is not only the ecological limit. The actual limit that we have to our economic growth is more than ecological limits.

by Takashi Kiuchi

Sep 9, 2006 2:15:00 PM cite

Tamas St. Auby: The ecological limit itself will limit the oniomania and pleonexia which produces all the luxuriating, devastating, irrational so-called growth. But it is understandable that ecological limit is decided by ourselves, since the ecologic limit is part of man also. Somehow, the ecological limit is at the forbidden tree. We can go through, we can pick up the prohibited, forbidden fruit, but then we went through the border of the limit.

by Tamas St. Auby

Sep 9, 2006 2:15:00 PM cite

Tania Bruguera: I don't think that there is an ecological limit to economic growth. I think that -what exists- is the necessity to begin with transformations... . I think that -what exsits- is not a limit, but an appeal. So, I think that when the economy yet begins to affect the ecology, we have to treat it like an appeal of attention and so not to stop the economic growth, but to search for solutions and transformations that are possible to realize that one thing does not affect the other. I think that always - you know- always we have seen that when we arrived at the economic level, it affected each other. This epoch has been very advanced ... every ecologic confrontation. Almost always there has been a solution for the economical growth. Concerning the trees we have to create a different type of wood which isn't a real kind of wood but a product which could be used a derivative of wood which wasn't used before. This is that I believe that every situation that we thought is a limit, could be solved by creative solutions that don't damage. At the economic level, we have to make the materials with methods that don't affect the ecology.

by Tania Bruguera

Sep 9, 2006 2:15:00 PM cite

Tavis Smiley:

by Tavis Smiley

Sep 9, 2006 2:15:00 PM cite

Tegla Loroupe: Answertext will be available soon.

by Tegla Loroupe

Sep 9, 2006 2:15:00 PM cite

Thenmozhi Soundararajan:

by Thenmozhi Soundararajan

Sep 9, 2006 2:15:00 PM cite

Timothy Speed: I am really convinced that there is a limit to growth. For me the question is not so much if we should deal with questions as: How can we create more growth? Do we need more growth? Is growth an essential element for economy anyway? For me it is more important to ask: How can we develop more creative power? If you succeed to integrate more creative power into society than you have a different form of [employment] than one searching for economic growth. The conditions, which are necessary to integrate creative power in society, provide generally more human or individual meaning or assessment or emphasis in economy than allowing economy to be an end in itself. This means an economy, which has growth as its only aim. I think that the question if we need economic growth, is a question, which is generally misleading, because we have an economy, which is facing a huge change. An economy, which became doubtful in many aspects, which is not serving the people or reasonableness and which is no longer successful in its strategies. The question is more: What is the basis for values? What is the basis for dynamic processes in society? What is it that makes us successful? What makes society strong and dynamic? What creates expressions which are interesting, strong and powerful? These are the foundations of society. And for me personally it is really a question about the inside. Are we going back to what is really important or do we get lost over the outside.

by Timothy Speed

Sep 9, 2006 2:15:00 PM cite

Tu Weiming: The current economic growth is unsustainable. It is driven not by necessity but by greed. We know for sure all the ancient wisdom tells us that while resources are limited, human desire is insatiable. In this kind of imbalance if not only human desires are insatiable but collective desires fueled by advanced technology and which is always over-produced and with incredible capacity to transform natural resources into consumer goods. And that process itself is ecologically unsustainable and extremely dangerous. In fact we’ve following this process in a most unconditionable way. And of course the economy is predicated on the belief that the more we demand, the more we consume, the more we waste for the more productive the economic engine will be. And this sense as we have conflict, almost contradiction between economic growth and ecological degradation. However, it is understandable, actually important to note that an economic system which is not only sensitive, which is mindful, of the overall ecological system that may turn out to be sustainable in the long run and also enhancing the human ingenuity and human inventiveness to focus on the kinds of economic process that would lead to [audio ends]

by Tu Weiming

Sep 9, 2006 2:15:00 PM cite

Udi Aloni:

by Udi Aloni