Environment Archives – Page 11 of 30 – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

Democrats, Donald Trump, and the Dark Underbelly of Economic Growth

January 30, 2018/2 Comments/in Brian Czech, Economic Growth, Environment, Politics, The Daly News /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

Democrats are stunned by Donald Trump’s lack of culpability for racist rhetoric, Twitter tantrums, and international insults. They shouldn’t be. They’re the party of “It’s the Economy Stupid.” They should know that if a president inspires a bull market, creates a few jobs, and grows the GDP, he can “stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody” without losing voters.

Elected Dems can’t hold Trump accountable because they can’t break their own addiction to growth.

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.

Where is Pope Francis on Economic Growth?

September 2, 2015/7 Comments/in Consumption, Economic Growth, Environment, Religion, The Daly News /by Brian Czech

by David Kane

Those who believe that there is a fundamental conflict between economic growth and environmental protection will find Pope Francis’ recent encyclical, Laudato Si (Praised Be), a welcome addition to the literature; as well as an important tool in helping others, especially Catholics, to understand and accept the limitations of economic growth. Pope Francis explains how the environmental and social crises we are experiencing will require “profound changes in lifestyles,

A Sustainable True-Cost Economy Promises an Escape from Massive Water Pollution

August 26, 2015/2 Comments/in Economic Policy, Environment, Steady State Economy, The Daly News /by Brian Czech

by Brent Blackwelder

A year ago, I wrote about how a true-cost steady state economy would deal with water pollution. Last August, the alarming green slime at the west end of Lake Erie was so bad that it shut down Toledo’s water supply for half a million people. Who would pay the tremendous damages caused by the green slime? Certainly not the industrial agricultural interests who were responsible for about two-thirds of the problem!

Would the Steady State Economy Be a Miracle?

August 5, 2015/6 Comments/in Consumption, Economic Policy, Environment, Population, Religion, Steady State Economy, The Daly News /by Brian Czech

by Herman Daly

Many people think that advocating a steady state economy is like wishing for a miracle. I understand their reasoning and take their point—in the present era of growthism, it does seem rather like advocating a miracle. But that raises the question of exactly what is a miracle? And how many other miracles are we wishing for these days? Of course, science, by definition of its method, rules out the existence of miracles,

The Pope Francis Encyclical And Its Economics

July 8, 2015/3 Comments/in Corporate Reform, Economic Growth, Environment, Poverty, Sustainability, The Daly News /by Brian Czech

by Brent Blackwelder

The Encyclical Letter of Pope Francis is attracting extraordinary attention for its message on global warming, deforestation, loss of biological diversity, and other pressing environmental issues. What is less well known is the extensive critique of the global economy found in his 184-page Encyclical. This blog highlights some of the significant points that Pope Francis makes about the need for systemic economic change.

Although the Pope does not use the phrase “steady state economy”

Thoughts on Pope Francis’ Laudato Si

June 23, 2015/14 Comments/in Climate Change, Consumption, Economic Growth, Environment, Population, Poverty, Religion, Steady State Economy, The Daly News /by Brian Czech

by Herman Daly

As a Protestant Christian, my devotion to the Catholic Church has been rather minimal, based largely on respect for early church history and for the love of an aunt who was a nun. In recent times, the Catholic Church’s opposition to birth control, plus the pedophile and cover-up scandals, further alienated me. Like many others, I first viewed Pope Francis as perhaps a breath of fresh air, but little more. After reading his encyclical on environment and justice,

Seismic Political Shifts Reveal Desire for Serious Change

May 28, 2015/0 Comments/in Corporate Reform, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Energy, Environment, Steady State Economy, The Daly News /by Brian Czech

by James Magnus-Johnston

If you demonstrate to people that the NDP [New Democratic Party] can win in Alberta, suddenly anything seems possible. —Paul Fairie, University of Calgary political scientist

On the problematic political spectrum, neither the right nor the left have become wholesale champions of the steady state economy. Then again, embracing something perceived as ‘new’ has never been the strong suit of the politician. It takes years of ideological evolution among the grassroots before seemingly new and different ideas become politically palatable.

Progress Toward a True-Cost Economy Comes from Renewable Energy

May 21, 2015/4 Comments/in Energy, Environment, Jobs and Employment, Steady State Economy, Sustainability, Technology, The Daly News /by Brian Czech

by Brent Blackwelder

A renewable energy revolution is sweeping the planet. This revolution has profound implications because it signals that the global economy is moving to stop the growth of our human carbon footprint.

The global economy has run for a century primarily on fossil fuels but is now undergoing a rapid transition to a global economy based significantly on rooftop solar, wind, and efficiency. This is a tangible movement toward a steady state economy because with wind and solar,

Preempting a Misleading Argument: Why Environmental Problems Will Stop Tracking with GDP

May 13, 2015/1 Comment/in Brian Czech, Consumption, Economic Growth, Environment, Population, Steady State Economy, The Daly News /by Brian Czech

Brian explains how GDP growth will eventually stop tracking with environmental damage–but the reasons may not be what you’d expect!