Create economic system that leaves livable, sustainable Earth

The Occupy Wall Street movement and similar actions are a welcome exercise in democracy. People are finally waking up to the fact that corporations and a few wealthy people are benefiting at the expense of the rest of us.

But let's not forget that corporations and the wealthy are also benefiting at the expense of our environment. The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico; floods, droughts, and other extreme weather caused by climate change; and blowing the tops off mountains to extract coal are examples.

Here in Iowa, our water is polluted from factory farms; our natural areas are destroyed for the benefit of developers; the public may be forced to bear the risk, both financially and environmentally, for dirty, expensive and dangerous nuclear power; and our precious fertile soil filled with manure and pesticides is being washed away, creating a “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico. Those who profit from these attacks on nature demand even more profit by making us pay for the environmental damage they cause.

So as the movement grows to make our economic system fairer and to make democracy work, let's also make sure we create an economic system that leaves a livable and sustainable Earth for future generations.

Wally Taylor

Marion