Redefining Prosperity The Economics of Sustainability Heather Reynolds Department of Biology T-200...

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Redefining ProsperityThe Economics of Sustainability

Heather ReynoldsDepartment of Biology

T-200 Living a Sustainable Life



















Agenda

I. Conventional economics & prosperity as growthII. Abundance or limits?III. Ecological economics & redefining prosperity

I. Conventional economics & prosperity as growth

(from Daly 1996)

Households Businesses

$

$

Goods and services

Factors of production(labor)

Conventional Economics

Economic development Economic growth GNP, GDP, total & per capita



Weaknesses?

• leaves out the equitability of income distribution

• leaves out foreign debts

• ignores non-monetary aspects of quality of life e.g. volunteerism, growing own food, homemaking, bartering, etc.

• counts any $$ transaction as good even $$ spent on crime, sickness, natural disasters, pollution, etc.

• doesn’t consider environmental depletion & degradation external costs, generally not factored into market prices

• assumes more consumer goods increases our well-being

II. Abundance or limits?



“If we are going to carry on growing, and we will, because no country is going to forfeit its right to economic growth, we have to find a way of doing it sustainably.”

-Tony Blair

Real GDP per working-age person in the United States, 1900-2005


$

$

Goods and services

Factors of production



“The idea that the natural world is inevitably destroyed byhuman industry, or than excessive demand for resourcescauses environmental ills, is a simplification….Designbased on nature’s effectiveness…can solve rather thanalleviate the problems industry creates, allowing both business and nature to be fecund and productive.”

-William McDonnough & Michael Braungart

The Next Industrial Revolution?

Too Good To Be True?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090719185452.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090719185452.htm


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X

SolarEnergy

NaturalCapital

• renewable• non-renewable

Human-madeCapital

• human• manufactured



Daly 2005

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Ecosystem Services and Their Links to Human Well-being

MEA 2003. Ecosystems and human well-being: A framework for assessment.http://www.maweb.org/en/index.aspx

http://www.maweb.org/en/index.aspx

Ecological Footprint

Amount of biologically productive land and water required to provide all needed resourcesand assimilate all wastes of a given human beingor human population.

William Rees & Mathius Wackernagel

Wackernagel & Rees. 1996. Our ecological footprint. New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, B.C.

NaturalCapital

• renewable• non-renewable

Human-madeCapital

• human• manufactured

Human population

Size Resource Use

Human enterprisesAgriculture Industry Recreation International commerce

Land transformation

Land clearingForestryGrazing

Intensification

Globalbiogeochemistry

CarbonNitrogen

WaterSynthetic chemicals

Other elements

Biotic additionsand losses

InvasionsHunting Fishing

Climate change

Enhanced greenhouse

Aerosols

Land cover

Loss ofbiological diversity

Extinction of speciesand populations

Loss of ecosystemsVitousek et al. 1997 Science. 277:494-499.

We the undersigned, senior members of the world's scientific community, hereby warn all humanity of what lies ahead. A great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided and our global home on this planet is not to be irretrievably mutilated.

http://www.ucsusa.org/about/1992-world-scientists.html

World Scientists’ Warning to HumanityNovember, 1992

http://www.ucsusa.org/about/1992-world-scientists.html

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Overview of Findings

• Over the past 50 years, humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable period of time in human history, largely to meet rapidly growing demands for food, fresh water, timber, fiber and fuel

• The changes that have been made to ecosystems have contributed to substantial net gains in human well-being and economic development, but these gains have been achieved at growing costs in the form of the degradation of many ecosystem services, increased risks of nonlinear changes, and the exacerbation of poverty for some groups of people

• The degradation of ecosystem services could grow significantly worse during the first half of this century and is a barrier to achieving the Millennium Development Goals

• The challenge of reversing the degradation of ecosystems while meeting increasing demands for their services can be partially met under some scenarios that the MA has considered but these involve significant changes in policies, institutions and practices, that are not currently under way

MEA 2005. Full slideshow of findings.http://www.maweb.org/en/SlidePresentations.aspx

Degradation and unsustainable use of ecosystem services

• Approximately 60% (15 out of 24) of the ecosystem services evaluated in this assessment are being degraded or used unsustainably

• The degradation of ecosystem services often causes significant harm to human well-being and represents a loss of a natural asset or wealth of a country

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MEA 2005. Full slideshow of findings.http://www.maweb.org/en/SlidePresentations.aspx

1.0

Earths used by humanity

Earths available

‘61 ‘81 ‘99

Year

1.2

0.7# Ea

rthsOvershoot

Analysis based on six human activities assuming current levels of technology: agriculture (cropland), raising animals (pastureland), harvesting timber (timberland), fishing (fishing grounds), construction of gray infrastructure (consumed land), burning fossil fuels (energy land). Wackernagel et al. 2002, PNAS 99:9266-9271

III. Ecological economics & redefining prosperity

(From Daly 1996)

ecosystem

M

E

M

E

Srecycle

H

economy

Ecological Economics


$

$

Goods and services

Factors of production

Conventional Economics

Growth Economy Steady-state Economy

Economic development Sustainable development

http://www.steadystate.org

http://bloomington.in.gov/environment/

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Ecosystem Services and Their Links to Human Well-being

MEA 2003. Ecosystems and human well-being: A framework for assessment.http://www.maweb.org/en/index.aspx

Random House Dictionary definition: a successful,flourishing, thriving condition, esp. in financial respects; good fortune.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/prosperity

Redefining ProsperityGrowth vs. Development

Growth Developmentvs.

New roads Public & alternative transportation(trains, buses, bikes, pedestrian trails)

Clearing forests for agriculture Urban agriculture (rooftops, yards,vacant lots)

More coal plants Energy efficiency & renewables

More housing divisions Infill & redevelopment

More private shopping, entertainmentand recreation districts

More public spaces for art & theatremore greenspaces



http://www.uvm.edu/giee/?Page=genuine/index.html

Redefining ProsperityQuality of Life Indicators



Costanza et al. 2007. Ecological Economics 61:267-276

Achieving Prosperous, Sustainable EconomiesRelocalization







• sustainable scale; fit to local ecosystems• diversified; local production, local markets

• alternative transportation• compact, mixed-use design

• energy-efficient homes• emphasis on self-sufficiency• local food, organic practices (food security)

Stabilized population and consumptionFair distribution of wealth

What You Can Do

Think Globally, Flourish Locally



















What You Can Do

• 3 credits(Natural & Math. Sciences)• Counts as a Collins Seminar• Cross-listed in the Dept. of Religious Studies

CLLC L230Learning from Nature:PermacultureJune 5th - 19th, 2011Application: TBA


http://www.indiana.edu/~llc/academics/permaculture.shtml

What You Can Do




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http://www.steadystate.org


http://simplycsl.org/http://bloomington.in.gov/ Peak Oil Task Forcehttp://www.indiana.edu/~sustain









What You Can DoThink Globally, Flourish Locally





Friday, October 1 Public Lecture: Majora Carter, environmentalIU Auditorium activist and consultant10:00a Part of greenINg our economy, a Student Empowerment Summit

Friday, October 1 Student Empowerment Summit: greenINg our economyKelley School of featuring Majora CarterBusiness, CG3056Noon-3:00p Registration required, limited to 150 students

Monday, October 4 Public Lecture: Robert Costanza, Portland State UniversityGeorgian Room, IMU The Ecological Economics of Sustainability: Moving Beyond 12:00-1:30p Debate to Dialogue and Problem-Solving

Monday, October 4 Panel Discussion: Toward a 3rd Millenium EconomySwain West 007 Joined by Bloomington Councilman and Peak Oil Task Force7:00-9:00p leader Dave Rollo and Peak Oil Task Force Members

Gary Charbonneau, Peter Bane, and Christine Glaser

http://themester.indiana.edu/

Redefining Prosperity The Economics of Sustainability Heather Reynolds Department of Biology T-200...

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