Technology Archives – 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),

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;

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,

Terrestrial and Solar Resources in a Steady State Economy

June 11, 2020/2 Comments/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Energy, Environment, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability, Technology /by Brian Czech

by Herman Daly

Let us consider a different slant on the current discussion about the necessity versus sufficiency of renewable energy for a steady state economy at the present physical scale.

Pursuant to the pioneering economics of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen (G-R), we recognize two sources of the low-entropy flow that sustains our lives: the solar and the terrestrial. They differ in their pattern of scarcity. The solar energy source is practically infinite in its stock dimension,

Crossroads for Planet of the Humans

May 27, 2020/31 Comments/in Brian Czech, Climate Change, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Energy, Environment, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability, Technology /by Brian Czech

by William Rees

[Editor’s Note: The Steady State Herald first published a review of Planet of the Humans on May 1. The following review adds valuable information to the dialog.]

“It stands to reason…”

Who hasn’t heard this expression in everyday conversation? Humans tend to think of themselves as rational beings, and many people sincerely believe they are being reasonable all the time.

However,

Planet of the Humans Puts Sacred Cows Out to Pasture

May 1, 2020/73 Comments/in Brian Czech, Climate Change, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Energy, Environment, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability, Technology /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

Planet of the Humans is a once-in-a-decade documentary for all concerned with the environment, the economy, and life on Earth. Directed by Jeff Gibbs and produced by Michael Moore, Planet is especially important for advancing the steady state economy. It is reminiscent of Pope Francis’ Laudato si’ in that it makes the case for a steady state economy—resoundingly—while never quite uttering the phrase “steady state economy.”

When viewing a documentary,

Building a Steady State Economy in a System Evolved for Growth

April 15, 2020/7 Comments/in Animal Welfare, Biodiversity, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Brian Snyder

If you’ve been on the internet recently you’ve been exposed to Tiger King, the wildly popular Netflix series that revolves around the conflict among a bizarre set of humans feuding over the proper way to hold big cats in captivity. Watching the show is a bit like watching a train derail in slow motion, but for our purposes what is important is that it illustrates the discrepancy between the way the world is and the way the world ought to be.

The Silver Lining of the COVID-Caused Recession is Supra-Economic

March 24, 2020/21 Comments/in Biodiversity, Brian Czech, Climate Change, Economic Growth, Environment, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

COVID-19 has done in a deadly way what steady-state economists would prescribe in a healthy way: putting the brakes on a runaway economy. In fact, the pandemic has slammed on the brakes and jammed the GDP gearstick into reverse. It has ushered us into a recession that will be pronounced and protracted. In a COVID-caused recession, it’s nature at bat, not the Fed.

In these dark times, any source of comfort is welcome.

Distinguishing Capitalism from Growth

November 21, 2019/4 Comments/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by James Magnus-Johnston

Capitalism and growth might have similar connotations, but they have important distinctions, too. “Capitalism” has become a clumsy catch-all for any number of value-laden projections—greed, big business, innovation, accumulation, complexity, workaholism. “Growth,” meanwhile, is a landmine of technical and cultural connotations, and I’ll explore just a couple of them here.

Technically speaking, their differences seem straightforward. Growth is a material increase in economic production and consumption. Capitalism is a highly complex term,

Book Review: Falter by Bill McKibben

November 13, 2019/1 Comment/in Biodiversity, Climate Change, Religion, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

By Herman Daly

Thanks to Bill McKibben, not just for his new book but for 30 years of honest, eloquent, and insightful environmental writing and activism.

He begins Falter by pointing out that “the human game we’ve been playing has no rules and no end, but it does come with two logical imperatives. The first is to keep it going, and the second is to keep it human.”

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by Brian Snyder

by Brian Snyder

by Madeline Baker

by Herman Daly

by William Rees

by Brian Czech

by Brian Snyder

by Brian Czech

by James Magnus-Johnston