• "When the clouds are heavy, the rains come down; when a tree falls, whether south or north, the die is cast, for there it lies. If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done"
  (Ecclesiastes 11: 3-4)
• "Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow- perhaps it all will."
  (Ecclesiastes 11: 6)
• "In nature, everything is connected; everything supports something else and at the same time is supported by something else-nothing lives in isolation. It is this interdependent quality that has allowed nature to survive indefinitely."
  (Weaver, 2001, p.169).

Ecolonomic "Bottom Line" - we believe that it is the only way to achieve the goals of prosperity without pollution. The only way to achieve these goals starts with a simple tried and true idea. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you", Simple and timeless this idea is one we have all heard of. Many people keep this in mind when they deal with co-workers or employees and people we deal with in a face to face situation, but what about our day to day economic decisions. Generally we look at what is going to be the cheapest short term solution. I am as guilty of this as anyone else. The general populace has been conditioned that to be successful they must accumulate as much material wealth as possible. In order to accomplish that goal we purchase goods that are manufactured, often times, in sweat shops overseas and through labor practices that in the best situations we would say border on slave labor. We do not worry over where the keyboard we type on came from. We do not concern ourselves that the person who made that neat little electronic gizmo we just had to have may be working in near slave like conditions. These thoughts rarely, if ever, enter the mind of the average consumer.

We may treat the clerk at the store as we would want to be treated where we in there place, but we do not treat the unseen workers with that same consideration. Rarely do we give where those goods that we purchase to feed ourselves, cloth ourselves, give ourselves all the products we have been convinced are necessary to live even so much as a thought about where they came from or the people who made them.

If we took the time to understand that the food we buy came from a farm and that the people working that farm, whether it is a family farm or a factory farm, that the people there are struggling. Do we do unto them when we demand cheaper produce? Do most consumers have even the slightest idea where their food comes from or what goes into it?

If we took the time to see that the shoes or shirt we are wearing was made by someone in a less developed country and that they had no protection from exploitative labor practices. They had no choice but to take the pennies they are paid and try to scratch together a living for there families. Do we do unto them as we would have them do unto us?

If we put forth the effort to know what kind of processes where needed to make so many things we use every day. If we take the time to see the toxic legacy our purchasing power is leaving behind in our own communities and around the world would we make the same choices about saving a few bucks.

We can look at system after system, from the way we build our buildings to how we transport our bodies and find that over time the resources that they depend on will not continue to be available. We must, therefore, create an overall system that utilizes technologies, techniques, designs and behaviors that will enable us to continue providing a high quality of life for the people of this planet indefinitely. Anything less is condemning our children and their children to hardship and disease at the least and global catastrophe at the worst.

So back to the original question "What is the Ecolonomics bottom line?" The answer is really quite simple. The bottom line in Ecolonomics is not so much dollars and cents as it is sense about dollars. When you spend your money think of each dollar as a vote you cast for the future. Do you want a future built on the continued exploitation of people and the environment for a quick profit? Or do we use our dollars to promote what we believe in, not just in what we contribute to or causes we support, but as those ballots for the future? Do we do unto others as we would have them do unto us? What is our "Bottom Line"?

Take time and study the political costs in regards to foreign policy and domestic spending. How often have we allowed so much of what is done in our names go against everything we believe to be true about ourselves and our government. How often do we take for granted the votes not cast, or even worse those cast in ignorance?

The world is interdependent; we can no longer look at isolationism as a way to avoid the problems of the world around us. We must look deeper at that Do unto others idea and see where we have fallen short, and why. If we want to make a difference in the world we must participate in the things that go on around us daily. From community involvement to understanding and being a part of our city, county, state, and federal government. I am not saying we must each run for office but if we take the time to be educated and involved in the process an incredible thing can start to take place. Rather than apathy we will find activism, rather than placing blame on others we will take responsibility for the choices we make.