Steady State Herald (CASSE Blog) – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

Energy and Wildlife Conservation: A Two-Pronged Approach

February 20, 2025/4 Comments/in Alix Underwood, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Consumption, Endangered Species, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Alix Underwood

At the 2024 conference of The Wildlife Society (TWS) in Baltimore, I was struck by the prevalence of one topic: low-carbon energy development. There were eight sessions with “renewable energy,” “solar,” or “wind” in their titles, and issues related to these energy sources permeated many other sessions. At a policy priorities meeting, low-carbon energy dominated the discussion, with professionals and academics from across the country sharing their unique concerns.

Winds of Change in Lincoln County

February 13, 2025/5 Comments/in Climate Change, Dave Rollo, Energy, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Technology /by Alix Underwood

by Dave Rollo

Rolling hills and wide-open plains typify eastern Oklahoma. Gulf Coast and Canadian air masses converge over these plains, creating a near-constant pressure gradient called the low-level jet (LLJ). The result is perpetual air currents in the central U.S. “wind corridor,” which make the region ideal for wind energy projects.

The United States’ top five wind-energy producers—Texas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Illinois—form a southwest to northeast diagonal through the center of the country.

Unlearning Growth: Reclaiming Higher Education for Sustainability

February 6, 2025/1 Comment/in Corporate Reform, Economic Growth, GDP, Governance, Jobs and Employment, Limits to Growth, Postgrowth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Alix Underwood

by Zachary Czuprynski

At the bottom of McGill University’s coat of arms, beneath the red shield, a scroll reads Grandescunt Aucta Labore— “By work, all things increase and grow.” Historically, mottos of higher education institutions (HEIs) symbolize the cultivation of virtues and moral excellence, often rooted in religion. Over time, however, this idea of growth in personal and moral development became tainted by the paradigm of economic growth.

Today,

“Landman”: Hollywood Meets the Oil Industry—and the Growth Dilemma

February 1, 2025/0 Comments/in Steady State Economy /by Alix Underwood

Paramount+’s new TV series, Landman, offers a window into the rugged world of the oil industry in West Texas. Billy Bob Thornton plays Tommy Norris, a “fixer” for an oil company, who roams the high-stakes territory of “The Patch.” Norris navigates shady deals and dangerous gambles, most of them highly cinematic (if occasionally thinly written). Packed with tension and drama, this depiction of a modern-day Wild West also provides an opportunity to contemplate the oil industry’s staggering scale and its role in perpetuating the myth of infinite economic growth.

At CASSE, Two Decades of Advancing the Steady State Economy

January 30, 2025/1 Comment/in Brian Czech, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Brian Czech

Penning a 20th anniversary tribute for CASSE, the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy, makes me at once proud, humble, and motivated. When you couple our iconoclastic mission with the fact that non-profits tend to fail within a few years, achieving the 20-year milestone is a proper matter of pride. Yet I am humbled by the immensity of the challenges before us and,

The Costs of Compounding: Exploitation and Collapse

January 23, 2025/12 Comments/in Banking, Corporate Reform, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Inequality, Limits to Growth, Money and Investments, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Wealth /by Alix Underwood

by Koenraad Priels

The global financial system operates like a cancer, metastasizing throughout our economy and society. Its malignant core is a simple yet devastating formula: PL – PR + I, principal loaned – principal repaid + interest = an escalating debt trap that necessitates economic growth. This equation is familiar to anyone who has taken out a loan. It demonstrates the fatal flaw in our financial architecture,

A Big Conservation Win for Benzie County

January 16, 2025/2 Comments/in Conservation, Dave Rollo, Economic Growth, Environment, Jobs and Employment, Money and Investments, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Dave Rollo

Benzie County lies at the base of the pinky on the “Mitt,” as Michiganders say, referring to their left hand as a convenient “map” of their state. The county is blessed with one of the largest deepwater harbors on Lake Michigan, Betsie Bay. It has long provided mariners with safe refuge from the fierce gales of Lake Michigan. Jetties protect the bay’s inlet, where a historic lighthouse has guided ships for over a century.

Will DC Break Free of Its Methane-Gas—and Economic-Growth—Shackles?

January 9, 2025/7 Comments/in Alix Underwood, Climate Change, Corporate Reform, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Politics, Pollution, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Alix Underwood

by Alix Underwood

How do we stop climate change? One decommissioned fossil-fuel pipe at a time, via hard-fought local battles to change energy infrastructure and decrease energy consumption. Who do we fight these battles against? Profit-hungry corporations that monopolize energy markets and back-pocket politicians that help them guard the fossil façade.

In the U.S. capital, the climate-change rubber hits the road as activists pressure an obscure and unelected decision-making body,

Beyond the Ideological Echo Chamber: A Call for Intellectual Adaptability in Times of Transformation

January 2, 2025/12 Comments/in Complexity, Conservation, Degrowth, Ideology, Politics, Postgrowth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by James Magnus-Johnston

From left-wing utopianism to right-wing denialism, ideological echo chambers across the world are eroding the capacity for original, reasoned, and systemic thinking. The United States’ drawn-out electoral process has once again brought out the worst in political tribalism. However, it has also provided an unexpected opportunity: a laboratory for intellectual rebellion and the formation of new, potentially enduring coalitions. Rather than fuel the fevered shouting matches across alternate-reality filter bubbles,

Christ Didn’t Shop for Christmas Presents (Much Less Jets and Guns)

December 19, 2024/7 Comments/in Brian Czech, Consumption, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

Editor’s note: This essay originally appeared December 23, 2020 and is slightly modified.

by Brian Czech

With Christmas one week out, folks are making tough decisions about Christmas presents. The public is rattled by inflation, credit card debt is through the roof, and gift-giving is a real strain for many. My advice for anyone stressing out over Christmas presents is simple: Take a break from the shopping!