growth vs. steady-state — a few quotes

I haven't yet seriously delved into the issue of the growth economy — that is, my third precept, "don't buy any new stuff you don't absolutely need"... This is a tough nut to crack because our society is so totally dependent upon consumerism it seems nearly insurmountable to imagine a way out. Good and well-meaning friends, who do profess to care about the environment and climate change, have reminded me that their jobs, or their loved ones' jobs, depend on people continuing to buy nice things; and that if everyone thought the way I do (and acted on it) the economy would collapse and complete chaos would result.

And yet I can only return to the fact that infinite growth is simply not possible on a finite planet, and any "fix" that allows us to keep growing indefinitely without harming the environment is as imaginary as a perpetual motion machine or a free lunch. As far as I can see, we can choose to follow the made-up dictates of our own made-up system (the economy), or we can follow the rules of the real world... or, as Herman Daly put it, "when faced with the unhappy dilemma of choosing between a physical or political impossibility, it is better to attempt the politically 'impossible.'"

Right now I do not have a concrete solution — as I say, our society is so bound up in this there seems to be no way out of it; I only know there must be alternatives. I'm sure there are traditional cultures who have inhabited the same territory since time immemorial without ruining the land, and perhaps we need to learn from them... I have been reading a bit of Herman Daly — Ecological Economics — on the principles of a steady-state economy. I can't speak with any kind of authority on how to get there from here; but until I have more solid ideas, here are a few quotes from my reading:

"As this is written, there are news reports of a group of economics students in French and British universities who are rebelling against what they are being taught. They have formed a Society for Post-Autistic Economics. Their implicit diagnosis is apt, since autism, like conventional economics, is characterized by 'abnormal subjectivity; and acceptance of fantasy rather than reality.' ... Current 'canonical assumptions' of insatiable wants and infinite resources, leading to growth forever, are simply not grounded in reality." - p. xxi

"We define growth as an increase in throughput, which is the flow of natural resources from the environment, through the economy, and back to the environment as waste. This kind of growth, of course, cannot continue indefinitely, as the Earth and its resources are not infinite. While growth must end, this in no way implies an end to development, which we define as qualitative change, realization of potential, evolution toward an improved, but larger, structure or system — an increase in the quality of goods and services (where quality is measured by the ability to increase human well-being)."  - p.6

"Unfortunately, our ability to increase consumption while depleting our resource base has led people to believe that humans and the economy that sustains us have transcended nature. "  - p. 10

"Does the system generate wastes? Does the system require new inputs of matter and energy? If not, then the system is a perpetual motion machine, a contradiction of the Second Law of Thermodynamics... Since there is no such thing as a perpetual motion machine, the economic system cannot be the whole. It must be a subsystem of a larger system, the Earth-ecosystem."  - p.29

"The circular low vision [of standard economic models] is analogous to a biologist describing an animal only in terms of its circulatory system, without ever mentioning its digestive tract. Surely the circulatory system is important, but unless the animal also has a digestive tract that connects it to its environment at both ends, it will soon die either of starvation or constipation."  - p. 29

I do have a few quibbles with Daly: in common with most conventional economists, in thinking natural ecosystems strictly in terms of resources for humans and measuring quality by the ability to increase human well-being, he falls into the common trap of thinking the entire world was created for our use — which is exactly the thinking that got us to this point. (I always keep in mind the quote from indigenous rights activist Oren Lyons, "it makes a crucial difference whether humankind thinks of the natural world as consisting of resources or relatives"). But it is useful to get some solid economic thinking on the issue. I will post further as I get further along...

Cowspiracy

We recently watched an absolutely vital film called "Cowspiracy: the Sustainability Secret" — about how most big "green" organizations won't touch the connections between animal agriculture and environmental destruction. It details the connections between beef and climate change, water, and deforestation, and also addresses fisheries and the destruction of ocean life... all done in a gonzo documentary style reminiscent of Michael Moore (although somehow I can't imagine Moore touching this issue either). There's a scene with the California Department of Water Resources in which the filmmaker asks why they don't put out the word about how much water is wasted to raise beef cattle... and they reply with something like "we're a government agency, we deal with water management, and what you're talking about is changing behavior" — as if pushing everyone to take shorter showers and turn off the water while brushing your teeth isn't about changing behavior! The website for the film also has a very helpful graphic with lots of statistics — here are a few tidbits:

Animal agriculture is responsible for 91% of Amazon destruction
110 animal and insect species are lost every day from rainforest destruction
Livestock cover 45% of earth's total land mass
The meat and dairy industry use 1/3 of the earth's fresh water
5% of US water use is domestic; 55% is animal agriculture
A plant-based diet cuts your carbon footprint by 50%

I would definitely class this as one of those movies everyone should see. As it happens, the filmmakers have a campaign for Earth Day this year: anyone can watch Cowspiracy online for just a dollar, starting on the real Earth Day (Wednesday, April 22nd, not whatever weekend day organizations tend to pick for events)... Highly recommended!