Many supporters of environmentalist causes will have winced when the extent of the global economic crisis of recent years was revealed. Just as environmental causes were gaining the attention and the purpose of the people in control of the levers of power, something came along that presented a very real problem – where environmental causes needed investment, could they hope to compete for a decreasing pot of money with other issues, the life-or-death matters like health and security?
As time has gone on there have been numerous individuals and organizations who have made the case that economic belt-tightening and environmental protection need not be mutually exclusive. Some expensive projects may have needed to be shelved in order to protect the financial balance of countries that risked sliding into depression and crisis, but sustainable living is a way of saving money and saving the planet. This crisis, which is still having an effect today, need not be the death-knell of the environmental cause.
One thing that is clear, though, is that governments have needed to make moves that are seen to be protecting the economy first, to put aside the risk that the world will be too deep in financial turmoil to do anything substantial. In cases where this has affected funding of local projects, this puts more pressure on the individual to do what they can – something which is worth doing for the good of the planet. It may be a bit tougher, but it is not beyond people who are willing to work together.