Take a Position: “Pointers” For Sustainability

1. Take a Position: “Pointers” For Sustainability

2. Students for Sustainable Communities Nate Fleming Kevin Hite Joe Kottwitz etc. College of Natural Resources TWS, Stevens Point Student Chapter But first some thank-yous…

3. Which city in the world has the most CASSE signatories? Not So Trivial Stevens Point!

4. Before getting to position-taking, let’s clear up some technical issues.

5. an increase in the production and consumption of goods and services typically expressed in terms of GDP facilitated by increasing: population per capita consumption Economic Growth

6. Neoclassical Economy $ Business Household

7. With Economic Growth $ Household Business

8. Natural Capital Pollutants Natural Capital Heat Ecological Economy

9. Natural Capital Pollutants Natural Capital Heat With Economic Growth

10. K Natural capital allocated to biodiversity GDP Natural capital allocated to human economy Time Czech, B. 2000. Wildlife Society Bulletin 28(1):4-14.

12. Causes of Species Endangerment as a “Who’s Who” of the Economy Empirical Evidence

13. Agricultural and extractive sectors Manufacturing sectors Service sectors Economic infrastructure Economic byproducts (pollution) Urbanization International trade Endangerment Causes Czech et al. 2000. Bioscience 50(7):593-601.

14. Macroeconomic Policy Implication

15. Steady State Economy K To conserve biodiversity ... GDP ...maintain steady state economy sufficiently below K. Time

16. But...

17. "What about technological progress?"

18. Vernacular: invention, innovation Technical: increasing productive efficiency resulting from invention and innovation Technological Progress

19. Fixed amount of energy, matter (E = mc2) Entropy Thermodynamics

20. Consider the Sources

21. Consider the Sources R&D Czech, B. 2008. Conservation Biology 22:1389-1398.

22. Consider the Sources R&D Profits Czech, B. 2008. Conservation Biology 22:1389-1398.

23. Consider the Sources R&D Profits Economies of scale Czech, B. 2008. Conservation Biology 22:1389-1398.

24. “Chicken-Egg Spiral” K TP3 TP2 Environmental Threat TP1 GDP-TP

25. The “Information Economy” Red Herring Alert!!! • What is the information used for? • How does one come to afford the information?

26. Limits to Growth?

27. € € = € €

28. Sustainability = € €

29. Stable production and consumption of goods and services Indicated by stable GDP Stabilized: population per capita consumption “throughput” Steady State Economy

30. And yet we hear, “Some people just don’t get it. There is no conflict between growing the economy and protecting the environment!” How does this prevail?

31. 1) Classical economics 2) Combination of political and economic systems, especially at the national scale 3) Politics of economic activity 4) Politics of any activity (economic focus) Political Economy

32. 1) Classical economics 2) Combination of political and economic systems, especially at the national scale 3) Politics of economic activity 4) Politics of any activity (economic focus) Political Economy

33. Prominent corporate community Campaign financing favors “big money” Neoclassical economics Economic growth a primary, perennial, bipartisan goal Political Economy of Biodiversity Conservation

34. Special interest group Supportive political faction “Captured” profession, society, or agency "Iron Triangle"

35. Iron Triangle Neoclassical Economics Politicians Macroeconomic Policy Corporations

36. “The corporate consensus rises above the competitive advantage of particular corporations, and is larger than any industry…Corporate power is dependent on legal, economic, and political mechanisms, structures, and processes…” Public Information Network, www.endgame.org Corporations

37. Selected by or beholden to large donors (i.e., corporations) Heavily invested in corporations Advised by neoclassical economists Politicians

38. University departments endowed by corporations Research funded by corporations Hired by corporations Appointed by politicians Neoclassical Economists

39. Weakness? Neoclassical Economics Politicians Economic Policy Table Corporations

40. Of Course Politicians Neoclassical Economics Economic Policy Table Corporations

41. Access to Policy Table Politicians Neoclassical Economics Ecological Economics Economic Policy Table Corporations

42. Academia Non-governmental organizations Public Politicians, political parties Government Advancing the Steady State Economy

43. Academia Non-governmental organizations Public Politicians, political parties Government Advancing the Steady State Economy

44. Professional, scientific societies that… study issues. develop policy positions or resolutions. Other non-profit organizations that… educate publics and policy makers. advance issues. induce political action. Non-Governmental Organizations

45. Professional, scientific societies that… study issues. develop policy positions or resolutions. Other non-profit organizations that… educate publics and policy makers. advance issues. induce political action. Non-Governmental Organizations

46. U.S. Society for Ecological Economics (2003) The Wildlife Society (2004) Society for Conservation Biology – North America Section (2004) American Society of Mammalogists (2007) British Columbia Field Ornithologists (2007) Professional Society Positions

47. Ecological Society of America International Society for Ecological Economics Society for Conservation Biology American Fisheries Society Society for Range Management Society for Marine Mammalogy American Sociological Association Positions Under Consideration

48. Why the Focus On Professional Societies?

49. Basic Vision Polities Publics Educational NGOs Professional Societies

50. Iron Triangle Neoclassical Economics Politicians Macroeconomic Policy Corporations