Visioning the Green Economy
Molly Scott Cato
Reader in Green Economics
Cardiff School of Management
Ecological Balance rather than Economic Growth
From cowboy to spaceman
A steady-state economyAn end to
economic growthRate of
throughput of resources slower than the ability of the planet to regenerate
Evolution rather than growth
An economy that fits within its ecosystem
From linear to cyclical economy ‘extracts fossil fuels and
ores at one end and transforms them into commodities and waste products’
‘cannot turn pots back into clay’
Permaculture suggests the need to reuse our wastes
Industrial ecology Designing with nature
in mind Examines the impact
of industry and technology on the biophysical environment
Examines local, regional and global flows of materials and energy in products, processes, industrial sectors and economies
Natural metabolismBusinesses should ‘match the metabolism of
the natural world’‘Products that, when their useful life is over,
do not become useless waste but can be tossed on to the ground to decompose and become food for plants and animals and nutrients for soil’—Jonathan Porritt
‘Buildings that, like trees, produce more energy than they consume and purify their own waste water’
A new consumption ethic
The bioregional economy
‘All life on the planet is interconnected . . . But there is a distinct resonance among living things and the factors which influence them that occurs specifically within each separate place on the planet. Discovering and describing that resonance is the best way to describe a bioregion.’
An economy embedded in its local environment ‘Borrowing our resources from the local natural
environment’
Localisation and reskilling
A convivial economy
Find out more:
My Blog:www.gaianeconomics.blogspot.com
Green Economics: An Introduction to Theory, Policy and Practice
(Earthscan, 2009)
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