Mark Stoll
Mark Stoll, a professor of history at Texas Tech University, teaches environmental history and the history of religion. His recent book is an environmental history of capitalism titled: “Profit: An Environmental History.” He explores the Capitalistic System and how it intersects with environmentalism. Over millions of years, Capitalism has evolved through a variety of stages, the last two being industrial and consumer Capitalism. Capitalism has been instrumental in raising the GDP, developing products to enhance longevity and improving the quality of life in most countries over the centuries. The main challenge is that an unbridled form of Capitalism may be at odds with the efforts to combat climate change and preserve the planet for future generations. How can the system be utilized to productively promote sustainability and not destroy the Earth through a series of miscalculations and initiatives that are counterproductive? Some form of Capitalism is pervasive in most economic systems today, so how can it be tweaked to be of greater assistance?
