Sustainability Archives – Page 2 of 9 – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

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),

Contrasting Climate Policies in the House and Senate

March 19, 2021/1 Comment/in Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

By Brian Snyder

On March 10, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin introduced America’s Clean Future Fund Act, a fairly ambitious plan to combat climate change. While skeptics will be able to identify plenty of weaknesses in the bill and might argue that it remains enmeshed in a growth-economy worldview, the potential for progress warrants our appreciation. Meanwhile in the House, the Energy and Commerce Committee introduced the Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation’s (CLEAN) Future Act,

Paying Taxes with Trophic Money: Watch Out for Environmental Backfires

March 4, 2021/12 Comments/in Brian Czech, Degrowth, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Food and Agriculture, Governance, Monetary Policy, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

I didn’t set out to coin a phrase, but “trophic money” will be far handier than “money derived pursuant to the trophic theory of money.” The trophic theory of money is that money originates via the agricultural surplus that frees the hands for the division of labor into all the other economic activities, most basically manufacturing and services. It’s a theory of money that reflects not only the trophic structure of the economy—with manufacturing and services built upon a base of agriculture and extraction—but the fact that money is meaningless unless we have an agricultural surplus at the trophic base.

Ecofeminism and the Steady State Economy

February 4, 2021/1 Comment/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Casey Reiland

On September 23, 2019, a 16 year-old girl fearlessly sent a message to world leaders at the UN Headquarters: “We’ll be watching you.” Though Greta Thunberg had become a household name at this point for her school-strike movement, this speech would mark her as the voice of a generation, garnering 4 million views and a designation as “Time’s 2019 Person of the Year.” Though her whole speech is moving,

Let’s Meet in the Ring: Steady Staters in the “Green Doughnut”

January 28, 2021/4 Comments/in Climate Change, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

By Kayla Downs

To most people, the idea of a steady state economy is misunderstood at best and completely unknown at worst. Outside of economic, environmental, and academic circles, steady staters are hard to come by. The idea of a steady state economy is not yet mainstream and is shied away from in the media, general politics, education, and culture. Economic growth has been sold to generations as the remedy to all our ailments.

Population Growth: The Ironic Vexer

January 21, 2021/51 Comments/in Brian Czech, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Politics, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

In a world of vexing issues—and our topic this week is certainly that—population growth might just be the most ironic. That’s because it should be among the simplest of issues; almost trifling in its mathematics. Yet opinions about it are beset with political, economic, and even some technical controversy.

For steady staters it seems perfectly clear: Population must be stabilized for the sake of societal well-being and even mere sustainability.

Steady Statesmanship and Climate Policy in the Midst of a Fascist Threat

January 14, 2021/8 Comments/in Economic Policy, Politics /by Brian Czech

By Brian Snyder

The insurrectionist mob that stormed the Capitol last week has been frequently described as fascist. Certainly, it was a far-right, racist mob attempting to overthrow a democratic election, as with the Beerhall Putsch or the March on Rome. Yet, the real fascists in the Capitol weren’t the mob. The actual fascists are far more powerful than a bunch of conspiracy-addled cosplayers. The real fascists were the half-dozen senators and 140 or so representatives who abetted and instigated the insurrection.

Challenging the Pro-Growth Market: Mark Carney’s Reith Lectures and the Need for a Radical Approach

January 6, 2021/8 Comments/in Economic Policy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by James MacGregor Palmer

“Society won’t settle for worthy statements followed by futile gestures. It won’t settle for countries announcing plans in Paris five years ago for 2.8 degrees warming, far too high, that they don’t even meet. Society won’t settle for companies that preach green but don’t manage their carbon footprints, or financial institutions who can’t tell us whether our money is on the right or wrong side of climate history.”

These are not the words of an environmental activist,

The Impact of Evolutionary Pressures on Economic Narratives

December 9, 2020/15 Comments/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Energy, Environment, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Carey King

People use narratives to support their position, and narratives can serve three purposes. First, they tell a story of belonging. If you meet a stranger and realize you are from a common area, you more easily engage in conversation than otherwise. Second, they describe norms that guide our actions. Most people in society follow certain norms such that by doing so, they are accepted as part of the group. Third—and most relevant to advancing the steady state economy—we use narratives to describe and learn about how the world works.

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.

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by Brian Snyder

By Brian Snyder

by Brian Czech

by Casey Reiland

By Kayla Downs

by Brian Czech

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by Carey King

by Haley Demircan