Calculating Depreciation on a planet

I have had the opportunity to serve a nonprofit retreat center, my family's  happy place, over the past decade on their board of directors. Years ago, just before I joined the board some business savvy directors recommend we begin to fund depreciation. It was a game changer for the ministry. As I thought back about this change, I thought about how the idea parallels environmental issues in our world.

Depreciation is the estimated value an asset loses over time according to the tax code. By setting aside that same amount of money each year, we believed that we would have the money we needed to maintain or repair the assets. Of course home owners are aware of this as well. Every year we must put some money in to the house to avoid it falling into disrepair. For many years the nonprofit did not put aside enough money for repairs, and it caused a great deal of stress. Often they would have to reach out in desperation to donors for emergency repairs. The maintenance costs are easily overlooked because they are:

1. Not very visible like roofs, boilers, and pipes which few see. 

2. Important not urgent

3. Slow to appear

4. Unwanted and our hope blinds us to reality. 

It was a game changer for the nonprofit when the board required the ceo to budget for depreciation. Suddenly the ceo could be proactive and begin to maintain the assets in such a way they would not fail. A great deal of stress was removed. 

Environmental degradation is a more like building degradation. 

1. It is not very visible because many of the effects are felt in far away place like under water, in poor countries, and in the polar regions. 

2. Important not urgent and so we figure the next generation can figure it out. 

3. Slow to appear so we don’t notice the changes around us. 

4. Unwanted and our hope blinds us to reality. 

We need to start setting aside money to fund the earth’s depreciation.  When we acquire anything at a cost below the true societal value, that cost difference must go somewhere. The cost may be borne by the Earth itself and/or by people with less power than ourselves. If every acquisition included the true costs to society and the earth we would begin to make wiser choices with our resources and we would have resources to fund the transition to a sustainable future. Of course, calculating these costs is complicated and determining how to use such funds just as hard; so I will leave that problem to the economists. 

Of course, this transition would have to be done in a careful step by step manner that would allow the economies of the world to adjust gradually. There exists a rate of change which balances the needs of the people’s planet and the people’s economies. But that ideal rate of change is not zero. 

Because we earthlings and especially we in the west have for years ignored the true costs of our acquisitions the earth is in a state of disrepair and we should begin to fund its depreciation. If we do not make difficult choices to do so now, we will find ourselves with a planet in complete disrepair. 

I'm always interested in you thoughts; please comment below.