Politics Archives – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

No Place for Science, With Trump’s Mad Growth Obsession

July 9, 2026/9 Comments/in Autocracy, Climate Change, Corruption, Democracy, Economic Growth, Governance, Kirsten Stade, Money and Investments, Politics, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Kirsten Stade

Among his many gifts to big business, President Trump has made it his mission to squash science wherever he can.

This is hardly surprising, as scientific realities often interfere with business bottom lines. For corporate interests and allies like those who populate the Trump Administration, climate change and biodiversity collapse are best denied. Along with other manifestations of the conflict between economic growth and environmental protection, their messengers are best silenced.

Chemical Safety Sacrificed on the Road to GDP

June 4, 2026/0 Comments/in Corruption, Economic Growth, Food and Agriculture, GDP, Kirsten Stade, Limits to Growth, Politics, Pollution, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Kirsten Stade

Trump’s second-term regulatory rollbacks have already undone decades of progress in protecting public health and the environment. Not surprisingly, the safety of agricultural chemicals is among the casualties of this deregulatory fervor.

The president’s single-minded pursuit of GDP growth has meant ordering the production of more herbicides. It has meant intervening to protect their manufacturers from lawsuits, when those downwind get cancer or lose their crops. It has meant stacking his administration with former chemical industry lobbyists.

The Data Center Showdown in Lackawanna County

May 28, 2026/4 Comments/in Dave Rollo, Energy, Governance, Jobs and Employment, KEEP Our Counties Great, Money and Investments, Politics, Pollution, Steady State Herald, Technology, Water /by Alix Underwood

by Dave Rollo

As the artificial intelligence (AI) boom explodes with a race for ever more powerful models, so does the need for its infrastructure. This takes the form of huge, windowless buildings housing thousands of data servers. Projects may involve numerous buildings—sometimes a dozen or more—with added infrastructure such as hundreds of backup generators. These amalgamations are termed data centers or, in some cases as an indication of their enormity,

Overlooked Steady Staters

May 21, 2026/4 Comments/in Conservation, David Shreve, Economic Policy, Governance, Inequality, Limits to Growth, Politics, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by David Shreve

Herman Daly provided the key scaffolding for modern steady-state economic theory. But he built on the ideas of many before him, including Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, Daly’s key advisor at Vanderbilt University. The term “steady state” is often used to describe an economy where capital stock is steady but growth may persist. But Daly was clear that his steady state was a homeostasis beyond growth,

Eliminating Public Comments: Another Bow to GDP

May 7, 2026/4 Comments/in Autocracy, Corruption, Democracy, Economic Growth, Governance, Kirsten Stade, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Kirsten Stade

The public’s ability to weigh in on vital matters impacting human health, safety, and our ecological footprint is under grave threat. As part of its aggressive campaign of deregulation, the Trump Administration has been eliminating the opportunity for public comment on rules made by federal agencies.

In the early months of 2025, the Trump Administration issued a series of Executive Orders that declared economic growth a priority.

Charleston County’s Greenbelt Success

April 30, 2026/3 Comments/in Conservation, Dave Rollo, Economic Growth, Governance, KEEP Our Counties Great, Limits to Growth, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Dave Rollo

Counties facing growth challenges can use a variety of tools in their land-use planning to prevent sprawl. One tool is a “greenbelt” composed of a ring of natural and agricultural land that is conserved to hem in urbanization.

Greenbelts have long been a popular planning method in Europe. Researchers at Concordia University compared 30 European cities with greenbelts to 30 without. They found decreases in urban sprawl in almost all of the greenbelt cities.

Albemarle County, Virginia: Green Leader No More

March 26, 2026/3 Comments/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Governance, Jobs and Employment, KEEP Our Counties Great, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Tom Olivier

I’ve lived in Albemarle County, Virginia, for over forty years. Albemarle is a mostly rural county in the Piedmont region. It surrounds the city of Charlottesville.

For decades, the county valued its open spaces and created many policies to ensure their protection. Recently, leadership has taken a pro-development turn, jeopardizing citizens’ quality of life and many of our community’s natural features.

In the 1990s and 2000s,

Selling Off Public Lands: The Push to Privatize a Public Treasure

March 5, 2026/0 Comments/in Conservation, Corruption, Democracy, Economic Growth, Kirsten Stade, Politics, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Kirsten Stade

The Trump Administration, in its dedication to self- and industry enrichment, is hoping to sell a sacred cow: public lands. And while many such efforts have been defeated in the past, the current no-holds-barred growth regime elevates their chances of success.

Federal lands are set aside in all 50 U.S. states for the benefit of all Americans. Primarily in the American West, these lands span 640 million acres of natural resources,

Struggling Against Sprawl in Rutherford County

February 26, 2026/1 Comment/in Dave Rollo, Economic Growth, Governance, KEEP Our Counties Great, Limits to Growth, Politics, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Wellbeing /by Alix Underwood

By Dave Rollo

Rutherford County is located in the central Tennessee farm belt. Its county seat, Murfreesboro, is precisely in the state’s geographic center, and it briefly served as Tennessee’s capital. But, because of greater commerce and superior roads, the legislature chose Nashville as the seat of power only a few years after statehood was granted in 1796. Decades later, Murfreesboro became a grim center of the Civil War. It was the site of the Battle of Stones River—a pivotal Union victory bought at the cost of immense casualties.

The Youth Movement in a Post-Growth World

February 19, 2026/10 Comments/in Climate Change, Economic Growth, Ideology, Politics, Postgrowth, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Adel Ramdani

Bringing about alternatives to our capitalist growth system at the speed and scale needed is no easy task. The herculean work to develop transformative worldviews, including theories toward a steady state economy, is ongoing and increasingly cross-sectoral. At the core of this endeavor is the recognition that we cannot implement alternatives to growth capitalism without first addressing cultural and social dynamics deeply rooted in colonialism and cultural appropriation.