Earth Week marks the annual reminder of our responsibility to leave the planet in better shape than we inherited it. This year, it falls amid stark reminders that we are failing another moral obligation: fiscal responsibility. With Congress accomplishing little more than spending other people’s money these days, fiscal and environmental responsibility are seldom viewed as compatible agendas. But taxpayer and green interests share an intertwined fate. 

Alarm bells ring louder than ever over the health of our planet and public finances. The globe is hurtling toward warming thresholds with adverse impacts multiplying. Meanwhile, the United States is on a trajectory to exceed record public debt within the decade, threatening the country’s economic security. Reconciling these twin problems requires understanding two lessons.