fj1200
04-26-2013, 06:05 AM
Because here's one.
Why we can't grow our economy forever (http://theweek.com/article/index/240292/why-we-cant-grow-our-economy-forever)
Politicians, newscasters, and pundits are united around an idea I find wacky: That we can grow the economy forever on our finite planet.We have 7 billion people on Earth, and almost 1 billion of us go to bed hungry each night. 2.7 billion of us live on less than $2 a day, and there's 394 ppm of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
(http://www.learnvest.com/2013/02/why-i-think-perpetual-economic-growth-is-impossible/#_edn4)
We would need one and a half Earths to keep producing, consuming and wasting at the rate we do now. Instead of a pursuing an economy chasing after more, why not pursue an economy asking for enough? That's what I describe in the book I co-wrote with Dan O'Neill, "Enough Is Enough: Building a Sustainable Economy in a World of Finite Resources."
The economy of "enough" is called a steady-state economy: A steady number of people consume a stable amount of energy and materials, all within ecological bounds. The goal of this kind of economy, rather than increasing consumption, is to improve quality of life.
Do you want more stuff or a better life? Our current economy aims for the first. A steady-state economy aims for the second.
Why we can't grow our economy forever (http://theweek.com/article/index/240292/why-we-cant-grow-our-economy-forever)
Politicians, newscasters, and pundits are united around an idea I find wacky: That we can grow the economy forever on our finite planet.We have 7 billion people on Earth, and almost 1 billion of us go to bed hungry each night. 2.7 billion of us live on less than $2 a day, and there's 394 ppm of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
(http://www.learnvest.com/2013/02/why-i-think-perpetual-economic-growth-is-impossible/#_edn4)
We would need one and a half Earths to keep producing, consuming and wasting at the rate we do now. Instead of a pursuing an economy chasing after more, why not pursue an economy asking for enough? That's what I describe in the book I co-wrote with Dan O'Neill, "Enough Is Enough: Building a Sustainable Economy in a World of Finite Resources."
The economy of "enough" is called a steady-state economy: A steady number of people consume a stable amount of energy and materials, all within ecological bounds. The goal of this kind of economy, rather than increasing consumption, is to improve quality of life.
Do you want more stuff or a better life? Our current economy aims for the first. A steady-state economy aims for the second.