Metro ran a great article on Monday written by David Suzuki and Dr. Faisal Moola, “What would you do with $4 trillion?” with the subheading: Money handed out to failing companies could be put toward saving the planet. The article says that between the U.S. and 17 Western European countries, they’re giving $4.1 trillion to save financial institutions from the economic crisis.

Corporations are suffering but,

The effect on people in developing nations is even worse. Most of them didn’t have savings to begin with, and now the economic crisis, coupled with the effects of the climate crisis - including drought and food shortages - is causing more of our human family to suffer from extreme poverty and joblessness.

So Suzuki suggests that instead of funding companies to continue their business as usual, this money would be better spent in renewable energy sources, sustainable urban planning, and research into methods to reduce the impact of climate change. He thinks by investing into our future as a whole planet, we would in effect be stimulating the global economy.

Brilliant idea, Mr. Suzuki! This article ties into the auto industry bailout initiatives that both the Canadian and American governments are considering. In my mind, this is simply a band-aid solution. Thousands of jobs will be lost if the auto industry goes down, but is automobile production a sustainable industry? Especially considering that gas is a finite resource and automobiles are non-recyclable?

Wouldn’t corporate bailout money be better spent in creating new jobs that have a future? What about funding for the production of cars that use renewable energy, or in creating ways to reuse old automobile materials?

What do you think, Do Gooders?