Steady State Herald (CASSE Blog) – Page 5 of 51 – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

Tons, Hectares, or Dollars? Measuring the Pressure Exerted by the Economy on the Biosphere

June 15, 2023/4 Comments/in Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Greg Mikkelson, Materials use, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Gary Gardner

by Gregory M. Mikkelson

Like a doctor measuring a patient’s vital signs, environmental scientists use various indicators to assess the health of the global ecosystem. These planetary vital signs are reckoned in a variety of units, such as tons of greenhouse gas emitted or hectares of land deforested. Meanwhile, conventional economists try to measure everything in terms of dollars (or other currencies). For example, they assign monetary values to the “ecosystem services”

Limits to Wealth = Limits to Growth

June 8, 2023/8 Comments/in Daniel Wortel-London, Economic Policy, Environment, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Wealth /by Gary Gardner

by Daniel Wortel-London

Inequality threatens people and planet alike. Billions struggle to make ends meet while a tiny minority grows fabulously wealthy. At the same time, the conspicuous consumption of the wealthy and the waste they generate takes an enormous environmental toll. The intertwining of social and environmental damage suggests that standard fixes for inequality are inadequate.

Herman Daly thought that waste from the wealthy could not be ended through redistributive taxation alone.

Food: Abundant for How Long?

June 1, 2023/6 Comments/in Gary Gardner, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Gary Gardner

by Gary Gardner

Global food production today is cornucopian: More food, of greater diversity, is available to more people in more places than at any time in human history. At the same time, this food abundance has a dark underbelly. Some 828 million people—nearly ten percent of the human family—are chronically hungry, and two billion people lack critical micronutrients such as Vitamin A and iron. This juxtaposition of increasing abundance and chronic scarcity might suggest that ending hunger simply requires extending 20th century agricultural success to the entire human family.

Using GDP to Estimate the Limits to Growth

May 25, 2023/8 Comments/in Brian Czech, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Gary Gardner

by Brian Czech

The merits and proper uses of GDP—gross domestic product—have been debated with increasing frequency and intensity in recent years. Neoclassical economists continue to view a growing GDP as the sign of economic success and even social health. Conversely, ecologists who have studied the issue view a growing GDP as an alarming indicator of unsustainability at this point in history.

Meanwhile, a growing number of individuals and organizations in the post-growth community have proposed to eliminate GDP altogether,

May 25, 2023/0 Comments/in Steady State Economy /by Brian Czech

Prospecting for a Steady State in North America

May 18, 2023/3 Comments/in Economic Growth, Environment, Greg Mikkelson, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Gary Gardner

by Gregory M. Mikkelson

In late summer of 2001 I moved from the USA to Canada, where my rose-colored glasses paradoxically made the grass look even greener. While President Bush had just reneged on the Kyoto Protocol, Prime Minister Chrétien stood by it, having been one of the first to sign. Two years later Chrétien withstood the pressure to join Bush’s disastrous war against Iraq.

Whose Taps Will Go Dry First?

May 11, 2023/5 Comments/in Economic Growth, Gary Gardner, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Water /by Gary Gardner

by Gary Gardner

Experts have warned for decades of potential water scarcity in many regions, but over the past decade the warnings have nearly morphed into large-scale catastrophes. In 2014, water in reservoirs supplying Sao Paulo, Brazil dropped to just five percent of capacity, and residents found themselves on the threshold of severe shortages. In 2017, the mayor of Cape Town warned residents of the impending arrival of “Day Zero,” when critically low reservoir levels would trigger a shutoff of city taps and lead to queues of residents waiting for water at standpipes.

Selling the Steady State Economy

May 5, 2023/16 Comments/in Gary Gardner, Postgrowth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Gary Gardner

by Gary Gardner

The looks I get are familiar at this point: the blank stare screaming What do you mean, a no-growth economy? The frown of doubt that silently demands, Are you crazy? This is how skepticism about degrowth and steady-state economics manifests in my own life.

The work of a steady-state proponent is not for the faint of heart, to be sure. Steady state economies are sorely needed today but are far from being widely understood,

“I Know You’re Malthusian, But What Am I?”

April 20, 2023/20 Comments/in Economic Growth, Environment, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Gary Gardner

by John Mirisch

Times are evidently rough for our natalist, growthmaniac friends.

More people than ever are questioning their agenda of increasing the planet’s population beyond the current 8 billion people (double the level of less than fifty years ago) in the name of “progress” and profit. Yet the growthmaniacs’ only response to anyone who links human population and ecological overshoot is to scream “Malthus!” at the top of their lungs (although some Marvel fanboy growthmaniacs have been known to respond “Thanos!” instead).

A Steady State Sustains All Boats

April 13, 2023/4 Comments/in Economic Growth, Inequality, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Wealth /by Gary Gardner

by Gregory M. Mikkelson

An important recent article on resource use and its environmental impacts starts from the premise that “the planet’s resources and ecosystems are a commons, and… all people are entitled to an equal, sustainable share.” Alas, the world today deviates wildly from this norm. Indeed, inequality—of resource use, but also of income and wealth—is extremely high today and is actually worsened by economic growth. What’s more, it is bad for our politics,