Untrammeled growth as an environmental “ March of Folly ”

The themewe explore in this paper is that uncontrolled growth and resulting environmental damage can be considered as an Environmental March of Folly. A folly has been defined as the pursuit of policies that are contrary to the pursuers own long-term interests. For an event or series of events to be considered a folly, three criteria must bemet. The policy must be perceived as counter-productive in its “own time.” A feasible alternative course of action must have been available. The policy should come from a group, not an individual leader, and should persist beyond one political lifetime. Environmental folly is uncontrolled and