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First Law. Non-renewable resources must not be used in a manner that precludes their future re-use, and the maximum sustainable level of renewable resource use is the minimum reliable level of renewal. Second Law. Achievement of sustainable society globally requires that every definable area, whether natural or political, maintain a population and consumption level sustainable within the applicable borders, using the local resources, or trade in a sustainable manner. Third Law. Personal or societal experimentation and development requires the availability of excess resources. Fourth Law. There is no "away" where we can throw things, or move to. Fifth Law. An economic system becomes fragile when it comes to depend on external exchange over which it has little control. - Ekholm Sixth Law. "If an ethical foundation is lacking, a civilization collapses. Civilization exists in the effort to perfect humanity, and originates when a population is inspired to attain progress and to serve." Albert Schweitzer. Seventh Law. "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations" - From the Great Law of the Iroquois Nation Eighth Law. Isolate Human Activity. An ecology optimized for human habitation and life support is incompatible with a natural state ecosystem. Ninth Law. Protection of personal property rights is essential. People are more readily willing to present their surpluses for trade, if they are assured they are free to negotiate the trade, or not, without fear that the "authorities" will take their property. Tenth Law. Survival of the fittest, but not perhaps what you would first think. Eleventh Law. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime Twelth Law. There is no quick fix. Deep-seated problems require more than a positive mental attitude and collection of short-term success formulas. Thirteenth Law. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Fourteenth Law. Law of the minimum. There are critical factors the limit living and non-living processes, regardless of the quantity of other factors present. BACKGROUND ON THE LAWS These laws are presented for consideration as physical principles, and not the arbitrary laws invented by society and governments. Consider them as laws of the universe that apply to human civilization. They may occasionally be "bent", with consequences, but for the most part cannot be broken without dire effect. In your own life, you must plan. What are your desired results? What are your personal guidelines? Your resources? To whom are you accountable? Who suffers the consequences of your actions? DISCUSSION OF THE LAWS
If however we burn the resource as fuel, we have effectively destroyed it beyond our ability to recycle. A prime example of renewable resource us is groundwater. If average use does not exceed the recharge rate, a well is a naturally filtering & refilling tank. But if you exceed the recharge rate too long or too deep you may cause permanent loss in capacity, and other problems such as surface subsidence, or cracks in the "filter" layers.
Second Law.
Achievement of sustainable society globally requires that every definable area, whether natural or political, maintain a population and consumption level sustainable within the applicable borders, using the local resources, or trade in a sustainable manner. Globalization has been a horrible mistake. Cheap (for most purposes, "free") fuels have lead to a global network of supply and distribution that is simply not sustainable when fuels return to being a "currently" paid cost. Global shipment of luxury goods is a nonevent. Even the logic of moderate international reliance for durable goods is only moderately questionable. But an early 2006 advertisement by Archer Daniels Midland could easily be considered the "poster child" for peak oil. The ad shows an Asian teen, with the text: Somewhere west of Shenyang, a teenager is stopping for dinner. Which is why the soybean harvest west of Peroria is not stopping. And why a soybean processor west of St. Louis is not stopping. And why a ship's captain on the west coast is stopping but just for a while. Somewhere west of Shenyand a teenager is stoping for dinner. A dinner rich in soy protein. Consider the implication. This youth, supposedly in China, is apparently depending on a soybean crop in the United States, and a network of fossil-fuel powered processing and shipment industries, for sufficient dietary protein on his plate. Can you and your multi generation family subsist on food grown on your own property?
extreme devaluation, such that it is no longer trusted as a medium of exchange. Those who do not personally know and trust each other, find themselves reluctant to enter into financial arrangements with a cloudy future, and local activity fails for want of a questionable larger scale economy. Informal local barter programs are a start, but a local stable and accepted means of exchange can be a significant tool in reducing the local effect of a large sector economic downturn.
more refined tool, allowed for lesser strength but a distinct skills to provide distant neutralization of an adversary or animal. Our continued progression has made mind and precision more important than strength, in a feedback loop. The drive to overpopulate was early on another survival trait, as many died as children, or before they had their own children. Like other early "cave" aspects, given the now global coverage of humanity, the drive to populate is obsolete. The "gene" for prolific procreation is now a threat to the entire race.