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Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth
All books in the category Green Economics
by: Lester R. Brown
Topics include: nonrefillable beverage containers, raising water productivity, new energy economy, wind electric generation, more destructive storms, oceanic fish catch, new soil formation, cropland productivity, mutton production, rainfall inland, ecological truth, throwaway economy, discussion with author, climate disruption, eradicating hunger, throwaway products, environmentally destructive activities, oceanic fisheries, environmentally sustainable economy, aquifer depletion, falling water tables, wind resources, continuing population growth, stabilizing population, sustainable yield
Eco-economic theory calls for harmony between our economy and natural resources. Our current, untenable, profit-focused economic model, says Brown (Building a Sustainable Society), depletes forests, oil, farmland, topsoil, water, atmosphere and species beyond a sustainable level. Brown, founding director of the Earth Policy Institute, uses the Sumerians as an antimodel: as the land was overworked, water sources eventually disappeared. And he uses forestry as a counterexample: forests secure land and store water, acting as natural dams. Logging delivers paychecks, but doesn't consider flood damage from tree loss. Eco-economists would say that the logger and the town, while temporarily profiting, pay more in the end in rising insurance costs, flood damage to homes and infrastructure, increased taxes and disaster relief funds. The goal, presented here in convincing detail, is to design a profitable economy that accurately reflects the social cost of abuse of resources. Brown suggests shifting "taxes from income to environmentally destructive activities, such as carbon emissions." Individuals and towns should receive tax breaks for deploying solar and wind-generated power. However receptive to Brown's excellent, sophisticated proposals, many readers will wonder how they can become reality; for eco-economics to work, all world leaders would need to agree on what makes practices environmentally unsound. (Nov. 5)Forecast: In light of the current administration's poor reputation for eco-concern and its withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol, Brown's book will do well among students, activists and the growing environmental movement.
Washington Post
One of the world's most influential thinkers.
Book Description
Lester Brown, "the guru of the global environmental movement" (The Telegraph of Calcutta), argues that, like the Sumerian and Mayan civilizations, our economy is fast destroying its environmental support systems, threatening future generations. The challenge is to restructure the global economy, replacing our fossil fuel-based, automobile-centered, throwaway economy with a new one that is environmentally sustainable. Brown outlines his vision of the new economy. It will be powered not with fossil fuels but with solar and wind energy. Its urban transport systems will be centered not around the automobile but around light rail and the bicycle. It will not be a throwaway economy but will be a reuse/recycle economy with a stable population. And building this new economy represents the greatest investment opportunity in history. There is no middle ground. Either we build an economy that is environmentally sustainable or stay with our existing economy until environmental deterioration leads to economic decline.
Reviews:
20/20 VISIONARY
Lester Brown occupies an unique position, as former president and founder of the Worldwatch Institute and current president of the Earth Policy Institute (check out both sites online). Not only does he want to make a change, but he has access to information that is truly global in scope. There may perhaps be no other author with such an intimate understanding of the trends that now face humanity at the dawn of this new century.
The first quarter of the book provides a bird's-eye view of our planet, a planet in decline. Whatever undefined notions you might have had about what writer Thomas Berry has termed 'ecocide' will suddenly be very clear. Afer a litany of statistics that are absolutely mind-boggling, Brown's statement, "we are losing the war to save the planet," no longer smacks of hyperbole. However, this is no pessimist's rant.
The next third of the book outlines a stunning vision of Brown's eco-economy. Don't mistake, this is not eco-utopia - but damn close! Cars that produce water as waste. Sustainable fisheries and forest that don't collapse. An economy based on wind and solar-power. His vision of a sustainable tomorrow is nothing less than the measure of today. I hesitate to think of what will happen if we continue with business as usual, that is, if we continue with our fossil-fuel-based, automobile-centered, throwaway economy.
The last third of the book outlines the practical steps we must make in order to bring about this eco-era. These include: a tax shift that hits messy industries, the end of government subsidized deforestation, quality ecolabeling (voting with our wallets), and tradable permits that set well-defined limits on, say, units of fish caught per year. Brown, like so many oher eco-economists, also emphasizes the need to work within the limits of our natural capital (nature's productive and absorbtion capacity).
Every section of this book is cogently argued, factual and compelling, and his ideas for change are stunning. From the role of NGOs and the United Nations to individual initiatives, like green power options, this book is very down to earth and pragmatic about change. Unlike most studies in ecology, economics, or politics, Brown doesn't limit himself to one aspect of the discussion. You get the facts, a comprehensive vision, and the concrete steps required to bring that vision into reality.
This is a must read for anybody interested in environmentalism, economics, futurism, or governmental policy in general. The Washington Post nailed it on the head when they described Brown as "One of the world's most influential thinkers." Read this book, and see the world through this remarkable man's eyes.
A sane vision for the future: Veteran environmentalist Lester Brown has divided his book into three sections.
In the first, he describes the current degraded state of the planet. The author reveals many alarming facts about climate change, falling water tables, and the stressed biological base. The author builds a solid case that the earth will not be able to support the current throw-away lifestyle indefinitely, and that attempts to extend this short-term mentality to the third world are pointless.
The second section discusses the "new economy". Here, Brown contrasts green technologies with the status quo, including: wind, solar and hydrogen power vs. fossil fuels; recycling vs. mining; sustainable forestry vs. clear cutting; raising water productivity vs. depleting aquifers; mass transit vs. automobiles; and more. In each instance, the author makes a compelling case why it makes economic as well as environmental sense for society to switch to environmental-friendly solutions.
In the last section, Brown shows us how to get "from here to there". While he acknowledges that entrenched economic interests will fight to avoid change, the author writes confidently because he knows that change MUST occur. Brown points out that if humanity does not have the foresight to choose the sustainable path today, the environmental catastrophes we are creating for ourselves will eventually force us to change tomorrow.
He goes on to write about common-sense public and private sector policies that could be used to help effect the transition to an "eco-economy" in a fair and reasonable manner. The author is optimistic in that he believes environmental collapse is not inevitable. He cites evidence that new practices are in fact being implemented in many places, albeit in a piecemeal and inadequate fashion. What's missing is the large-scale, coordinated effort needed to reverse the current situation, which will require consensus among leaders in industry and government.
Brown's message is sane, articulate and persuasive. Let's hope that the message in this excellent book is heeded sooner rather than later.
In Eco-Economy, Lester R. Brown first details the current state of the Earth and the economy that operates on it and utilizes its resources. Brown explains the current economic processes and trends, and presents an initial justification for integrating the world's economy into the ecological processes of natural systems, while providing economic security through the protection of these natural systems. Brown asserts, "...[T]he only formulation of economic policy that will succeed is one that respects the principles of ecology" (6). Next, Brown cites the threats and burdens humans have imposed on the environment, including effects on land, climate, water, natural ecosystems, and plant and animal species utilized for human needs, all in justification for his "eco-economy." A transition to an "eco-economy" will allow for a more efficient and sustainable use of resources, and will result in a great reduction in environmental threats posed by humans and an investment into the future perpetuity of the world's ecological systems and resources that provide for economic goods and services.
Finally, Brown details the structure and intricacies of his proposed "eco-economy," one in which solar and wind power would be at the base of an economy that operates with the hydrogen fuel cell, and in which economic processes are cyclical, instead of linear. The eco-economy's cyclical process would channel production and consumer waste outputs back into the system as inputs to be reused. In the eco-economy, cities will be redesigned to become more conducive for people with less congestion and traffic, more mass rail transport systems, and intricate and usable bike transport systems. New industries will be created in the eco-economy to build hydrogen fuel cells and to build and maintain wind energy systems, among others, and a new approach to material usage, production, and consumption will be incorporated to reduce and reuse waste.
Furthermore, Brown details the eco-economy's restructuring of food and water production and distribution systems to increase efficiency, as well as the need for reduced fertility to control population growth. Finally, Brown explains what must be done to allow for the existence of an eco-economy and cites steps and incentives to facilitate the transition from the current conventional economic situation. He summarizes this approach when he writes, "If we use fiscal policy to encourage environmentally constructive activities and to discourage destructive ones, we can steer the economy in a sustainable direction" (235).
Although Lester R. Brown presents insightful and logical solutions to the world's depreciating economic practices in their use of natural resources, current economic situations and the ease of transition to an "eco-economy" is greatly oversimplified. An economy that uses resources sustainable, in a cyclical manner is a noble proposition, but one must be realistic in portraying the ease and likelihood of a switch. Initially, for example, there is a problem with Brown's touting of the cultivation of wind energy as the energy basis of the new eco-economy. He asserts "Millions of turbines soon will be converting wind into electricity, becoming part of the global landscape" (87). Although wind energy production possesses much potential for reducing the current use of fossil fuels for energy, transition to a wind-based energy economy is not quite as simple as Brown advertises. Wind turbines are very large and very expensive, and much public criticism has recently occurred over the production of turbines in natural areas where residents do not want to be degraded or dominated by these massive structures. Such controversy has occurred in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with residents denouncing a proposal to build a wind farm on a nearby offshore site. For wind energy to become the basis of our economy, as Brown asserts, this public perception and backlash must be overcome. Also, creative manipulation of legislative and economic practices that have an inherent financial interest in maintaining the current fossil fuel economy must occur. The oil and other energy and fossil fuel-based industries have much incentive to remain in business, and possess tremendous economic and political influence.
Appropriately, Brown proposes creating an economy which "tells the ecological truth," (234) one in which companies will be forced to bear the costs of production, instead of merely imposing these costs onto the environment and society as externalities. However, although Brown notes that "some companies will be winner and some will be losers" (95) in the new eco-economy, he fails to solidify the point that in order to facilitate economic change to benefit the environment, new environmentally-friendly industries must be made profitable. Not only must tax disincentives be applied to discourage destructive, as well as subsidies to encourage constructive practices, but a full-scale restructuring of the economy must be had for destructive industries to be replaced by constructive ones. Again, this point is dangerously oversimplified, at the expense of portraying the misconception that the current economy's industries can easily be replaced by new constructive industries like wind energy and hydrogen fuel cell production.
Brown writes, "Investments in the infrastructure for the new energy economy, which would eventually have to be made as fossil fuels are depleted..." (94). The environment cannot afford to wait around until "fossil fuels are depleted" as Brown asserts, and since there is much financial incentive to maintain the current fossil fuel economy, immediate and ongoing government monetary and research support must be made to make these constructive industries viable and profitable, to ease and facilitate the ongoing transition to an eco-economy. This switch will not be made overnight as Brown seems to assert, but will be a gradual undertaking.
Profoundly Important Book
If money were no object, I would mail copies of Lester Brown's "Eco-Economy" and Paul Hawken's "Natural Capitalism" to every CEO, country leader, and business school dean on the planet. Eco-Economy is a well-researched, balanced, detailed portrayal of where the world is today ecologically, and where the world could be in the future, depending on the choices we make (or fail to make) when it comes to managing our fragile and taxed natural environmnent.
Brown makes his case clear: it is now time for ecologists to team up with economists to ensure that the prices we pay for all goods and services "tell the ecological truth". One of the most critical examples is the price we pay in North America for gasoline: the pump price has never reflected the total true costs that are borne by members of society and by the natutal environment. Until governments impose gasoline taxes that reflect those total true costs, the fossil fuel resource will continue to be undervalued and wasted.
To read Eco-Economy is to go on an emotional roller coaster ride. The earlier chapters accurately describe the perilous state of many ecological systems, such as life-sustaining aquifers being depleted or contaminated, and irreversible soil erosion due to the removal of trees. I found these chapters well worth reading, but very disturbing. What is good news for the reader and, more important, good news for the planet, is that Brown offers numerous examples of how we can (technically, at least; if we could now just muster the required political will) stop or even reverse our erstwhile environmentally damaging behaviour -- in other words, "how to get there from here".
Brown identifies sustainability-related opportunities and responsibilities for all key sectors of the human race: government leaders, business CEOs, NGOs, academics. Further, Brown reminds us that lone individuals can make a difference, too: the publishing of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring represented a much-needed "threshold" that prompted the world to re-think its use of DDT. Thus, for those of us who do not run a government or a company, we have the power of the pen on our side, and we can choose to exercise that power.
