Biodiversity Archives – Page 3 of 3 – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

The Silver Lining of the COVID-Caused Recession is Supra-Economic

March 24, 2020/21 Comments/in Biodiversity, Brian Czech, Climate Change, Economic Growth, Environment, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

COVID-19 has done in a deadly way what steady-state economists would prescribe in a healthy way: putting the brakes on a runaway economy. In fact, the pandemic has slammed on the brakes and jammed the GDP gearstick into reverse. It has ushered us into a recession that will be pronounced and protracted. In a COVID-caused recession, it’s nature at bat, not the Fed.

In these dark times, any source of comfort is welcome.

Reply to Troy Vettese’s “Against Steady-State Economics” ¹

March 18, 2020/1 Comment/in Biodiversity, Climate Change, Consumption, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Herman Daly

Steady staters are used to being attacked by right-wing neoliberals. Attacks from left-wing neo-Marxists are new and require a reply. To put the matter simply, Marxists hate capitalism, and they mistakenly assume that steady-state economics is inherently capitalist. Vettese is a Marxist; ergo, Vettese hates steady-state economics.

To spell this out, let’s begin by giving Marx due credit for emphasizing the reality of class exploitation under all heretofore existing economic systems,

Population and the Outbreak of Peace

February 26, 2020/3 Comments/in Biodiversity, Consumption, Corruption, Governance, Politics, Poverty, Religion, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

By Max Kummerow

Adelyne More’s 1917 feminist pamphlet Fecundity and Civilization stated flatly that population stabilization “is the most effective way of ensuring the cessation of war.”[1] All species’ potential rates of reproduction enable exponential population growth. Population numbers are kept within environmental capacity by rising mortality as populations increase. Ecologists call this process “density-dependent mortality.” Many “group-selected” social species fight territorial wars as populations grow, such as chimpanzees,

Existential Dread: We Need to Talk About our Feelings

February 12, 2020/1 Comment/in Biodiversity, Climate Change, Consumption, Economic Policy, Environment, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

By James Magnus-Johnston

Just as the smoke disperses from fire-ravaged parts of the world, the specter of ecological breakdown is creeping into humanity’s collective psyche. Whether that manifests as a bit of anxiety or full-on dread of mass extinction, we need to start talking about our feelings. If we don’t, we may avoid rather than confront the reforms needed for the planet to continue supporting life.

As a university instructor in Canada,

Book Review: Falter by Bill McKibben

November 13, 2019/1 Comment/in Biodiversity, Climate Change, Religion, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

By Herman Daly

Thanks to Bill McKibben, not just for his new book but for 30 years of honest, eloquent, and insightful environmental writing and activism.

He begins Falter by pointing out that “the human game we’ve been playing has no rules and no end, but it does come with two logical imperatives. The first is to keep it going, and the second is to keep it human.”

Gross Domestic Problem On World Animal Day

October 4, 2018/1 Comment/in Animal Welfare, Biodiversity, Brian Czech, Economic Growth, Endangered Species, Environment, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

By Brian Czech

If you like animals, your feelings may have been nurtured by “Hedgehogs Being Adorable,” “Baby Hippo Has Won Our Hearts,” and other such gems. The Huffington Post, The Animal Blog, and various animal-lover media take a heartfelt approach to the appreciation of animals—wild as well as domesticated—reminding us of the needs and vulnerabilities of our fellow creatures. It’s a refreshing approach compared to the stodgy science and economics of conservation.

NGOs Challenged to Back Up Their Rhetoric

September 18, 2018/5 Comments/in Biodiversity, Brian Czech, Economic Growth, Environment, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

The Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy (CASSE) has sent a letter to the presidents of the top ten environmental NGOs challenging them to a debate. The debate will center around one question: “Is there a conflict between economic growth and environmental protection?”

Nature Needs Half – And Twice the Steady Statesmanship

January 8, 2018/3 Comments/in Biodiversity, Brian Czech, Environment, Politics, Steady State Economy, The Daly News /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

WE NEED NATURE.

NATURE NEEDS HALF.

ERGO, WE NEED NATURE TO GET HALF.

Half of what? The planet. That’s the essence of E.O. Wilson’s latest – and greatest – project.

Why does nature need half the planet? To maintain a highly functional system of plants, animals, and their habitats. And we need such a functional ecosystem to support our own species.

The Lurking Inconsistency

April 15, 2013/7 Comments/in Biodiversity, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Endangered Species, Environment, Steady State Economy, The Daly News /by Brian Czech

Herman Daly suggests that changing the economy will require more than new policies; it’ll require a substantial change in worldview.

Opportunity Cost of Growth

August 15, 2010/6 Comments/in Biodiversity, Climate Change, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Population, Technology, The Daly News /by Brian Czech

Herman Daly swims upstream like a salmon, fighting the flow of fallacious philosophy from growth economists — you won’t want to miss his final refrain on this one.