Climate Change Archives – Page 2 of 8 – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

Wellbeing, Happiness, and GDP Growth: Rhetoric vs. Reality

July 15, 2021/5 Comments/in Climate Change, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Governance, Politics, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by James MacGregor Palmer

Several movements are working in opposition to the destructive growth economy of the 21st century. The labels adopted by these movements are largely tied to the regions in which they originated and/or became popular. For example, the term “steady state” is most prevalent in the USA, while “degrowth” is often associated with continental Europe. The widespread term throughout the UK, however, is “wellbeing economy.”

Without prior knowledge of the UK term,

Bad Bros and Their Bitcoin

April 22, 2021/9 Comments/in Banking, Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Money and Investments, Steady State Herald, Sustainability, Technology /by Brian Czech

by Brian Snyder

Bitcoin needs to end, now. And other blockchain-based currencies along with it. If, like many people, you only have a vague idea of what Bitcoin is, you need to know two critical facts. First, Bitcoin is a currency that is “mined” via computing calculations, and second, in aggregate those calculations use about as much energy as the nation of Argentina. To make matters worse, that energy use is growing.

A recent analysis in Nature Communications estimated that by 2024 bitcoin mining in China alone would require nearly 300 terawatt-hours (TWh),

Spaceship Earth and the Alien Economy: More than a Metaphor

March 11, 2021/6 Comments/in Consumption, Corporate Reform, Degrowth, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by James MacGregor Palmer

The year was 1965, and on the morning of July 9 in Geneva, Adlai Ewing Stevenson II prepared for his final speech to the UN. A former Governor of Illinois and presidential candidate, what he was about to say might still become his greatest contribution. But we’re in danger of forgetting it.

What Adlai Stevenson proffered the world that day was a metaphor. A simple yet powerful idea that,

A Steady-State Analysis of the 2020 Presidential Election

November 12, 2020/12 Comments/in Brian Czech, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

We now have a 46th President-Elect, with Joe Biden promising to restore the soul of America. What does it mean for advancing the steady state economy as the sustainable alternative to growth? And what did we learn in the process?

I for one ended up with egg on my face, if not a whole omelet, by calling Trump a lame duck way back in early August.

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.

Colorado River: “Lifeline of the Southwest” Suffering Effects of Economic Growth and Climate Change

October 1, 2020/3 Comments/in Climate Change, Consumption, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Food and Agriculture, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Haley Demircan

The Colorado River, also known as the “Lifeline of the Southwest,” spreads along 1,450 miles (2,330 kilometers), from northern Colorado to the Gulf of California in northwestern Mexico. This legendary river provides water for 40 million people in cities such as Denver, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Diego, as well as millions of acres of vital farmland. Seven states rely on the Colorado River as a primary source of water.

Wealth Transfers, Carbon Dioxide Removal, and the Steady State Economy

September 17, 2020/5 Comments/in Climate Change, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Energy, Environment, Poverty, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Brian Snyder

In 2019, the U.S. per capita GDP was $65,000. It seems obvious that this level of economic activity is more than sufficient to meet the needs of the U.S. population; after all, if we can’t live fulfilled, productive lives in an economy producing $65,000 per person per year, more money and production will never be enough. Further, additional per capita economic growth in the USA is uneconomic. For example, economic growth to $75,000 per person per year will not increase our economic wellbeing nearly as much as it will decrease ecological wellbeing;

Uncommon Sense—The Foreword

September 3, 2020/3 Comments/in Biodiversity, Brian Czech, Consumption, Economic Growth, Energy, Environment, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

Editor’s Note: This foreword is an excerpt from the Steady State Press’ forthcoming book, Uncommon Sense: Shortcomings of the Human Mind for Handling Big-Picture, Long-Term Challenges by Peter Seidel. Preorder a copy now.

I first encountered Peter Seidel at a Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Wisconsin. Or perhaps it was a conference of the U.S. Society for Ecological Economics in New York.

The Silver Lining of the COVID-Caused Recession is Fading Fast

August 20, 2020/5 Comments/in Climate Change, Consumption, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Energy, Environment, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Madeline Baker

From February to mid-April 2020, in an early and shocking stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, greenhouse gas emissions plummeted worldwide. Nowhere was the reduction more notable than in China, the country with the highest emissions. According to Lauri Myllyvirta, the lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, China’s carbon dioxide emissions fell by 25 percent from the end of January through mid-February. Also,

Book Review: Crazy Climate and Rigged Economies by Gerry Greaves

July 29, 2020/0 Comments/in Climate Change, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

By Skyler Perkins

Crazy Climate and Rigged Economies begins with a story of a boy who aspires to engineer a bridge. That young boy was author Gerry Greaves, and though he never designed a bridge during his career as a structural engineer, his new book offers a conceptual bridge to a sustainable society. Greaves guides readers through the challenges of our unsustainable and rigged economy and promotes solutions to stabilize our democracy,

Posts

by James MacGregor Palmer

by Brian Snyder

by James MacGregor Palmer

by Brian Czech

by Haley Demircan

by Haley Demircan

by Brian Snyder

by Brian Czech

by Madeline Baker