The Hungry Empire is built upon a model of unsustainability. The Hungry Empire extracts all resources and transports them to the altar of the Broken to feed further growth. The Hungry Empire operates on the logic of the Cancer cell. And like all cancers, the Hungry Empire will kill its host if left unchecked. So what alternative does First Mother offer to the First Tribe? She offers sustainability.
But we’ve all heard sustainability a thousand times until the word has become meaningless syllables. What is sustainability? And how is it achieved? The definition of sustainability is: “Able to be produced or sustained for an indefinite period without damaging the environment, or without depleting a resource; renewable.” So, how is one able to maintain production for an indefinite period of time?
Sustainability aims for small scale local solutions, rather than large centralized systems. Sustainability avoids involving official organizations. Sustainability aims for solutions that restore rather than deplete local resources. Sustainability seeks resiliency rather than efficiency. Sustainability builds redundancy rather than seeking to maximize output.
Sustainability is survivability. Sustainability is airbags and a seatbelt. And this is the danger inherent in the Hungry Empire, it has sacrificed a crash helmet for higher top speed. And the empire has done so again and again. The empire has thrown safety measures into the furnace to power the engine for a little longer.
The Empire promises limitless growth. It is lying, but sustainability is not sexy or dramatic by comparison. All sustainability offers is our continued survival.
Professor Harbinger's School for Villains 