How Our Growth-Hungry Economy Has Devastated the Planet -- And How We Can Change Course
http://www.alternet.org/environment/how-our-growth-hungry-economy-has-devastated-planet-and-how-we-can-change-course
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The main problem with pursuing never-ending growth stems from the fact that the economy is a subsystem of the biosphere. All of the inputs to the economy come from the environment, and all of the wastes produced by it return to the environment. As the economy expands, it consumes more materials and energy, and emits more wastes. But since we live on a finite planet, this process can’t go on forever. Like an inner tube inside a tire, the subsystem can only grow so large compared to the system that contains it.
The size of the economy is typically measured using gross domestic product (GDP). GDP is the total amount of money spent on all final goods and services produced within a country over the course of a year. Since one person’s spending is another person’s income, GDP is also the total income of everyone in the country. GDP functions as an indicator of the overall level of economic activity—of money changing hands. Economic growth, as reported in the media at least, refers to GDP growth, which is equivalent to an increase in the amount of money changing hands.
A helpful place to turn for a long-term perspective on GDP growth is the work of economic historian Angus Maddison. During his distinguished career, Maddison compiled a remarkable data series on population and GDP starting in the year 1 c.e. and running to 2008.
For most of human history, the size of the economy was small compared to the size of the biosphere. But over the last hundred years or so, this balance has changed remarkably owing to the increase in the number of people in the world and the growth in each person’s consumption of goods and services.
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by Eric Hellweg | 2:09 PM January 25, 2013
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/01/is_your_company_ready_for_the.html
There's nothing like being alone on a highly experimental 75-foot boat five days from anywhere to make you realize some pretty profound things. For Ellen MacArthur, who twice solo circumnavigated the globe on said sailboat — the second time setting the world record for speed in doing so (71 days, 14 hours) — her realization came when she considered the finite resources she had to pack with her for those two-plus months alone. Seeing the world as she did through her trip, she began to appreciate the finite resources of the planet.
Not long after she reached shore, she decided to do something about it. She started an eponymous foundation focused on understanding a better way for the economy to manage its resources. Her investigation led to a concept now known as the "circular economy" — a phrase I heard quite a bit at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos this year. If some of the buzz is any indication — and I believe it will be — it's a concept that will gain a lot of traction this year as more companies look for ways to better manage dwindling natural resources and more consumers demand action on environmental issues.
I had a chance to meet with Ellen in Davos to learn more about the concept of a circular economy. Below is an edited transcript of our conversation.
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http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/
