Dear Ecologist, Don’t Forget About the Economy

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Opinion by Alix Underwood

The Ecological Society of America’s (ESA) Annual Meeting concludes today in Baltimore, Maryland. Of the dizzying multitude of topics on the agenda, the most prevalent were wildlife conservation, forest ecology, and climate change. Meeting sessions focused on niche aspects of these topics: threatened wader species on Sonadia Island, the effects of endemic mistletoes on forest-floor invertebrates, and the impacts of warming on interactions between plants and symbionts,

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Inflation through the Lens of the Trophic Theory of Money

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by Danish Hasan Ansari

In its simplest sense, inflation is an increase in the prices of goods and services. For instance, if the price of a certain good is $10 and in the next month the price increases to $12, the inflation on that item over one month is 20%. Many economists consider low levels of inflation sustained over time to be normal in a functioning economy. However,

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A Primer on Economic Growth and Biodiversity for COP16

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by Brian Czech

With the core meetings of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16) starting next week, it’s time for a primer on the relationship between economic growth and biodiversity conservation. The last thing we want is a COP16 devoid of discussion about the conflict between growing the economy and conserving biodiversity. In fact, the “800-pound gorilla”—GDP growth—ought to be front and center.

Devoted Herald readers may feel a tinge of déjà vu,

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San Jose: An Information Economy Giant with Whopping Footprints

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by Alix Underwood

What is your reaction when you hear the tagline “city with the highest GDP per capita in the United States”? Perhaps you would like to live in that city. Perhaps you think it sets a positive example for other cities. If so, you are not alone. Corporate and political leaders have been prioritizing economic growth for decades, and this mindset has trickled down until it has saturated the public.

The problem is that there is a fundamental conflict between economic growth and environmental protection.

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Service Providers in the Trophic Theory of Money

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by Brian Czech

Steady State Herald readers are familiar with the theory that money originates from an agricultural surplus that frees hands for the division of labor—and thenceforth the exchanging of money. This trophic theory of money (TTOM) helps us understand not only the historical origins of money, such as in Mesopotamia (the “Cradle of Cash”), but also the annual origins of “warranted money” in the grain belts of the world.

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