“And we’re back! It’s Dewey Wastemore and YaNeeda Saveit with an unprecedented development at the World Cup finals of Ultimate Jenga. The six finalists were about to resume play and continue removing resource foundation blocks (top soil, clean air, fresh water, etc.) from the Earthtower. (Instant replay @ foreverearthbound.net) But the players have shocked the world by refusing to take the field and have called a press conference instead. Let’s listen in!”
Uri Uppe spoke first. “As you know, the object of this game is to take resources from the foundation of the Earthtower and convert them into consumer goods. But we finalists have gotten so good at exploiting these resources that at the current rate it would take one and a half Earthtowers to continue to supply enough resources for us all. Clearly, we’ll only ever have one Earthtower, so we can’t continue this pace indefinitely.”
Next, Norm Amarrickah sheepishly stepped up to the microphone. “Some of us are better at using up these foundational resources than others. I confess; I use more than my share. Estimates indicate that we’d need FOUR Earthtowers to supply enough resources if everyone used them up as fast as I do today.”
“That’s why we’ve called a delay of game,” A. Sheeahh chimed in. “For hundreds of years the goal has been to increase our Gross Domestic Products (GDPs). But it’s clear to us that with seven billion people on a finite planet we need a new game. Besides, some aspects of this ever-increasing affluence are killing us! For example, thirty-seven percent of the world’s adults are overweight or obese causing over 3 million premature deaths a year.
“One of my coaches, Boo Taan,* has devised an exciting alternative measure of success. It’s call the Gross National Happiness (GNH) Index. We finalists have agreed that pursuing ever increasing wealth has been great, but in the 21st century we’d rather compete to see who can reach the highest level of happiness instead,” A. Sheeahh continued. He went on to explain the four pillars of the GNH Index including: Good Governance, Sustainable Development, Preservation of Culture, and Environmental Conservation.
That night Norm Amarrickah knew he had made the right decision and thought, “An unsustainable pile of consumer goods, or a happier life? That’s a no-brainer, here on our only home where we’re forever…Earthbound.”
* Bhutan
Uri Uppe spoke first. “As you know, the object of this game is to take resources from the foundation of the Earthtower and convert them into consumer goods. But we finalists have gotten so good at exploiting these resources that at the current rate it would take one and a half Earthtowers to continue to supply enough resources for us all. Clearly, we’ll only ever have one Earthtower, so we can’t continue this pace indefinitely.”
Next, Norm Amarrickah sheepishly stepped up to the microphone. “Some of us are better at using up these foundational resources than others. I confess; I use more than my share. Estimates indicate that we’d need FOUR Earthtowers to supply enough resources if everyone used them up as fast as I do today.”
“That’s why we’ve called a delay of game,” A. Sheeahh chimed in. “For hundreds of years the goal has been to increase our Gross Domestic Products (GDPs). But it’s clear to us that with seven billion people on a finite planet we need a new game. Besides, some aspects of this ever-increasing affluence are killing us! For example, thirty-seven percent of the world’s adults are overweight or obese causing over 3 million premature deaths a year.
“One of my coaches, Boo Taan,* has devised an exciting alternative measure of success. It’s call the Gross National Happiness (GNH) Index. We finalists have agreed that pursuing ever increasing wealth has been great, but in the 21st century we’d rather compete to see who can reach the highest level of happiness instead,” A. Sheeahh continued. He went on to explain the four pillars of the GNH Index including: Good Governance, Sustainable Development, Preservation of Culture, and Environmental Conservation.
That night Norm Amarrickah knew he had made the right decision and thought, “An unsustainable pile of consumer goods, or a happier life? That’s a no-brainer, here on our only home where we’re forever…Earthbound.”
* Bhutan
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