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Bringing disaster preparedness into resilience politics
Bringing disaster preparedness into resilience politics Introduction Most discussion of “sustainability” for the last 30 years has been about how to ensure that what we do today is not at the expense of future generations. This is supposed to be so that future generations are safe from the damage done when current generations over-exploit the […]
Plunder of the Commons: A Manifesto for Sharing Public Wealth by Guy Standing
Plunder of the Commons: A Manifesto for Sharing Public Wealth by Guy Standing Solving the problems of our times together by reviving the commons Anyone looking for an excellent description of the damaging effects of austerity will find it in this book. Anyone looking for an analysis of the ecological crisis and what to do […]
The school of economics as a suicide academy?
The school of economics as a suicide academy? “Anyone who thinks that economic growth can continue for ever on a finite planet is either a madman or an economist.” Kenneth Boulding The Limits to Growth Study of 1972 In 1972 economists became embroiled in a controversy with a group of systems scientists from the Massachusetts Institute […]
The Punishment of Nemesis
The Punishment of Nemesis “Heraclitus, the inventor of the notion of the constant change of things, nevertheless set a limit to this perpetual process. This limit was symbolized by Nemesis, the goddess of moderation and implacable enemy of the immoderate.” A story that gets repeated over and again – hybris. Certain stories recur in the […]
Cursed to live in interesting times
Cursed to live in interesting times In this article I connect the fall in the growth rate, with its roots in the rising costs of energy extraction and generation, to declining resilience in the economic system. These are in turn related to a more conflict ridden geo-politics. There is an increased vulnerability to shocks which […]
The real lesson of the Energiewende is that the German economy uses too much energy to be sustainable and needs to degrow…
The real lesson of the Energiewende is that the German economy uses too much energy to be sustainable and needs to degrow… Implications of a study by Hans Werner Sinn, ifo Institute Munich For a long time Germany’s attempt to grapple with atomic power, climate change and energy issues through its so called “Energiewende” (Energy […]
Limits to Economic Growth?
Limits to Economic Growth? These are notes from a short lecture given at Nottingham University on 28th November 2017. Click on the images to enlarge them. 1 Production Increase During the 17th and 18th centuries the rise of mercantile power, colonialism and a slave economy was associated with the development of the idea that “improvement” […]
The future of renewable energy
The future of renewable energy I’ve been reflecting on the idea that the current energy system is starting to be swept along by a technological revolution somewhat akin to the “revolution” over the last 30 years in computers and telecommunications that has brought personal computers, mobile phones and the internet. Read some of the literature […]
Shale Euphoria: The Boom and Bust of Sub Prime Oil and Natural Gas
Shale Euphoria: The Boom and Bust of Sub Prime Oil and Natural Gas Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first send mad Introduction The aim of this article is to show that the shale industry, whether extracting oil or gas, has never been financially sustainable. All around the world it has consistently disappointed […]
