A Systems Perspective 3: Nature and Econ

Post! Executive Outline:

Economics as a guide to policy|discipline|business|development typically undervalues Marginal Cost.
1. Resources *Natural capital to make manufactured stuff*
2. Oil is artificially low
3. Other environmental inputs= services
4. The commons

An increase in Marginal Cost would universally better off society.
1. Reduce | Reuse | Conserve –> Lessen material dependence
2. Reduce Energy/person –> Secure our country from Middle East
3. Focus on efficiency –> Reduce waste which hurts services
4. Produce less corn.

Finally, a policy solution without silly cap-and-trade or clean energy, which generates revenues by being harsher on unsustainable businesses.Increase the marginal cost of resources, to decrease their use. Read on, dear reader. But be prepared to comment if you finish it all.
-EM

A Systems Perspective 2: Oil, Energy, and Recessions

A recession is defined as “a significant decline in [the] economic activity spread across the country, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP growth, real personal income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales.” (New Bureau of Economic Research) It’s a little vague, and I remember Bush not wanting to announce an official “recession” back in 2008. Well, it was (is) one, and here’s the related chart:

For some of my background on recession writing, view:

• https://eddiemill.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/economic-recessions/
• https://eddiemill.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/food-and-climate-change/

This will be a post about oil and energy: what I used to write about optimistically (MaPSblog) but now see the extent of our fucked-ness. Read on, dear reader. As promised, a new economics post will be up Friday. This is post 2/3 of “A Systems Perspective”: Environmental Implications of America today.

What’s different?

The Next Globalization is Local:

Like any good Economics student, I start this article with a quote by Thomas Friedman in his definition in awkward-titled essay on “Glocalization”: “To absorb influences that naturally fit into and can enrich a culture: to resist those things that are truly alien and to compartmentalize those things that, while different, can be enjoyed and celebrated as different.” I now proceed to show the Economic justification for a more stable next generation of destructive free trade policies… [yes, it’s more than just a trend.]

350 for the Economy

Hello folks, so here’s how we need to tell politicians, businesspeople, and the American public about Change.

350 does primarily refer to the environment. It’s what prevents a 2 degree rise and the majority of bad effects worldwide. But what’s more important is that it refers to an inspiration to the economy. Get to 350, for the economy. The struggle is be a productive force, like going to the moon, or development and change. Here’s the breakdown of how jobs work:
Jobs in the clean energy economy were distributed among the following sectors in 2008:
–– Conservation and pollution mitigation: 65.0 percent
–– Environmentally friendly production: 7.0 percent
–– Training and support: 6.8 percent
–– Energy efficiency: 9.5 percent
–– Clean energy: 11.6 percent

Worldwide, it’s largely up to America’s economy to make these things. Most are process innovations and services assistance. But the clean energy sector? Fire up the steel mills, get drafters going to work, and the construction crew of new young people with “only” college degrees. These people are going to require jobs. Hundreds of thousands of them. Enough to Repower America with new work.

View and share a fantastic factsheet from the Energy Hub Project: here (.pdf)

350 as an Inspiration

There’s so much going on, thanks to everyone who is working on this movement right now.
Keep the good times coming this October 24th, International Day of Climate Action.

Perhaps you’ve seen the news coming up in your feed, but find some Boston action here:
http://theleadershipcampaign.org/participate/
350.org/ is Beautiful today. An inspiration, truly.
Here’s the list of events going on in Boston: http://www.350.org/action-list?country=us&city=boston

There’s a new world order, and it works around the number 350. More than just a number, it’s the amount of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere that we need to achieve by the end of the century. It’s a challenging call to action, seeing as we’re already at 387. We need to stop emitting CO2, and start taking it out of the air in our farms and cities. Clean electricity is a solution, as is reducing the amount each of us use. Hopefully, all of us working on this will be enough to make a difference.

I feel today is an inspirational tipping point in a lot of ways. To the people who are working on the ground, ready to put themselves on the line; to the politicians who are talking about how much we need new legislation; to the economists and scientists who know it’s necessary; Thanks. To the reader thanks for reading, commenting, and sharing. Keep posted for more from around Boston!
-Eddie Miller
Boston University ’10
440-935-5434

http://www.350.org/
https://eddiemill.wordpress.com/

My Life at Small Planet

Hello, (and sorry for not updating for a while):

Life has been hectic (setting up in Boston), but good. I have been on my bike to many different events, and a stellar mix of people/places/things to enjoy around the city. In this post I talk more about my former work, maybe you have heard about it, at the Small Planet Institute in Cambridge.

For quick updates about what we’re doing, follow @SmallPlanetInst on twitter. For the implications of some of the research I was doing for the book, read on dear reader: