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

Sep 9, 2006 2:15:00 PM cite

Valentina Melnikova: Economic growth has no limit and the ecology shouldn't stop the development of the mankind's prosperity. But in this question there is a second level as which components of the environment the mankind is ready to sacrifice. If we will use the recources which our planet has reasonably, we need not to be afraid to run short of the resources because new discoveries and inventions of the humankind permit to develop the economy which would be harmless to people and nature. United we should make our government teach our fellow citizens how to use these new environmentally friendly technologies and methods. Moreover the economic growth is not a priority in itself. It is important how people benefit from the industry and agriculture. The relation between human needs and economical possibilities could be a criterion of such a growth. If people are happy and live well it means that the economical growth has taken place.

by Valentina Melnikova

Sep 9, 2006 2:15:00 PM cite

Vesna Pesic: Answertext will be available soon.

by Vesna Pesic

Sep 9, 2006 2:15:00 PM cite

Viviana Figueroa: Is there an ecological limit to economic growth? In fact, the limit arises in the sense of that we are already in a critical situation at global level as it is the deforestation of the Amazonas [inaudible], of the Amazonas which is the lung of the world as to realise that certain economic growth can be the solution of some problems of today but some big problems for tomorrow and for the future. The limit is to realise in the adequate moment which is the one that it´s not possible to continue depredating the nature and continue carrying out actions which tend to the disappearence of certain species, to the disappearence of certain plants, to the disappearance of trees proportional to the oxygen. As my people, my community say the measures that we destroy the nature we are also destroying ourselves. Then we have to keep in mind that when we cause a damage to the nature, sooner or later this damage will come back to us and that we should not carry out these actions and that we should make that you consider from the least ones to the biggest ones from all social sectors, we the native peoples have a clear vision that is our Mother Nature because she gives us our food, she gives us our medicine, she gives us everything that we need to live. Therefore we care for her and protect her and that we have that in fact these concepts and this vision can cause that many persons change, that this situation of crisis, where some economic interests prevail, has an impact on the good of everybody.

by Viviana Figueroa

Sep 9, 2006 2:15:00 PM cite

Wim Wenders: Certainly and we probably have reached that limit but I don’t have the facts and the numbers to answer this question competently. I can just answer it emotionally. I look at the abundance of stuff we produce. I look at the abundance of stuff we throw away. Do we have reached the limit? Yes, long time ago. We have surpassed it. Then of course the only interest that the industry has is to grow more and to produce more with fewer people who actually have work. It’s the ultimate triumph of capitalism is that in the end, no-body works anymore and we still double the growth in the production.

by Wim Wenders

Sep 9, 2006 2:15:00 PM cite

Yassin Adnan: Of course, there are limits to all economic development. This development ceases to be developed which is to destroy ecological life and damaging the environment. Economic development is causing these glitches, affecting our lives and our future, it burdened us, and it is difficult to think about it as development in fact. We may sometimes see it as ruin. Take for example the Amazon jungle, which is considered to be lungs of the world. We can talk about the development of tourism in that area, and about the tourism projects, and agricultural projects, and industrial projects affecting the lung of the world and of course when the lung of the world suffers the whole world suffers. Subsequently, I can not see any fertilization happening in this green area and I don’t consider this to be development, I'm considering it as a crime against the environment and against the rights of human beings and against the future. Let us take also the example of the industrial development and tourism on the around the Mediterranean Sea. This sea contribute significantly to creating a form of ecological balance in the region, now becoming a junkyard and gradually becoming turn into a time bomb. If this development does not take into account the rights of the fish to live in this sea and ecological value of this basin, the basin of Mediterranean sea, I can imagine that this will become the ruin of the present and the future.

by Yassin Adnan

Sep 9, 2006 2:15:00 PM cite

Yungchen Lhamo:

by Yungchen Lhamo