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• Students for Sustainable Communities – Nate Fleming – Kevin Hite – Joe Kottwitz – etc. • College of Natural Resources • TWS, Stevens Point Student Chapter Which city in the world has the most CASSE signatories? • an increase in the production and consumption of goods and services • typically expressed in terms of GDP • facilitated by increasing: –population –per capita consumption Business Household Business Household Natural Natural Capital Capital Pollutants Heat Natural Natural Capital Capital Pollutants Heat GDP K Natural capital allocated to biodiversity Natural capital allocated to human economy Time Czech, B. 2000. Wildlife Society Bulletin 28(1):4-14. Causes of Species Endangerment as a “Who’s Who” of the Economy • • • • • • • Agricultural and extractive sectors Manufacturing sectors Service sectors Economic infrastructure Economic byproducts (pollution) Urbanization International trade Czech et al. 2000. Bioscience 50(7):593-601. K To conserve biodiversity ... ...maintain steady state economy sufficiently below K. Time • Vernacular: invention, innovation • Technical: increasing productive efficiency resulting from invention and innovation • Fixed amount of energy, matter (E = • Entropy 2 mc ) R&D Czech, B. 2008. Conservation Biology 22:1389-1398. R&D Profits Czech, B. 2008. Conservation Biology 22:1389-1398. R&D Profits Economies of scale Czech, B. 2008. Conservation Biology 22:1389-1398. Environmental Threat K TP3 TP2 TP1 GDP-TP The “Information Economy” • What is the information used for? • How does one come to afford the information? € € = € = € € • Stable production and consumption of goods and services • Indicated by stable GDP • Stabilized: – population – per capita consumption – “throughput” “Some people just don’t get it. There is no conflict between growing the economy and protecting the environment!” 1) Classical economics 2) Combination of political and economic systems, especially at the national scale 3) Politics of economic activity 4) Politics of any activity (economic focus) 1) Classical economics 2) Combination of political and economic systems, especially at the national scale 3) Politics of economic activity 4) Politics of any activity (economic focus) • Prominent corporate community • Campaign financing favors “big money” • Neoclassical economics • Economic growth a primary, perennial, bipartisan goal • Special interest group • Supportive political faction • “Captured” profession, society, or agency “The corporate consensus rises above the competitive advantage of particular corporations, and is larger than any industry…Corporate power is dependent on legal, economic, and political mechanisms, structures, and processes…” Public Information Network, www.endgame.org • Selected by or beholden to large donors (i.e., corporations) • Heavily invested in corporations • Advised by neoclassical economists • University departments endowed by corporations • Research funded by corporations • Hired by corporations • Appointed by politicians • Academia • Non-governmental organizations • Public • Politicians, political parties • Government • Academia • Non-governmental organizations • Public • Politicians, political parties • Government • Professional, scientific societies that… – study issues. – develop policy positions or resolutions. • Other non-profit organizations that… – educate publics and policy makers. – advance issues. – induce political action. • Professional, scientific societies that… – study issues. – develop policy positions or resolutions. • Other non-profit organizations that… – educate publics and policy makers. – advance issues. – induce political action. • U.S. Society for Ecological Economics (2003) • The Wildlife Society (2004) • Society for Conservation Biology – North America Section (2004) • American Society of Mammalogists (2007) • British Columbia Field Ornithologists (2007) • Ecological Society of America • International Society for Ecological Economics • Society for Conservation Biology • American Fisheries Society • Society for Range Management • Society for Marine Mammalogy • American Sociological Association Wendell Berry Joan Martinez-Alier Herman Daly Bill McKibben Richard Douthwaite David Orr Paul Ehrlich Vandana Shiva Helen Ingram Gus Speth Wes Jackson David Suzuki National Center for Conservation Science and Policy Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences The Land Institute La Fundación Neotropica Institute for Children's Environmental Health Center for Food Safety Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns Arthur Morgan Institute for Community Solutions Pender Islands Women's Institute International Society for Ecology and Culture Portfolio 21 Investments Evidence of Humanity • The individuals (along with nearly 3,000 others) have signed the CASSE position on economic growth. • The organizations (and 65 others) have endorsed the same position. Whereas… 1) Economic growth, as defined in standard economics textbooks, is an increase in the production and consumption of goods and services, and; 2) Economic growth occurs when there is an increase in the multiplied product of population and per capita consumption, and; 3) The global economy grows as an integrated whole consisting of agricultural, extractive, manufacturing, and services sectors that require physical inputs and produce wastes, and; Whereas (cont.)… 4) Economic growth is often and generally indicated by increasing real gross domestic product (GDP) or real gross national product (GNP), and; 5) Economic growth has been a primary, perennial goal of many societies and most governments, and; 6) Based upon established principles of physics and ecology, there is a limit to economic growth, and; 7) There is increasing evidence that global economic growth is having negative effects on long-term ecological and economic welfare… Therefore… 1) There is a fundamental conflict between economic growth and environmental protection (for example, biodiversity conservation, clean air and water, atmospheric stability), and; 2) There is a fundamental conflict between economic growth and the ecological services underpinning the human economy (for example, pollination, decomposition, climate regulation), and; Therefore (cont.)… 3) Technological progress has had many positive and negative ecological and economic effects and may not be depended on to reconcile the conflict between economic growth and long-term ecological and economic welfare, and; 4) Economic growth, as gauged by increasing GDP, is an increasingly dangerous and anachronistic goal, especially in wealthy nations with widespread affluence, and; Therefore (cont.)… 5) A steady state economy (that is, an economy with a relatively stable, mildly fluctuating product of population and per capita consumption) is a viable alternative to a growing economy and has become a more appropriate goal in large, wealthy economies, and; 6) The long-run sustainability of a steady state economy requires its establishment at a size small enough to avoid the breaching of reduced ecological and economic capacity during expected or unexpected supply shocks such as droughts and energy shortages, and; Therefore (cont.)… 7) A steady state economy does not preclude economic development, a dynamic, qualitative process in which different technologies may be employed and the relative prominence of economic sectors may evolve, and; 8) Upon establishing a steady state economy, it would be advisable for wealthy nations to assist other nations in moving from the goal of economic growth to the goal of a steady state economy, beginning with those nations currently enjoying high levels of per capita consumption, and; Therefore (cont.)… 9) For many nations with widespread poverty, increasing per capita consumption (or, alternatively, more equitable distributions of wealth) remains an appropriate goal. • Academia • Non-governmental organizations • Public • Politicians, political parties • Government