[Silence]
\n[Instrumental, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Drums, Piano, Organ, Synth]<\/p>\n
[Intro]
\n[Instrumental Intro: Deep Funk Bass, Tight Drums, Clean Electric Guitar, Wurlitzer Piano, Analog Synth Pulse]
\n[Spoken Vocal]
\nMoney…<\/p>\n
You can count it.
\n(Rarely lend it?)
\nYou can spend it.
\n(Goin’ into debt?)<\/p>\n
[Refrain]
\nMoney!
\n(It’s plain to see)
\nMoney!
\n(What’s you’re doin’ to me)<\/p>\n
Money,
\n(You’re gettin’ too funny)
\nTime to set me free
\n(Free from meeeeee….)<\/p>\n
[Verse 1]
\nNumbers dancing on the screen
\nChasing after what they mean
\nMore and more becomes the game
\nDifferent numbers, same old name<\/p>\n
Want!
\n(Need!)
\nMore!
\n(Feed!)<\/p>\n
[Chorus]
\nMoney!
\n(It’s plain to see)
\nMoney!
\n(What’s you’re doin’ to me)<\/p>\n
Money!
\n(You’re gettin’ too funny)
\nTime to set me free
\n(Free from meeeeee….)<\/p>\n
[Verse 2]
\nMoney moves and money talks
\nFollows roads and follows stocks
\nTurns a want into a need
\nThen convinces you to bleed<\/p>\n
Price can hide the deeper cost
\nWhat you gain is what you lost
\nWhen the chase becomes the goal
\nMoney starts to take control<\/p>\n
[Instrumental]
\n[Electric Guitar Solo: Funky Blues-Rock Lead, Wah-Wah Guitar, Deep Bass, Tight Drums, Wurlitzer Chords, Analog Synth Stabs]<\/p>\n
[Bridge]
\nMoney!
\n(It’s plain to see)
\nMoney!
\n(What’s you’re doin’ to me)<\/p>\n
Money,
\n(You’re gettin’ too funny)
\nTime to set me free
\n(Free from meeeeee….)Use it!
\n(Don’t serve it!)<\/p>\n
Choose!
\n(Deserve it!)<\/p>\n
A dollar is a tool
\n(Not a rule)<\/p>\n
A number on a page
\n(Not a cage)<\/p>\n
[Breakdown]
\n[Drums Drop Out: Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Sparse Piano]
\nMoney…<\/p>\n
Funny…<\/p>\n
Honey…<\/p>\n
Why are we chasing
\nSomething we can’t take with us?<\/p>\n
[Rap Vocal Break]
\nCount it up
\nAdd it down
\nMoney makes the world go round<\/p>\n
Buy it
\nSell it
\nTrade it
\nTell it<\/p>\n
Price tag
\nPaycheck
\nCredit
\nDebt<\/p>\n
More stuff
\nMore stress
\nMore wanting
\nLess rest<\/p>\n
Stop!
\n(Think!)<\/p>\n
Look!
\n(Choose!)<\/p>\n
What do you really need
\nTo live the life you choose?<\/p>\n
[Final Refrain]
\nMoney!
\n(It’s plain to see)
\nMoney!
\n(What’s you’re doin’ to me)<\/p>\n
Money,
\n(You’re gettin’ too funny)
\nTime to set me free
\n(Free from meeeeee….)<\/p>\n
[Final Chorus]
\nMoney!
\n(It’s plain to see)
\nMoney!
\n(What’s you’re doin’ to me)<\/p>\n
Let it work
\n(Don’t let it rule)
\nLet it serve
\n(Don’t be the fossil fuel fool)<\/p>\n
Money!
\n(You’re gettin’ too funny)
\nTime to set me free
\n(Free from meeeeee….)<\/p>\n
[Outro]
\n[Instrumental Outro: Deep Bass Groove, Electric Guitar Riff, Wurlitzer, Organ, Synth Pulse, Gradual Fade]
\nMoney!
\n(It’s plain to see)
\nMoney!
\n(What’s you’re doin’ to me)<\/p>\n
Money,
\n(You’re gettin’ too funny)
\nTime to set me free
\n(Free from meeeeee….)<\/p>\n
[Spoken, fading]<\/p>\n
Set me free…<\/p>\n
(Free from me…)<\/p>\n
About the Song<\/p>\n
\nThe song is about how easily greed and self-interest can blind us to an economic reality hiding in plain sight. Instead of reducing unnecessary consumption and saving thousands of dollars each year, many people continue spending in ways that lock them into a fossil-fuel-intensive lifestyle.\n<\/p>\n
\nTransitioning away from fossil fuels is not simply an environmental argument. It is an economically rational\u2014and, I would argue, financially sane\u2014strategy.\n<\/p>\n
\nAnd it doesn\u2019t require top-down control or forcing 80% of the planet to do anything. Demand destruction works through economics. When people discover cheaper, healthier, more efficient alternatives, they adopt them because those alternatives make financial sense\u2014not because someone is forcing them to \u201cgo without.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nWe can already see demand destruction happening in the real world. Over the past four months, oil demand has declined by approximately 1.6 million barrels per day.\n<\/p>\n
\nAnd there is no \u201cdoing without\u201d in my case. I live a better, healthier lifestyle with zero sacrifice\u2014and I\u2019m saving roughly $10,000 a year in the process.\n<\/p>\n
\nHere\u2019s the economic reality: climate change (AGW) costs the average U.S. household approximately $94,600 annually for a family of four. That represents an enormous economic burden associated with the fossil-fuel-intensive system we have built\u2014and one that can be reduced through demand destruction.\n<\/p>\n
\nFor an individual, the choice is straightforward: continue paying an additional $23,650 per year in climate-related costs while leaving $10,000 in potential savings on the table\u2014or effectively gain $33,650 per year by adopting Integrated Climate Stewardship<\/strong><\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \nThat isn’t sacrifice. \nSo why aren’t you already doing it?\n<\/p>\n \n I\u2019m both a climatologist and an economist. I mention the economics deliberately because this isn\u2019t simply an environmental argument. I\u2019ve done the math, applied the economics to my own life, and saved approximately $100,000 over the past 10 years.\n <\/p>\n \n And that is only the money I actually saved. If those savings had instead been invested and compounded at roughly a seven-year doubling time, the opportunity cost of continuing a more consumption-intensive lifestyle becomes substantial.\n <\/p>\n \n That calculation doesn\u2019t even include the broader benefits of reducing pollution, resource consumption, climate risk, and environmental damage. Those benefits accrue not only to individuals, but to society as a whole.\n <\/p>\n \n This should not be framed as something that has to be forced. That misses the entire concept of demand destruction<\/strong>. If people can improve their quality of life while saving money, why would coercion be necessary?\n <\/p>\n \n The question isn\u2019t whether everyone will adopt exactly the same lifestyle. They won\u2019t. The question is how many people will voluntarily make economically rational changes once they recognize the financial benefits.\n <\/p>\n \n I don\u2019t need 100% participation. I need enough people to create sustained demand destruction\u2014and we are already seeing evidence that this process is beginning to happen.\n <\/p>\n \n Demand destruction is not about doing without. It is about discovering that, in many cases, you can have more by consuming less.<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n
\n
\nThat’s economics.\n<\/p>\nFollow-up to Resistance<\/h3>\n
Related Papers<\/h3>\n
\n
\n Quantifying the Climate Tax: The Full Ledger of Harm
\n <\/a>\n <\/li>\n
\n The Full Economic Burden of Climate Change in the United States
\n <\/a>\n <\/li>\n
\n Accounting for Climate Responsibility
\n <\/a>\n <\/li>\n
\n The Coming Famine: Climate Chaos and the Collapse of Food and Water Systems
\n <\/a>\n <\/li>\n
\n Limits of Human Adaptability
\n <\/a>\n <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n