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

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,

Spring: Ever More Silent

May 14, 2026/4 Comments/in Alix Underwood, Consumption, Corruption, Economic Growth, Food and Agriculture, GDP, Pollution, Population, Steady State Herald, Water /by Alix Underwood

by Alix Underwood and Marwa Ebrahem

Humans have come to rely on chemicals not only to increase the fruits of our agricultural labor but also to stop other species from partaking in the feast. And the toll exacted by these “pest”-killing chemicals is immense.

Over 60 years ago, in Silent Spring, Rachel Carson detailed the effects of DDT, the first widely used chemical pesticide, on ecosystems and human health.

The Vicious Fertilizer Cycle and the Growth Economy

March 12, 2026/9 Comments/in Alix Underwood, Consumption, Economic Growth, Food and Agriculture, Fossil Fuels, GDP, Pollution, Population, Steady State Herald, Trophic Theory of Money, Water /by Alix Underwood

by Alix Underwood and Marwa Ebrahem

The size of our economy, measured by gross domestic product (GDP), is intimately linked to our use of artificial fertilizer. So is the ecological havoc we are wreaking on the planet and its inhabitants.

Between 2002 and 2018, while the population increased by 22 percent, the per-hectare use of synthetic nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers—the three most common types—increased by about 23,

Elk County: A Story of Restoration and Recapitulation

January 23, 2026/3 Comments/in Conservation, Dave Rollo, Economic Policy, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Governance, KEEP Our Counties Great, Pollution, Steady State Herald, Water /by Alix Underwood

[This is an edited version of the article that first appeared on January 23, 2026. It has been edited for geographic accuracy in the first two paragraphs.]

by Dave Rollo

Pennsylvania is known for its public lands and forests. Beautiful Elk County, Pennsylvania, is no exception. It boasts rugged, forested scenery with rolling hills, deep valleys, numerous streams, and vast woodlands. Part of the Pennsylvania Wilds,

Revisiting the Fight for the Final Forest

December 11, 2025/1 Comment/in Conservation, Corruption, Dave Rollo, Economic Policy, Governance, KEEP Our Counties Great, Limits to Growth, Politics, Pollution, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

By Dave Rollo

The fight to save Sledge Forest in New Hanover County, covered in the Steady State Herald this past spring, continues in earnest. As reported then, Hilton Bluffs—a massive, 4,000-unit development—pits county residents against Copper Builders, an outside developer. The proposal threatens what locals refer to as “The Last Forest.” The community’s resistance, spearheaded by the group Save Sledge Forest, has continued and grown,

Labour’s Military Spending Undermines Climate Goals

December 4, 2025/6 Comments/in Climate Change, Corruption, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Governance, Materials use, Money and Investments, Peace, Politics, Pollution, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Darryl Rigby

As Edwin Starr once sang: “War, what is it good for?” If we’re to believe the United Kingdom’s Labour Party government, it’s good for boosting GDP and protecting your population from the existential threat of Russia.

But one thing increased militarisation most certainly isn’t good for is the environment. Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently announced his plan to steadily increase the defence budget over the next decade.

Carbon Footprint Tramples Planetary Boundaries

November 6, 2025/2 Comments/in Climate Change, Consumption, Economic Growth, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Limits to Growth, Pollution, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Amelia Jaycen

The carbon footprint of an individual, organization, or country is the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that must be produced to accommodate their choices: the types of transportation, heating and cooling, and diet they adopt and the manufacture and disposal of products they use. As a component of the total impact on the environment, called ecological footprint, a carbon footprint can be expressed as the amount of land or biocapacity required to absorb CO2 emissions.

Tucker County: “Yellowstone of the East” or Appalachia’s “Cancer Valley”?

August 21, 2025/11 Comments/in Biodiversity, Conservation, Corruption, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Governance, KEEP Our Counties Great, Pollution, Steady State Herald, Technology /by Alix Underwood

by Amelia Jaycen

In Tucker County, West Virginia, two towns with populations of about 600 each are nestled next to the largest high-elevation wetland valley east of the Mississippi. After a long history of coal mining and logging, these tiny mountain towns found a way to reinvent themselves by creating a thriving arts district and promoting the stunning local natural landscape.

Now, the area is at risk of backtracking into heavy pollution,

Introducing the Natural Resources and Electricity Cap-and-Trade Act

July 10, 2025/9 Comments/in Consumption, David Shreve, Economic Policy, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Materials use, Pollution, Steady State Economy, Steady State Economy Act, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by David Shreve

In cap-and-trade systems, the government places a “cap,” or limit, typically on pollution or resource extraction. The amount of pollution or extraction is then divided into “allowances,” which are allocated to the polluting or extracting corporations. These corporations can trade their unused allowances in the marketplace.

Cap-and-trade policies promise significant abatement at an optimally low cost. But does experience with cap-and-trade systems vindicate this promise?

The United States and other countries have tested a variety of cap-and-trade systems.

Peruvian Gold: Producers, Consumers, Lands, and Livelihoods

April 3, 2025/3 Comments/in Alix Underwood, Consumption, Degrowth, Environment, Jobs and Employment, Limits to Growth, Materials use, Pollution, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Alix Underwood

When I say “gold mining,” what comes to mind? Perhaps you think of the 19th-century gold rush, with prospectors in suspenders swinging pickaxes and panning for gold in rivers. Maybe you envision industrialized mining, with terraced pits and heavy machinery. A visit to the Peruvian Amazon, where gold mining has surged in recent decades, transformed my perception of gold mining and miners.

I have the privilege of advising a team of Notre Dame master’s students—diverse in origins and expertise—as they work alongside a Peruvian NGO,