Home » Posts tagged 'consumption' (Page 2)
Tag Archives: consumption
You don’t have to live like this—review of Kate Soper’s Post-Growth Living
You don’t have to live like this—review of Kate Soper’s Post-Growth Living In her new book, Post-Growth Living: For an Alternative Hedonism, Kate Soper calls for a vision of the good life not reliant on endless economic growth and points us to the ways in which our current patterns of living are not only environmentally […]
Central Planners At Work
Central Planners At Work Consumption without Production “Every man is a consumer, and ought to be a producer”, observed 19th century philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. “He is by constitution expensive, and needs to be rich.” Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882), who inter alia opined on consumers and the need to not only consume, but also […]
Human over-consumption causes far more biodiversity loss than climate change
Human over-consumption causes far more biodiversity loss than climate change Preface. Human ancestors began reducing biodiversity 4 million years ago, when large carnivores in Africa began disappearing, probably due to our ancestors stealing food predators had caught, starving them to death and eventually driving some of them extinct (Faurby, S., et al. 2020. Brain expansion […]
This Sucker’s Going Down: The Destruction of Demand
This Sucker’s Going Down: The Destruction of Demand Demand based on debt, unfulfilled promises and unaffordable habits is burning down. The first-order effect of the lockdown was demand destruction as shelter-in-place orders and business closures restricted consumers’ ability to spend. The second-order effect will be the permanent destruction of demand because people will realize they’re better off […]
The Biggest Economic Threat Today
The Biggest Economic Threat Today Kind heaven, no! A fresh economic scourge is upon the land. Announces CNN: “New Threat to the Economy: Americans Are Saving Like It’s the 1980s.” Is a higher evil possible? Thus we are informed: Americans are slashing their spending, hoarding cash and shrinking their credit card debt as they fear […]
Chinese Debt Could Cause Emerging Markets to Implode
CHINESE DEBT COULD CAUSE EMERGING MARKETS TO IMPLODE The novel coronavirus has brought the world economy to a grinding halt. Global growth is set to fall from 2.9 percent last year into deep negative territory in 2020—the only year besides 2009 that this has happened since World War II. Recovery will likely be slow and […]
Permaculture Alternatives to Waste-to-Energy (W2E)
Permaculture Alternatives to Waste-to-Energy (W2E) Waste-to-energy (W2E), particularly incineration, is being promoted as a good alternative to landfills – it gets rid of all that plastic we use and generate energy, right? In this article I’d like to first outline what’s wrong with W2E and then talk about permaculture alternatives. So What Is Wrong With […]
Strategies for Cultural Change: Degrowth and the Use of Space
Strategies for Cultural Change: Degrowth and the Use of Space Degrowth addresses the negative consequences of consumerism (psychological stress, long working hours and positional competition) and discusses the benefits of frugal lifestyles. Henri Lefebvre, a French philosopher from the 20th century, argues that if ideas or values are not physically implemented in space, they become mere […]
Moving towards low-carbon lifestyles: a question of collective action
Moving towards low-carbon lifestyles: a question of collective action Our way of life must change if we want to avoid climate breakdown—but how much can we do as individuals? Ahead of the upcoming ICTA-UAB Conference on Low-Carbon Lifestyle Changes, Joël Foramitti, Lorraine Whitmarsh and Angela Druckman are outlining a roadmap. ***** Recent news about the state […]
Retire early… to save the planet?
Retire early… to save the planet? If it’s not this, it must be the opposite. How often do you witness this sort of thinking? When I pay attention I find it’s everywhere, framing nearly every argument. Author Daniel Quinn calls it two-handedness: imagining there are only two options, usually framed as opposites. Democrat or Republican. […]
The Country Using The Most Electricity May Surprise You
The Country Using The Most Electricity May Surprise You In 2017, global electricity consumption increased 2.5 percent to reach 25,721 Twh. When it comes to consumption, China uses the most of any country at 25.9 percent, followed by the United States with 17.5 percent; but, as Statista’s Niall McCarthy notes, on a per capita basis, the situation is different. According […]
On Finding Our Authentic Selves: or, the True and the False in the Age of Rousseau
On Finding Our Authentic Selves: or, the True and the False in the Age of Rousseau Being Part 3 of: Why Liberals Should be Conservative: Climate Change, Excellence, and the Practice of Happiness It may be urged that every individual man carries, within himself, at least in his adaptation and destination, a purely ideal man. […]
The Lab Rat That Survives Is The One Who Escapes
vinepair.com The Lab Rat That Survives Is The One Who Escapes To prosper, break free of society’s efforts to control you. If you’re feeling like a lab rat in a science experiment, manipulated by shadowy forces for unknown purposes, that’s because you’re waking up to the reality of the situation. We are a nation of […]
David Holmgren: A Baby Boomers’ Apology
David Holmgren: A Baby Boomers’ Apology There are days, though all too scarce, when very nice surprises come my way. Case in point: yesterday I received a mail from David Holmgren after a long period of radio silence. Australia’s David is one of the fathers of permaculture, along with Bill Mollison, for those few who […]
