Review of Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development, by Herman Daly Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development. Herman E. Daly. 253 pp. Although I've never met him, I must admit: economist Herman Daly has had a big impact on my life. Student-initiated seminars (like most forms of activism) were rare at Princeton University at the time, but our goals were ambitious: to uncover the limits of growth economies, from the Soviet to the U.S. model. In spring 1981, Isles was born. Beyond the quixotic story of Isles' founding, why should Daly's work be important to community builders? What is the goal of the economy? As a former economist at the World Bank, Daly takes them head on in Beyond Growth with reasoned arguments and increasingly intellectual elegance. Daly clarifies that the economy is only a subset of the larger environment. Daly is the grandfather of steady state economic theory (increasingly called environmental economics). If growth is not going to lift us out of poverty, what will? Perhaps Daly's message is working.
Civics Government[edit] On smaller scales, modern human development theory attempts to unify ethics and small-scale politics with the urban and rural economies of sustainable development. Notable theorists including Jane Jacobs and Carol Moore argue that political secession of either cities or distinct bio regions and cultures is an essential pre-requisite to applying any widely shared ethics, as the ethical views of urban and rural people, different cultures or those engaged in different types of agriculture, are irreconcilably different. This extreme advocacy of decentralization is hardly uncommon, and leads to the minimal theory of civics – anarchism. Civics refers not to the ethical or moral or political basis by which a ruler acquires power, but only to the processes and procedures they follow in actually exercising it. Recently, the concept of global civics has also been suggested as a way of applying civics in the highly interdependent and globalized world of the 21st century.
Earth Economics U.S. non-profit organization Approach[edit] Earth Economics' current mission states, "We quantify and value the benefits nature provides. Our work drives effective decisions and systemic change through a combination of education, natural capital analysis, and policy recommendations."[2] According to its website, Earth Economics offers "a pragmatic, collaborative approach to help organizations make sound investment and policy decisions that mitigate risk, add value, and build resilience by taking nature into account Earth Economics offers five types of services: Workshops & Trainings: Earth Economics offers hands-on workshops, trainings, and presentations that aim to raise awareness about ecological economics concepts and cost-effective solutions that build resilience, biodiversity, and equity.Ecosystem Services Valuation: Earth Economics is best known for their expertise in natural capital valuation. History[edit] See also[edit] References[edit]
The economic heresy of Herman Daly If economics is a religion, the World Bank is perhaps its grandest church. For the last half century, the venerable institution at 1818 H Street in Washington, D.C., has been dispatching its missionaries around the globe, spreading the theology of the free market to the heathens. And if economics is a religion, Herman Daly is its arch-heretic, a member of the high priesthood turned renegade. From 1988 to 1994, Daly was the World Bank’s senior environmental economist, a lonely voice of dissent in an organization that frowns on unbelievers. During his six-year tenure, Daly, the economist-turned-ecovisionary whose works established ecological economics as a discipline, succeeded in getting the World Bank to take notice of the environment in its policies and programs. At last, frustrated with the institution’s unwieldy bureaucracy and antiquated policies, he resigned. It was Daly’s parting shot not only at the World Bank, but at the entire edifice of neoclassical economics. Don’t Bank on It
Progressive Era Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, 1901-09 (left), William Howard Taft, 1909-13 (center), and Woodrow Wilson, 1913-21 (right) are often referred to as the "Progressive Presidents"; their administrations saw intense social and political change in American society. Initially the movement operated chiefly at local levels; later it expanded to state and national levels. Progressives drew support from the middle class, and supporters included many lawyers, teachers, physicians, ministers and business people.[7] The Progressives strongly supported scientific methods as applied to economics, government, industry, finance, medicine, schooling, theology, education, and even the family. Political reform[edit] "The Awakening" Suffragists were successful in the West; their torch awakens the women struggling in the East and South in this cartoon by Hy Mayer in Puck Feb. 20, 1915 Exposing corruption[edit] Modernization[edit] The Progressives were avid modernizers. Women[edit] Woman suffrage[edit]
Ecoleasing Ecoleasing is a system in which goods (mainly from the technical cycle, i.e. appliances, ...) are rented to a client for a certain period of time after which he returns the goods so the company that made it can recycle the materials. Terminology[edit] The term ecoleasing has been used by William McDonough and Michael Braungart in their book Cradle_to_Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things.[1] It is used to distinct itself from regular leasing in that: the operation is similar to regular purchasing of goods, so not requiring a contract to be made up as with leasingit is done with appliances and other products used for the household, rather than with land or very expensive products (cars, ...)the period of time the product is rented would be about the same as the lifespan of the product, so it can only be rented once before it is taken back by the company to recover the materials (and to create another product with it) Examples[edit] An example of ecoleasing is a lease of a TV set.
Time to Stop Worshipping Economic Growth There are physical limits to growth on a finite planet. In 1972, the Club of Rome issued their groundbreaking report—Limits to Growth (twelve million copies in thirty-seven languages). The authors predicted that by about 2030, our planet would feel a serious squeeze on natural resources, and they were right on target. In 2009, the Stockholm Resilience Center introduced the concept of planetary boundaries to help the public envision the nature of the challenges posed by limits to growth and physical/biological boundaries. They defined nine boundaries critical to human existence that, if crossed, could generate abrupt or irreversible environmental changes. (Click image for larger view)The global economy must be viewed from a macro-perspective to realize that infringement of the planetary boundaries puts many life support ecosystems in jeopardy. These boundaries apply to the economy because the economy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the ecosystems that make life on earth possible.
Modernization Modernization theory is a theory used to explain the process of modernization within societies. Modernization refers to a model of a progressive transition from a 'pre-modern' or 'traditional' to a 'modern' society. The theory looks at the internal factors of a country while assuming that, with assistance, "traditional" countries can be brought to development in the same manner more developed countries have. Modernization theory attempts to identify the social variables that contribute to social progress and development of societies, and seeks to explain the process of social evolution. Modernization theory is subject to criticism originating among socialist and free-market ideologies, world-systems theorists, globalization theory and dependency theory among others. Modernization theory and history have been explicitly used as guides for countries eager to develop rapidly, such as China. Earliest expressions of the theory[edit] Émile Durkheim The idea of modernization is relatively new.
Ecological modernization School of thought in social sciences Ecological modernization is a school of thought that argues that both the state and the market can work together to protect the environment.[1] It has gained increasing attention among scholars and policymakers in the last several decades internationally. It is an analytical approach as well as a policy strategy and environmental discourse (Hajer, 1995). Origins and key elements[edit] One basic assumption of ecological modernization relates to environmental readaptation of economic growth and industrial development. There are different understandings of the scope of ecological modernization - whether it is just about techno-industrial progress and related aspects of policy and economy, and to what extent it also includes cultural aspects (ecological modernization of mind, value orientations, attitudes, behaviour and lifestyles). Ecological modernization shares a number of features with neighbouring, overlapping approaches. Additional elements[edit]
Giordano Bruno Giordano Bruno (Latin: Iordanus Brunus Nolanus; Italian: [dʒorˈdano ˈbruno]; 1548 – February 17, 1600), born Filippo Bruno, was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, mathematician, poet, and astrologer.[3] He is celebrated for his cosmological theories, which went even further than the then-novel Copernican model: while supporting heliocentrism, Bruno also correctly proposed that the Sun was just another star moving in space, and claimed as well that the universe contained an infinite number of inhabited worlds, identified as planets orbiting other stars. He was noteworthy in the 16th Century for promoting a pantheistic conception of God, to the dismay of the Catholic Church.[4] In addition to his cosmological writings, Bruno also wrote extensively on the art of memory, a loosely organized group of mnemonic techniques and principles. Life[edit] Early years, 1548–1576[edit] First years of wandering, 1576–1583[edit] In 1579 he arrived in Geneva. England, 1583–1585[edit]
Eco-investing Eco-investing or green investing, is a form of socially responsible investing where investments are made in companies that support or provide environmentally friendly products and practices. These companies encourage (and often profit from) new technologies that support the transition from carbon dependence to more sustainable alternatives.[1] Green finance is "any structured financial activity that has been created to ensure a better environmental outcome. As industries' environmental impacts become more apparent, green topics have not only taken center stage in pop-culture, but the financial world as well. The Global Climate Prosperity Scoreboard – launched by Ethical Markets Media and The Climate Prosperity Alliance to monitor private investments in green companies – estimated that over $1.248 trillion has been invested in solar, wind, geothermal, ocean/hydro and other green sectors since 2007. Eco/green investing versus socially-responsible investing[edit] Eco-investing sectors[edit]