Which issue is more important - the environment or the economy?

The economy first and then we can afford to fix what needs to be fixed.
We can continue to work on the enviroment without spending so much money and we should do what we can now.
Most of the money they want to spend is a guessing game.

Our pitiful economy will not be here nearly as long as the rest of the planet will be here. We must take care of our environment for future generations.

I think the vote for the economy is so high simply because we're in the middle of a crisis and there is a lot of fear. We are focusing on the short-term.

There are always ways of surviving an economic crisis. We can cut way back. We can learn to help each other out of necessity. We can grow our own food if need be. Even the homeless find ways to survive.

However, the economy always goes up and down. It always has, and it always will. It's a man-made entity and it will survive. We've messed it up with greediness and we will eventually fix it after we live through more of the current cycle we are in. We have to reap what we have sown. We will learn ways of coping because we are resourceful.

The environment is a different issue. It is not man-made. I feel the environment is more critical because if we abuse it too much and, it will not be fixable. Species of animals are becoming extinct because of the environmental changes.

We have only one earth. Once it is broken, there will be no turning back. This will be truly devastating...not just deeply uncomfortable. It could be life threatening for ALL of us.

Let's look at it from a different perspective for a moment. If we get to the point where we have used up our natural resources which are not renewable (irreplaceable)....what will we do at that point? How will we eat? What will we drink? Who will we turn to for help if we all are starving and thirsty?

Our fears will be with the environment then, and we will be saying that the economy is not such a critical item at all. We will be in a very deep environmental crisis that we will be totally unable to solve. Our entire means of survival (for the whole planet) will be threatened forever.

This is a longer-term view. I believe we should try to avoid placing ourselves in this position at ALL COST! I think we need to think of this question in the proper perspectitve, taking ourselves out of the present moment and projecting ahead.

Like it or not. The economy is a luxury good.

If the economy is not doing well, we can not afford to take care of the environment.

The economy is the environment.

For twenty years (80’s and 90’s) I worked in R&D for the chemical industry. The single most important driver in creating new markets for our products (e.g. liquid nitrogen) was the ever tightening environment regulations.

A terrific example was the 1987 Montreal Protocol banning CFCs. CFC 113 was the cleaning chemical of choice in electronics manufacturing. Once they were banned, the industry had to find a substitute. We invented a way to use liquid nitrogen (100% green). In addition to helping the electronics industry eliminate one environmental toxin and dramatically reduce another, this produced created $300 million in new business for us.

Now as a patent agent, I help today’s innovators develop new products and processes that have increased sustainability. These innovators are starting new companies and creating new jobs.

That’s economic growth driven by the environment.

Mark Nowotarski
www.marketsandpatents.com
mark.nowotarski@gmail.com

The Govt should leave both of them alone. The economy wouldn't be bad but congress has to mess with it. the enviroment, people whine about the myth of man made global warming. but they still toss their their booze bottles & ciggarette butts everywhere If people just picked up their own trash maybe the govt wouldn't feel the need to over regulate us.

I think that they are equally important, but in a time like this we really need to get the economy back on track before we can really tackle the problem of the environment.

If the economy sucks, who has time to worry or enjoy the environment?

This question poses a false choice. I should have voted equally important.

If we starve and die and lose shelter and die we will not be here to fix the enviroment.