Contraction Might Do Us Good

In just over a month another gathering of minds will discuss the many aspects of an economy not devoted to growth for growth’s sake. The 2nd Conference on Economic Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equality will take place March 26th through 29th in Barcelona, Spain.

Whilst I would love to be in attendance, I can neither afford the plane ticket (nor do I like the idea of so much plane travel) or the associated costs of attending. However, Donnie Maclurcan, a prominent steady-stater we’re trying to get working with us on Post Growth, will be attending as well as at least one member of CASSE.

The goal of the conference is to “develop clear policy proposals and strategies for action on degrowth and define the key open questions and research agenda.” They are hoping to create a publication from the conference and publish articles in scientific journals – I hope they do just that.

Degrowth is an interesting movement, a step most likely necessary in transition to a sustainable economy, it is one oriented towards the contraction of the physical size of the economy as a means of creating social justice and ecological sustainability. It is focusing on people instead of technology for the prosperity of society.

To learn more about the Degrowth movement, please check here, here, here, here, and here.

It has been a whirlwind tour here at the NCSE New Green Economy Conference. I have been privleged to help out behind the scenes, but also attend some of the conference, including a break-out session yesterday. I have had very little time to write, as I have been busy round the clock with about 4-5 hours of sleep time. I do, however, have many things to write about – it’s just a matter of finding the time (and energy).

The second day of the New Green Economy Conference was exciting and enlightening. Over the course of the day I was lucky enough to meet many great minds. Just to name a few, they included Van Jones, Herman Daly, Tim Jackson, Jon Erickson, Brian Czech, Jim Tate, and more. The day started with round table discussions.

What follows is as, brief as I could make, a recap on the events of the second day of the NCSE New Economy Conference. Technically it was the first day, as Wednesday’s Workshops were hosted around the city by others. Today brought the near 1000 attendees to the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center to talk about the Green Economy and sustainable economics. The irony of the event is the building’s namesake’s quote on the main hall wall:

“There are no limits to growth and human progress when men and women are free to follow their dreams.”

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I’m writing today from a Starbucks in Ballston, just outside the nation’s capital. Today is the first day of the three day New Green Economy Conference, where I will be attending and volunteering. It has proven to be a good trip so far, and I am looking forward to meeting all those sustainably-minded people I have been reading: Tim Jackson, Herman Daly, Brian Czech, and many more.

Today’s workshop is “Alternatives to Neoclassical Economics for Business and National Security.” It’s all day, should be a very informative. We’ll be hearing from Dr. James Giordano of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, Dr. Brian Czech of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy (CASSE), R. Warren Flint of Five E’s Unlimited, and Joan Michelson, writer and editor.

Today’s Session Goals:

“During this workshop participants will learn the positions of conventional economists and ecologists and be exposed to alternative concepts including incorporation of sustainability, diversity and valuation into human economies.

After the workshop participants will better understand how natural and human economies work, on how they incorporate non-commodity resources into value systems, and the ethical and moral positions taken by ecologists and economists.”

Be sure to follow me on twitter for updates in the moment, I’ll be visiting with some friends in DC tonight and then hopefully writing a recap of concepts, ideas, and things gained from today’s workshop.

I’ve been super busy lately, but I have not lost the urge to write. I have some 7 posts in draft, but that has become the usual in the last couple months. Since we’ve crossed a bit of a milestone, and Steady State Revolution is one year old, I wanted to highlight some of the better posts from the last year.

This is a list of the top ten posts in the last year, chosen by me but with influence from feedback as well. For those of you that are new to this blog or haven’t checked out the archives yet I hope this list is helpful for you!

2009 Top Ten Posts

1. The Creation of Money and the Illusion of Wealth – The banks we give our money to and rely on for loans are the very ones contributing to continued inflation. In fact, they create money out of thin air in order to gain a profit. This illusion of wealth (the creation of money instead of real wealth) will be the downfall of our society if we’re not to careful.
2. Local Currency and Bartering – Money is a part of our daily life. However,any of us m rarely think about where our money goes when we make a purchase. When we buy from a large chain often our money feeds a wealthy few far away. When we buy locally, with currency that supports only local businesses, we in turn support our local economy. Each dollar spent locally is four times as beneficial than a dollar spent in a global owned business. In a sustainable future a flourishing local economy is the more reliable and logical choice over a unstable global one.
3. Sustainable Scale – In order to create a sustainable way of life we must realize that the economy on Earth must also be sustainable. This requires us to create a sustainable scale.
4. Fair Distribution: Ending the Wealth Gap – In order to create a sustainable world we must acknowledge the fact that continued growth does not solve one of the most severe problems: inequality. The top 20% of the world’s wealthy receive 74% of the yearly wealth, while the bottom fifth receives only 2% of the yearly wealth. This disparity must be addressed if we are ever to succeed in eliminating poverty or creating a stable, sustainable society.
5. Carfree Day Leading to a Carfree Lifestyle? – On Worldwide Carfree Day I made an adjustment to my commute that resulted in a few bus transfers and a longer trip, but a much happier one all around. Since then I have cut the car out of most of my commuting. Free yourself from your mobile prison!
6. Why Emissions Must Be Cut Now, Not Later – The concept is simple, the rate of emissions doesn’t matter as much as the total amount of emissions. Think about it this way: we’re in a race towards the apocalypse and the US is in the lead. Not because the US has the fastest car, but because we had the largest head start.
7. Earth Demands a Steady State Economy -  Our planet is finite and as such cannot support a continued increase in resource consumption. If we wish to continue being supported by this planet we must acknowledge it’s limits.
8. Carrying Capacity Reached: The Need for Population Stability – One of the three large issues confronting a sustainable way of life is continued population growth. Obviously, this growth is more disruptive when it comes from developed nations because we make, per capita, the greatest impact. But nonetheless, we can only support so many people on this planet, and only so many at a given level of affluence. In order to maintain certain standards of living in the future we must control the growth of our population and provide sustainable limits to our numbers and our consumption.
9. Uneconomic Growth – Growth is commonly referred to in the neoclassical economics as “economic growth.” However, this implies that it is providing benefit when in fact we’re no longer benefiting from a growing economy. We have past the point where the benefits outweigh the costs and our growth is now uneconomic.
10. Post Growth Reading List – This is a list of books and articles relating to the sustainable, post-growth economics. Both an introductory list and an advanced list are presented. This is a favorite of a few people.

The New Green Economy

It’s official! I’m heading to the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) New Green Economy Conference! Through my volunteer work with the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy (CASSE) I was invited to volunteer at the conference (and attend when off-duty). The goal of the conference is to form “a set of recommendations on how to move towards a green economy in the US and in the world… The recommendations will be presented to the Obama Administration and to Congress, as well as to other key stakeholders.”

While there are still a few months before the conference, I thought I would share the good news. There are tons of different topics being covered, and only three days to fit them in, so I have to choose wisely. During that week I will be posting each day about the things learned and experienced, and hopefully some good pictures too! I am really looking forward to helping out with this great conference, meeting some change-makers, and learning more about the many concepts of the Green Economy.

Here’s what NCSE has to say about the conference:

“Marking a decade of history, NCSE’s signature national conference will engage leading thinkers and doers from a diversity of disciplines, sectors, and perspectives in a structured conversation about the meaning of the green economy and how investment in green education, research and jobs can help solve both the economic and environmental crises.

Welcoming over 1000 attendees, The New Green Economy will bring together leaders in sustainable business, environmental policymakers, civil society, university faculty, students from across the nation, and educated citizens.

NCSE leverages a multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach to bring together involved scientists and decision-makers from a wide range of organizations. Our conferences are highly interactive, including renowned speakers, topical symposia to explore issues in more depth, and breakout sessions to develop (and publish) recommendations on how to advance science and connect it with policy and decision-making.”

I am looking forward to helping with the conference and bringing some of the new back to you! More to come in a few months…

P.S. I aware of the environmental downsides of air travel, and I am not necessarily fond of it, nor do I have much faith in offsets, however I am looking for the best offset program for my trip to at least do something. Any suggestions are welcome. The NCSE does offer an offset service as part of their registration, but I would like to find the best option out there.

Copenhagen Needs Some Help

The countdown is on with now just under 55 days until the much anxiously awaited Copenhagen Climate Conference where world leaders (we hope it’s the leaders, not delegates) will work on drafting a follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012 (and a serious agreement is needed).

Nations know that there is no excuse for waiting, binding action must be taken at Copenhagen. Not only to maintain a decent standard of living and healthy planet for ourselves, but for our children. However, in order to realize this green dream we must recognize the inherent problems with our current system. Otherwise, we will continue to feed the growth machine without making ourselves happier and while making the world worse for our children.

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A Great, Sustainable Meal

I’m approaching another year older (hopefully wiser) and was taken out to a surprise location for dinner by my partner. She did her research and found a great place near us that represents what I envision life in a steady state economy to be like: focused more on the local economy, a greater sense of community, and more time to enjoy living our lives with less of an impact on the environment.

Sutra is a vegetarian restaurant in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle, nestled amongst the many former-homes-turned-businesses along 45th street. A beautiful, intimate space awaits up to 35 guests for a dinner seating serving four community-style courses. Seasonal food from Forged and Found Edibles, Full Circle Farm, and other local food suppliers are masterfully combined into delicious meals.

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In a previous post I discussed the scale of our economy. Economists have quite a bit to say about scale in microeconomics, or economics at the level of the household and the firm. They report the existence of a “when to stop rule.”  This rule states that an activity should cease just as the costs begin to outweigh the benefits. An example might be deciding when to stop drinking bottles of beer.  After about the third or fourth bottle, the costs begin to outweigh the benefits.

We could say that three bottles represent the “optimal scale” of beer consumption for an individual. Even though mainstream economists (dubbed neoclassical economists) readily apply this concept to the small-scale, micro-economy, they refuse to apply it to the big-picture, macro-economy. On the large scale, according to neoclassical theory, our economy as a whole has no optimal scale – just growth.  And that’s an implausible conclusion, given that the macro-economy is simply a summation of all the micro-economies.

Ecological economics argues that everything has an optimal scale including big-picture activities and systems. It is hard to conceive of a more pressing place to apply the “when to stop rule” than the whole economy, because if we overreach our limits here, the entire ship goes down. A steady state economy strives to stop growth at the optimal point, maintaining a sustainable scale for the entire human enterprise.

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