Desirability and feasibility of perpetual economic growth is a matter of academic debate.
As of now degrwoth is not even considered as a climate change mitigation measure in projections of future #climatechange. Instead, they rely on technological innovation and further growth.
Here is cool new paper on the challenges of implementing the concept of #degrowth in models. 👇
Growth or Scale? By Tom Murphy, originally published by Do the Math May 22, 2024
"...It’s not too hard to lay hands on records of global resource use. One publication I ran across has some useful graphs for a few raw materials in common use. The first graph shows annual extraction of copper, zinc, and lead since 1900, usefully...
...From 1960 to 2005, in no region of the world did annual production of timber moderate alongside growth. The total global activity almost doubled (77% increase) over this interval rather than stagnating or tumbling by a factor of two as growth did.
The result for all of these resources is clear: scale is a more apt correlate than growth. The curves bear a family resemblance to the hockey-stick scale curves: far less resemblance to the peaking growth curves. A confounder in this is that per-capita resource extraction has also risen for many materials, in association with economic growth..."
"The literature on degrowth routinely argues (appropriately so) that the global north rather than the global south must be the target for change, but it may well be that the vanguard for degrowth resides, paradoxically, in the global south. It may be that subconscious bias causes us to believe that the global south must catch up with the economic production of the wealthiest states, rather than encouraging us to imagine that the wealthy states need to catch up to the level of consciousness displayed by the most radical societies in the global south."
"Als erstes muss massiv in die Klimaneutralität investiert werden. Dafür ist eine Reform der Schuldenbremse notwendig. Auch die Länder und Kommunen müssen in der Lage sein, den Investitionsstau zu beheben. Auch die Menschen und Unternehmen müssen fit gemacht werden für die klimaneutrale Zukunft."
In the long term, #degrowth does not mean lower algorithmic quality. It means algorithmic diversity. Machine learning is much more than the one architecture that is currently being sold as ‘intelligence’. Machine learning is wonderful. But it can and should be small, energy-efficient and planet-friendly.
Can economic growth be decoupled from emissions? Yes, for sure, easily even.
Can economic growth be decoupled from environmental degradation in general? Absolutely not. The sheer throughput of materials through the economy, from extraction to waste disposal, must decrease. If we address GHG emissions in isolation from topsoil and biodiversity loss, we will fail to preserve the ecosystems on which we depend for life.
Radically Open Security, the nonprofit computer security company donates 90% of its profits to NLnet. Today @ros turned 10 years old and crossed the magical number of 1 million euro in donations to NLnet.
Happy birthday ROS! And thanks a million :-).
We interviewed ROS co-founder and CEO Melanie Rieback to learn why she decided to give the company such an unusual business model.
I didn't expect the #degrowth tag to have such a high proportion of posts arguing against it. Or more often, taking potshots at straw-man versions. So here's a small corrective.
Capitalist growth will doom even its beneficiaries to a hostile future. We need degrowth at every scale, as soon as possible, by any means necessary. Use adblock, become a quiet quitter, eat less meat, sabotage a golf course, learn to compost. We owe this – and much more – to future generations of the living world.
How to unite local initiatives for a more sustainable global future
By Vasilis Kostakis, Nikiforos Tsiouris, originally published by ScienceDirect May 1, 2024
"...In a state of emergency, it is audacious to place all our hopes for tackling the ecological crisis and wealth inequality in technology –worse even, in technology that is yet to materialize... High-tech is not unsustainable in its essence, but its scale and mode of production in the capitalist realm are.
...the crux of the matter is profoundly political. The development and production of technology in the modern era are intricately interwoven with wealth inequality and environmental deterioration. Technology is not being produced in a vacuum, thus it is not neutral. On the contrary, it is highly influenced by the decisions of manufacturers, legislators, consultants, designers and everyone else involved –directly or indirectly– in the process..."
Domestic bliss at #LikaLodge : It’s #raining. I made a bed for the #Dog. #Bike is here too, covered a bit. #Fireplace & #tea. This morning I had breakfast at sunrise, under #Lipa / #Linden . Earlier I made a room-divider from a #patchwork curtain I got at #DeGrowth conference last year. Memories & fantasies… plus enjoying the moment!