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

A Trophic Perspective on Fossil Fuels

August 1, 2024/8 Comments/in Alix Underwood, Consumption, Food and Agriculture, Fossil Fuels, Limits to Growth, Pollution, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Helene Langlamet

by Alix Underwood

Like the economy of nature, the human economy has a “trophic” structure. In nature, nutrition and energy flow from plants to herbivores to carnivores, with each of these comprising a trophic level of the ecosystem. In the human economy, materials and energy flow from agriculture and other extractive activities to heavy manufacturing to light manufacturing. Both economies include service providers, such as pollinators in nature and the transportation sector in the human economy.

Putin the Heinous Strikes at Global Wellbeing

August 3, 2023/13 Comments/in Banking, Brian Czech, Food and Agriculture, Inflation, Money and Investments, Politics, Steady State Herald, Wellbeing /by Gary Gardner

by Brian Czech

When the name “Putin” is uttered—from now until the end of human utterance—the first thing that should come to mind is hundreds of thousands (and counting) of dead and wounded. Putin has turned a verdant, peace-seeking country into a hell-scape of suffering, including starvation. Let’s not overlook the Ukrainian casualties, now or ever.

Now, Putin is taking an even deeper stride into the annals of infamy by orchestrating one of the most despicable episodes of wanton waste in history: his attack on Ukrainian grain stocks and infrastructure.

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.

Three Senate Races for Steady Staters to Monitor

October 27, 2022/0 Comments/in Brian Czech, Economic Policy, Politics, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

Election Day is almost upon us. Along with the 435 House seats are thirty-five seats for grabs in the Senate. Our focus here is on the Senate races, given their high-profile candidates, substantial policy stakes, and excellent examples of growthmanship gone amuck (literally, in some agricultural cases).

Candidates fall along a spectrum—theoretically at least—from a degrowth to a pro-growth stance. It’s a “theoretical” spectrum because, at this point in the history of the USA,

Hurricane Ian: A Profoundly Polluting Event

September 29, 2022/7 Comments/in Brian Czech, Climate Change, Economic Policy, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

If you’re a steady stater, I know what you’re thinking about Hurricane Ian. For starters, of course, you’re deeply concerned about any family or friends you may have in Florida, along with folks in general along Ian’s path. But you’re also wondering, “What about the pollution?”

The marine pollution that accompanies coastal flooding, most notably from violent hurricanes, is probably ignored by the majority of folks,

Emerging Signs of Grassroots Resistance to Growth

September 15, 2022/10 Comments/in Degrowth, Environment, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Christy Shaw

There seem to be encouraging signs that more and more average Americans are speaking out and taking action to oppose uncontrolled growth. Concerned citizens are sounding the alarm that too much growth is doing far more harm than good in their towns, cities and communities.

While there does not yet appear to be a coordinated nationwide coalition of activism, there are definitely increasing signs of grassroots efforts to push back against the all-too common,

Steering Away from a Car-Centric Society

May 19, 2022/4 Comments/in Climate Change, Consumption, Economic Growth, Energy, Environment, Money and Investments, Politics, Poverty, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability, Technology /by Brian Czech

by Mai Nguyen

Learning to drive scared me as a teenager. There was something terrifying about controlling a two-ton hunk of metal, and my drivers’ education teacher didn’t help by showing a graphic slideshow of injuries we could expect from a brutal car accident. This didn’t bother me much once I moved to the city; with buses, the metro, and bike or scooter shares, there are plenty of other ways to get around.

Ukraine: Putin’s Lebensraum

February 25, 2022/27 Comments/in Brian Czech, Consumption, Corruption, Economic Growth, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Governance, Inflation, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

People tend to think of Russia as a wide-open country with plenty of space for economic growth. While it may take days to ride the trans-Siberian railway, any notion of an empty Russia is as antiquated as Dr. Zhivago. European Russia, especially, has been cultivated, harvested, logged, mined, fished, and “developed” to the gills with roads, bridges, railways, power lines, pipelines, grids, towers, cables, dams, and canals connecting every industry under the sun to thousands of towns and cities plus tens of thousands of villages.

Putin the Practical Wants Ukraine Grain

January 27, 2022/19 Comments/in Brian Czech, Climate Change, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Governance, Inflation, Politics, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

Pundits, think tanks, and politicians are asking, “What does Putin want with Ukraine?” If you’re familiar with Ukraine’s flag—especially the bottom half—you’re halfway to the answer.

But let’s start with the conventional wisdom. Yes, Putin wants to pressure the West into preventing Ukraine from joining NATO, thereby keeping the alliance off Russia’s doorstep. Russia’s natural gas transmission to Europe would be a lot more profitable if they didn’t have to pipe the gas through tariff-charging Ukraine,

The Meat of the Matter: Diet, Climate, and the Steady State Economy

October 30, 2020/3 Comments/in Animal Welfare, Climate Change, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Haley Demircan

The saying “you are what you eat” is clearly true to a great extent, but there’s more to the story. The food we consume not only affects our being directly, but also the environment and the economy—and therefore us indirectly as well. Eating more vegetables and less meat and dairy is better for the health of most individuals here and now, and certainly for the health of the planet, now and for the long run.

Posts

by Alix Underwood

by Brian Czech

by Gary Gardner

by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

by Christy Shaw

by Mai Nguyen

by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

by Haley Demircan