ENV100H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Degrowth, Microsoft Onenote, Consumerism

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crimsonwoodchuck422

14 Dec 2018

School

UTSG

Department

School of Environment

Course

ENV100H1

Professor

Simon Appolloni

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12/14/2018 OneNote Online

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Week10:(15/11/2018)

Thursday,November15,2018 12:48PM

RequiredReadings:

QuestioningEconomicGrowth...byPeterVictor(page370‑371)

ConsumptiontoSatisfyOurNeedsbyDavidSuzuki(page37‑49)

ReverendBilly;sCrusadeagainstthe'Shopocolypse'inFES(page30‑32)



Reading#1:QuestioningEconomicGrowth‑PETERVICTOR

THESIS:

•"ourglobaleconomymustoperatewithinplanetarylimitstopromotestability,resilienceand

wellbeing,notrisingGDP."

•"developedeconomiesmustchartacoursetowardslivingwithinafairshare,andnomore,ofthe

planet'ssafeoperatingspace"



NOTES:

•Theplanetcan'tsustaincontinuedglobaleconomicgrowth

•EconomistROBERTSOLOW(NobelPrizeinEconomics)

○SaidthatU.SandEuropemightfindthatcontinuedgrowth=toodestructivetoenvironment

+we'retoodependentonscarcenaturalresources

•INSTEAD:steady‑stateeconomicsoreconomic"degrowth"aregainingtraction

•Why?

○Movedbeyond"safeoperatingspace"forclimatechange,nitrogenloadings,and

biodiversitylossandthreatenstofor6othermajorissues

○Tracedtoincreaseinmaterials,fossilfuelsandbiomassused

•Mankind'sthroughput:(amountofmaterials,likefuelthatfeedworld'seconomies)hasincreased

by800%in20thcentury

○Correspondingincreaseinwaste

○PLUSpopulationincreasefrom1.6to6billion

OneOption=GREENGROWTH

○Developedcountriescontinuestrivingforeconomicgrowthwhilereducingimpactson

planet

○Assumeseconomicgrowthcanbedecoupledfrommaterial+energyinputs

○FavoredbyOrganizationforEconomicCo‑operationandDevelopment(OECD)

•Reboundeffect:efficiencyimprovementsoften=changesthatoutweighenvironmentalbenefits

○RecognizedbyW.SJevons(economist)in1865

▪Notedthatsteamengineimprovements=increaseintotalcoalconsumption

▪Reboundof50%notunusual

•Ex.By1910,steamenginesweremuchmoreefficientbut2,000foldrisein

steam‑poweruseincreasedcoalusedramatically



AlternativeOption:

•Shiftgrowthtosectorsthatuselessresources(ex.Servicesector)

•Couldbuytime

•Butnotifitjustoutsourcesresource‑heavyproducts+theirenviroburdens



ThirdOption=LIMITGROWTH

•Toreducegreenhouse‑gasemissions(GHG)by80%over50years,aneconomythatincreasesGDP

by3%/yearhastoreduceemissionsintensity(tonnesofGHGperunitofGDP)by6%everyyear

○Foraneconomythatdoesn'tgrow,theannualcut=3.2%(stillchallenging)

•ReasonsofSupportforrichercountries:

1. Evidencethatgrowthisunrelatedtohappiness

2. Growthaccompaniesincreasinginequality(poorpublichealth,socialunrest)

3. Noimprovementsindevelopingworldifdevelopedkeepsencroachingecologicalspace



DethroningEconomicGrowthisn’tthatimprobable

•RegularGDPestimatesonlydatebackto1940s

•Economicgrowthbecameapolicypriorityonlyinthe50s!

•HERMANDALY(ecologicaleconomist)supportssteadystateeconomicmodel

○Setofprinciplesforlimitingmaterialuse:

▪Harvestofrenewableresourcesshouldn'texceedregenerationrate

▪Rateofextractionofnon–renewableshouldn'texceedrateofcreationofrenewable

substitutes

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