Happy New Year!

Hopefully the nation-wide unseasonal weather has strengthened your determination to a greener new year resolution. Getting fit by having a healthy, organic, and low food mile diet, use your car less, and participate in an election campaign (canvassing is by far the best weight loss programme in town). Save money by saving energy, water, by reuse and recycle. Spend more time with family and friends and be socially active.

Global warming is taking some people by surprise—traditional wisdom says the environment is the business of the environmentalists. Not anymore. It is now also the business of the economists, farmers, financiers, actuaries, the home owners, store owners, the consumers. Everyone. Environmental degradation is going to cost a lot more money and lives than terrorism, but hadn’t occurred to a lot of people yet. This week, we saw how global warming hits home—1300 people got laid off in Blue Mountains. And this is just the beginning. Climate change is more than just ski hills not having snow, it is about pest and flooding that damage homes, insurance companies changing their policy to climate change related damages, volatile demand of certain products affected by weather (for example, this year winter jackets, snow boots and skates are tough sales, and Ed’s ice cream will be more demanded). Some political scientists are predicting the next era of global conflicts will be resource rather than ethnic based. Climate change is affecting biology. Although it is not clear how unusual temperature change is affecting human health, it is certainly waking up hibernating animals. But we all know that sickness caused by poor air quality, toxic industrial chemicals and unhealthy lifestyle -- all related to global warming -- are costing our tax dollars to foot the sick care bill.

All our actions have consequences. The next time when our car is producing greenhouse gas, when we throw out non-biodegradable garbage, or when we waste our water on our lawn, when we wish that it will be warm forever, think how that is affecting the economy, our earth, and children.

Happy New Year everyone. I hope you will have making good economic sense and sustainable living your new year resolution.