economic growth a threat to the environment

[John]

Why is economic growth a threat to the environment?

[John]

there is a fundamental conflict between economic growth and conservation of natural resources. Growing the economy means shrinking the ecosystem. Furthermore, pollution is an inevitable byproduct of economic production. The degradation of the environment as a result of economic growth

[John]

The economy is a subset of the ecosystems that contain it. This fact is overlooked in business and economics textbooks, where the ecosystem is viewed as a subsystem of the economy, and the economy itself is portrayed as a circular flow of money between firms and households. The production of goods and services entails the conversion of natural resources, or “natural capital,” into consumer goods and manufactured capital. This explains why there is a fundamental conflict between economic growth and conservation of natural resources. Growing the economy means shrinking the ecosystem. Furthermore, pollution is an inevitable byproduct of economic production. The degradation of the environment as a result of economic growth occurs in many ways, but in general, economic growth leaves a larger ecological footprint.