[Graeme]

19 ideas to make life in the UK more sustainable

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'B')ritain's Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) has identified 19 "breakthrough ideas" to make UK living spaces and the economy more sustainable in the long run.

"Some of the breakthrough ideas we've selected represent cutting-edge innovation and imagination; others are familiar but powerful ideas whose time has come," said Jonathon Porritt, chair of the SDC.

Examples include re-localising food production and supporting local producers as a precondition for sustainable food, encouraging cycling for short journeys, using fast-growing algae to capture industrial emissions and issuing 'green bonds' to raise capital for energy efficiency projects.

Other breakthrough ideas count financing home energy-efficiency measures through a system where a third party finances the upfront costs and would be reimbursed via a charge on the property rather than the individual.

[Graeme]

G8 leaders commit to “Fiscal Sustainability,” while Study Shows Italy and Japan Most at Risk

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')Low birth rates, ageing populations and inadequate public finances make Italy and Japan the world's least fiscally sustainable countries according to the Fiscal Risk Index, released by global risks specialist, Maplecroft today.

"Governments like Italy and Japan, who have large public debts and fiscal deficits, plus high spending on pensions and healthcare, are going to be left especially vulnerable," said Maplecroft analyst, Fiona Place. "Populations in these countries will be negatively affected, either through higher payments towards pension funds, a longer working life or lower benefits – or possibly a combination of all three"

Of the other G8 nations Germany (21) and France (48) are considered high risk, whilst the United Kingdom (63), Russia (78), Canada (100) and USA (135) are rated medium risk.

According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the number of persons aged 60 years or over will rise from 10 per cent of the world population today to 22 per cent in 2050. Italy's old-age dependency ratio (population aged 65+) is projected to be 33.3% by 2050, rising from 19.6% in 2005, whilst Japan's is estimated at 37.8% in 2050 up from 19.9% in 2005.

[Graeme]

Federal Grant Launches UMaine "Sustainability Solutions Initiative

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he University of Maine has received one of the largest research grants in Maine history, $20 million from the National Science Foundation. The grant will be used to create something called the Sustainability Solutions Initiative, a five-year research and outreach program that will involve partners statewide.

University of Maine Professor David Hart says the new Sustainability Solutions Initiative will bring together professors from various fields of study around the state to create a brighter economic, social and environmental future for the people of Maine. "But what do we mean by sustainable development? This is a coordinated strategy that seeks to achieve multiple goals: economic well-being, livable communities and a healthy environment. We just can't afford to focus on one of these goals at a time. We've got to get all three right."

[Graeme]

Huge deficits a risk to job growth, Fed chief warns

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he Federal Reserve faces a difficult task ahead in finding he right “exit strategy” from its economic stimulus efforts. But the US Congress may have an even more difficult task: reining in federal budget deficits that could weigh on the US economy for years to come.

That was the sobering message delivered by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke as he gave his semiannual report to Congress.

Mr. Bernanke acknowledged this is a tricky matter, but in response to lawmaker questions Tuesday, he suggested that the central bank has the tools it needs. The challenge involves choosing the right time, so that the Fed neither acts too soon, choking a recovery, nor too late, fueling inflation.

But he said that other government policies, which are controlled by Congress and the White House, pose their own risks to the economy. It will require tough choices on taxes and spending to control rising federal deficits, he said.

[Graeme]

Agenda for a Sustainable America

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')hat does sustainable development mean for the United States? How are the principles and strategies essentially designed for the developing world applicable to the United States? Those are the very questions tackled in the comprehensive new volume, Agenda for a Sustainable America, published by Island Press (2009).

Edited by John C. Derbach and featuring articles from a powerhouse team of forty environmental law and policy experts, scientists, public health experts, and leaders from business and government, Agenda for a Sustainable America examines trends in 28 areas of American life and evaluates recent U.S. performance from a sustainability perspective. Beyond providing a report card across the metrics of sustainability in the U.S., the book also provides a valuable roadmap for sustainability for the next 5 to 10 years.

[Graeme]

The sustainable economics of Elinor Ostrom

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he presentation of this year's Nobel prize in economics to Elinor Ostrom and Oliver E. Williamson--in particular Ostrom's dedicated researches in the inter-relationship between mankind and our ecological system, thus ensuring the sustainability of our water, forest, fishery and other shared resources--should serve as a loud and clear alarm to mankind, who have now come face to face with ecological disasters of unprecedented proportions.

It has been reported that Ostrom's economic management researches have testified the non-existence of the "tragedy of the commons."

The so-called "tragedy of the commons" denotes the highly likely accelerated depletion of commonly owned resources, in particular natural resources, due to insatiable human greed.

Some scholars have pointed out that the drastic changes in our climate in recent years is a typical instance of the "tragedy of the commons," as evidenced by the sharp decline in marine harvests in North Sea as well as the depletion of oil in the Middle East.

As a matter of fact, from the perspectives of non-existence of the "tragedy of the commons," we have been able to draw the following conclusions:

[Graeme]

Lead by Example: Obama Executive Order Pushes Federal Sustainability

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')t’s also impossible to imagine something this sweeping coming from the previous administration, another reason why President Obama’s recent Executive Order could become a landmark in the world of sustainability.

The Executive Order signed by the president earlier this month sets sustainability goals for Federal agencies, focusing on improving their environmental, energy and economic performance.

It requires that agencies set a 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target within 90 days; increase energy efficiency; reduce fleet petroleum consumption; conserve water; reduce waste; support sustainable communities and “leverage Federal purchasing power to promote environmentally-responsible products and technologies.” It also requires agencies to measure, manage, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions toward agency-defined targets.

The Executive Order sets specific energy, water, and waste reduction targets for agencies, including:

* 30 percent reduction in vehicle fleet petroleum use by 2020;
* 26 percent improvement in water efficiency by 2020;
* 50 percent recycling and waste diversion by 2015;
* 95 percent of all applicable contracts will meet sustainability requirements;
* Implementation of the 2030 net-zero-energy building requirement;
* Implementation of the stormwater provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, section 438; and
* Development of guidance for sustainable Federal building locations in alignment with the Livability Principles put forward by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

[Graeme]

Are Developed Economies Fiscally Sustainable?

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')his edition examines the fiscal sustainability of developed economies. The context is that before the crisis there were already structural problems that had caused government deficits to expand such as aging populations, growing welfare programs, lack of spending discipline, etc. Then came the crisis.

The global financial crisis required massive stimulus measures to attempt to limit the damage. For the time being it appears to have worked (beyond the scope of this article). But on the fiscal sustainability front this has taken what was already a huge problem and, without right action, could set developed nations and (through the deadly force of contagion) the world on a course to the next crisis; called 'sovereign default'.

The consequences of inaction could well be financial ruin, and when governments go bankrupt; who bails them out? In the usual format, the following 5 graphs will be examined for insights as regards this issue. At the conclusion the options for developed nations will be listed, and the implications for those reading will be highlighted.

[Graeme]

Davos: Business Leaders Focus on 5 Sustainability Themes

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')s I write from the World Economic Forum, having attended an event with some of the UN leadership and CEOs from various sectors, I’m further reminded of the growing prominence of sustainability issues in both core business strategy and mainstream geo-politics. This was was barely thinkable even five years ago.

As I reflect on this, five themes emerged for me from my Davos conversations that are consistent with what I’m hearing from clients. They also seem to fit well with Davos’s own core theme as business leaders consider their own contribution to “Improve the State of the World: Rethink, Redesign, Rebuild”. These five themes take us from ensuring the global stability and legitimacy of capitalism through to the imperative of execution.

But for now, based on what I have gleaned from my own client discussions and from Davos I see five key themes emerging amongs CEOs across industries and geographies:

1. Stability: Business leaders across sectors and geographies are concerned that the global economic situation is putting capitalism and a commitment to free markets themselves at question. They fear a resurgence of populist measures and protectionism that could act as a brake to global recovery and growth. They feel the urgent need for business leaders and the UN to restate the positive role that companies can play in generating wealth and to redouble the efforts to do that in a way that contributes to sustainable development outcomes, verifiably.

So it isn’t good enough just to make the "business case" for sustainability but also at a much more fundamental level, "making the case for business."

[Graeme]

What Is Fiscal Sustainability?

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')nd then I defined “fiscal sustainability” this way:

”Fiscal sustainability” is the extent to which patterns of Government spending do not undermine the capability of the Government to continue to spend to achieve its public purposes.”

This definition can be consistent with worries about deficits, debts, and debt-to-GDP ratios; but only if the Government’s ability to spend is operationally limited by its ability to tax or to borrow. If it could not tax or could not borrow any additional money to use to increase spending to accomplish its public purposes, then it would be true that any short-term increase in spending that outran its ability to gather revenues over time would be "fiscally unsustainable."

These are some of the questions that will be addressed at the Fiscal Sustainability Teach-In Counter-Conference to be held on April 28th in Washington, DC at the George Washington University. Don’t miss the Teach-In Counter-Conference. Help us make it a success. Follow-up afterwards by watching the youtubes and the documentary therealnews.com will be making about the event, and by organizing fiscal sustainability teach-ins in your community.

[Graeme]

From Scream to Dream: the Inspiring Influence of Herman Daly

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'D')aly’s explanations of how the economy works and the necessary transition from growth to sustainability tend to resonate with people who have studied natural sciences, as well as people who mindfully observe the world around them. He provides analyses and descriptions that are drawn from fundamental scientific principles, and he connects dots in an inspiring way. He certainly inspired me to get back into economics. His insights helped me understand that we can build a better economic framework. I came full circle from giving up on the madness of economics to embracing steady state economics as a calling.

My favorite book by Herman Daly, not surprisingly, is Steady-State Economics. I picked up a used copy somewhere along the line, and I’ve highlighted it and scribble comments in the margins. But there is something unusual about my copy – it’s printed backwards. The introduction is at the back of the book, and the conclusion is at the front. You literally have to read it right to left. When I first got it, I thought about returning it, but then I realized it was perfect – perhaps the book that turns mainstream economics on its head ought to run in a different direction.

[Graeme]

Creating a game plan for the transition to a sustainable U.S. economy

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he Obama administration should take advantage of the economic crisis to redefine the country’s social goals to prioritize sustainable human well-being and not just grow the economy. We should strive for a future that has full employment and more leisure time to spend with friends and family, thereby reducing conspicuous consumption and poverty. This article envisions what that society might look like with redefined goals, and includes specific ideas as to how to achieve this vision.

Key Concepts
•The economic crisis should be viewed as an opportunity to drastically reprioritize our goals to emphasize sustainable design and healthy living over economic growth
•If we take small steps, we will never achieve real reform. Now is the time for bold action
•China has a vision for moving forward, while the U.S. is on the defensive
•Five key steps must be taken: getting off fossil fuels, taking money out of politics, shifting values, changing the structure of the corporation, and moving to a full-cost accounting system.

The Game Plan Concepts and Actions
This shift from a single-issue focus to shared purpose must be guided by five broad concepts and actions:
1. Getting money out of politics. One could argue that our political process in the United States remains primarily an extension of big money and the power it confers. Until we can separate money and politics, we will never have a political process or democracy that acts in the best interest of all stakeholders. Publicly financed elections are a first and essential step. The Center for Responsive Politics reports that 2,225 lobbyists from energy companies now are working on Capitol Hill to influence climate legislation, outnumbering environmental lobbyists nearly five to one. Spending by lobbyists was on record pace in 2009, with the oil, gas, and utility industries outspending alternative energy industries 10 to one (see www.opensecrets.org/). In other words, the dominant army of lobbyists represents companies that produce and burn carbon-intensive fuels, protecting their perceived right to pollute and to profit from this practice.
In the fall of 2009—one year before the next congressional election—data from the Federal Election Commission indicated that oil and gas interests already had contributed $6.3 million to candidates for federal office in the 2010 election cycle. Electric utilities had contributed about the same; coal interests had contributed more than $850,000. So long as these firms continue trying to maintain our old energy economy rather than joining the inevitable shift to a new one, it's safe to assume the fossil energy sector will fight the election of a Congress that facilitates a rapid transition away from the fossil energy era.
Current secular law makes this legal; moral law does not. Voters, who vastly outnumber lobbyists when they show up, must insist that Congress reform the undue influence of money in government, starting with much greater public financing of political campaigns.

[Graeme]

Although this news is not strictly fiscal, private sector practises will affect government revenue.

Global businesses predict a more sustainable future

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A') new global survey of companies has reported that 80% of chief executives believe sustainability will be "fully integrated across their global business" in 10 to 15 years' time.

The study of 766 CEOs, to be launched at the UN's Business Leader's Summit on Thursday, shows that sustainability ranks higher on their agendas now, compared to three years ago, but that business leaders are struggling to implement sustainability in the companies under their control.

The term "sustainability" was classified in the UN report to encompass 10 environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) principles, including three environmental criteria: "businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges"; "undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility"; and "encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies."

[Graeme]

CBO Reveals Magnitude of Reform Needed for Sustainable Fiscal Future

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released their annual Long-Term Budget Outlook today, and the updated projections—which include the effects of Obamacare—paint a grim picture. If Obamacare really did bend the cost curve down, CBO shows little evidence of it in this report.

In fact, CBO openly admits that “projections understate the severity of the long-term budget problem because they do not incorporate the significant negative effects that accumulating substantial amounts of additional federal debt would have on the economy.”

Here are a few highlights:

* Debt held by the public will reach 62 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the end of this year — this is the highest percentage since 1951.
* Under current law, federal spending on major mandatory health care programs will grow from approximately 5 percent of GDP today to about 10 percent in 2035, which includes ALL effects of the Obamacare legislation.
* Although CBO projects the Obamacare to reduce federal budget deficits over the first 10 years, it is expected to increase federal spending in the next 10 years and for most of the next decade. By 2030 CBO admits Obamacare will only “slightly” reduce federal spending for health care.
* Social Security rises from 4.8 percent of GDP today to 6.2 percent in 2035.
* Medicare rises to 7 percent of GDP under a current policy baseline.
* Medicaid, CHIP, and exchange subsides rise from 1.9 percent of GDP today to 3.9 percent in 2035 under current policy.
* Spending on the major mandatory health care programs and Social Security will grow from roughly 10 percent of GDP today to about 16 percent of GDP 25 years from now under current law.
* Under current policy, debt held by the public reaches 87 percent of GDP by 2020. Afterward CBO says, “the growing imbalance between revenues and noninterest spending, combined with spiraling interest payments, would swiftly push debt to unsustainable levels,” reaching 185 percent in 2035.
* The deficit is projected to reach 15.9 percent in 2035 under current policy.

The nation is currently on an unsustainable path, and to avoid economic catastrophe significant reforms must be implemented. This report should alert us all to the magnitude of reductions in federal spending we must make to return the nation to sustainability.

[Graeme]

Food and agriculture in a steady state economy

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')ince sustainable scale is the most important feature of a steady state economy (i.e., the economy must fit within the capacity of the ecosystems that contain it), the first issue to investigate is how environmental systems are responding to agricultural practices – in particular, the effects of agricultural practices on climate. There is growing evidence that animal agriculture is the number one cause of global climate destabilization, contributing more than all global transport put together. Former World Bank ecologist Robert Goodland has produced an analysis showing that at least half of the human-caused greenhouse gases come from the production of domesticated animals. Livestock and their byproducts account for over 32.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year, or roughly 51% of annual worldwide greenhouse gases (see Worldwatch Nov./Dec. 2009).

Here is the unsettling irony: factory-farm dominated agriculture, as a major climate destabilizer, is creating long-term weather changes that compromise the ability of the earth to produce food.

Plant ecologists estimate that for every 1 degree Celsius temperature increase, grain yields drop 10%. Climate disruption has led to serious melting of snowpacks and glaciers in most places. In the Western U.S. where snowpacks store about 75% of the water supply, the Natural Resources Defense Council reports that climate change could reduce this to 40% by 2060. Similar concerns exist for the great Asian rivers like the Ganges and the Mekong that originate in the Tibetan plateau.

These impacts are not being imposed on a planet whose soils and grasslands are in wonderful condition and whose groundwater has been safeguarded and not pumped beyond recharge. These impacts are not being imposed on a planet whose human population has stabilized but rather is likely to reach 9-11 billion by 2050.

In contrast to this grim picture of the agricultural capacity of the planet, many encouraging trends in food production are emerging. Examples include growth of organic food consumption, expansion of farmers markets, the local food movement, the slow food movement, the food-miles movement, and initiatives to get healthy food into schools – all of which are heading in promising directions.

A steady state economy would bolster these trends. It would move away from control of food by transnational corporations and toward an increased number and diversity of small and medium-sized farms, and healthy rural communities. Revamped agricultural systems would provide many varieties of food in ways that conserve soil and water and maintain long-term fertility of the land.

These promising developments are taking place not because of, but in spite of, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has for the most part been a giant promoter of animal slum operations and presider over the demise of the family farm.

[Pops]

Here is the original site for that story, BlahBlah Steady State Economy. I have their feed in my reader, they usually post something about once a week. I like 'em.

[Graeme]

Thanks for the link. I'm sure others will be interested in it too.

[Graeme]

Steady state economics and the new Congress

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'M')y New Year’s wish is for everyone to see the movie Inside Job. It’s a dynamic overview of the people, forces, and philosophy behind the global financial crisis and the ensuing bailouts of the “too-big-to-fail” banks and investment firms. Inside Job shows how pervasive the corruption of the global financial system has become. The movie singles out various Democrats and Republicans as being part of the problem, but it also contains scenes of some keen Congressional investigators such as Senator Levin of Michigan, Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, who is shown grilling the heads of the big banks and exposing the kinds of swindles that took place.

Advocates of the steady state economy should be working more closely with the cutting-edge organizations fighting global corruption because the corruption and its attendant bribery of public officials is undermining governance around the world.

The ongoing economic depression is the very time steady state advocates should be pushing for a totally different way of proceeding, a way to avoid the boom and busts of the past. We need to blow right by the typical politicians pushing their pet hackneyed ideas for getting the economy moving.

We don’t want to return to the same spot we were in, only to have a new round of speculators crash the economic system and undermine governance. It is important, therefore, to force decision makers in Congress and the Executive Branch to think about a paradigm shift and what a steady state economy would look like.

One obvious approach is to continue increasing the teach-ins, symposiums, and conferences that feature this deep economic debate. CASSE (the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy) can provide the names of experts to university groups, religious congregations, and public interest organizations who want to host events to educate their members and the public about new economic models.


On behalf of the Tax Justice Network with participation by Common Cause, Public Citizen, and Friends of the Earth, we paraded in front of the U.S. Chamber and laid out the charges against it. For example, the Chamber is seeking to weaken the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and is blocking efforts to abolish offshore tax havens, which contain vast sums of money (about $20 trillion) that go untaxed by any jurisdiction.

In addition to protests, rallies, and teach-ins, there may be other opportunities to confront the new Congress to get a deeper economic discussion going. Here are a couple of possibilities. Given the stated desire of most of the 97 new Members to cut federal spending, Congress should be challenged to eliminate the subsidies for polluting industries, especially for fossil fuels. The last Congress unfortunately continued the big subsidy for corn ethanol that will cost several hundred billion dollars by the year 2022. The new Congress could reverse this decision, and it could cut the agricultural commodity subsidies that benefit agribusiness and undermine organic food production. The challenge is to make the Congress vote and then we can tabulate the results and expose any hypocrites.