A Pioneer in Systems Theory and Sustainability for Spaceship Earth

Boulding's work goes all the way back to the 1960's.

 https://www.inspiringquotes.us/author/3917-kenneth-e-boulding

A sample of his thoughts---

“Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist.”

-- Kenneth E. Boulding

“As long as man was small in numbers and limited in technology, he could realistically regard the earth as an infinite reservoir, an infinite source of inputs and an infinite cesspool for outputs. Today we can no longer make this assumption. Earth has become a space ship, not only in our imagination but also in the hard realities of the social, biological, and physical system in which man is enmeshed.”
-- Kenneth E. Boulding

“Physicists only talk to physicists, economists to economists-worse still, nuclear physicists only talk to nuclear physicists and econometricians to econometricians. One wonders sometimes if science will not grind to a stop in an assemblage of walled-in hermits, each mumbling to himself words in a private language that only he can understand.”
-- Kenneth E. Boulding

“Economics has been incurably growth-oriented and addicted to everybody growing richer, even at the cost of exhaustion of resources and pollution of the environment.”
-- Kenneth E. Boulding

...............

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

MULTIPLE APPROACHES and TOOLS are required to attain sustainability

The articles below propose that it may not be wise to focus on only a single approach when tackling the implementation of sustainability.  The complexity of a paradigm shift in this arena requires multiple approaches and tools.  Specifics are given.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800921002019

[Integrating the green economy, circular economy and bioeconomy in a strategic sustainability framework]

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210422416300843?dgcid=raven_sd_recommender_email

Exploring the governance and politics of transformations towards sustainability

From watching/reading the Corporate Media, one would rarely ever be aware of the tremendous comprehensive work being done in the field of sustainability...for at least the last twenty years.  Some of it goes back forty years plus.  More writers and activists should spread the word.  Once in awhile, I get the feeling that some people think "Going Green" is simply a matter of passing laws.  Passing laws may not be easy, but it's a picnic compared to the research and implementation of sustainability for Spaceship Earth. 

................

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Consciousness, Nature, the Myth of A.I., & Reality

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyu7v7nWzfo&list=WL&index=68 

 Research on Consciousness has exploded in the last quarter century. The piece at the link above relates some of the surprising discoveries. One of them is that it's highly likely an organism does not have to be as intelligent as Homo sapiens to possess Consciousness. Another is that it's even more likely something has to be biologically alive in order to possess Consciousness. 

 That means: don't believe the hype being promulgated by Mega Corporations about Artificial Intelligence . The original definition of A.I. was:  an artificial machine conscious of itself as a separate "being". Tech Whiz Kids are nowhere near creating such a machine. A bunch of algorithms which can predict certain outcomes or make certain choices based on input does not constitute a conscious being.  A.I. does not presently exist... and likely never will. I leave it to you to guess as to why certain large corporations want us to believe it does exist. 

 The research also shows that, despite some people believing otherwise, human beings are a part of Nature. We are not separate from, superior to, or in any way above Nature. We are Nature.  That is one of the core principles of ecoethics and ecocentrism.  To believe we must conquer Nature gives us license to destroy Nature, and too many people appear to be doing exactly that... often at will.

 Finally, what the brain perceives are energy impulses coming from objects. Everything is energy. Matter consists of bundles of energy vibrating much more slowly than light, or gamma rays, or radio waves, etc. The implication of it all is clear: all things are made of one thing, and it's all part of a whole. 

 It's encouraging to live in a time when researchers in all fields of Natural Science are seriously studying Reality, and discovering (or confirming) its intrinsic properties. 

 The real mystery is Consciousness. If it only exists in sentient beings, or there as well as elsewhere, then does that mean all sentient beings have intrinsic value? I think it does, which means we humans need to discard our hubris and view all beings possessing sentience as having much more than only utilitarian value.*** That's another core principle of ecoethics  and ecocentrism. 

***For example, the way in which elephants and certain other domesticated and wild animals are treated by some humans (all around the world) is outrageous, immoral, and unethical.

Going Green without adopting an ecocentric (as opposed to anthropocentric) worldview is, in my opinion, an oxymoron.  It's counterintuitive.  It will result in failure.  No sustainability for Spaceship Earth.  Luckily for us, many people appear to be recognizing such.

............................. 

Not only my opinion. Be Well

DENIAL

The elephant in the room.  No one in power wants to talk about it.  Denial is the order of the day.

https://mahb.stanford.edu/blog/the-psychology-of-denying-overpopulation/

Sustainability will be elusive until we recognize and deal with the problem of overpopulation.  It could be addressed with education and incentives, but politicians are loathe to even broach the subject.

The brief article at the link above delves into important aspects of this situation.  Highly recommended.

..................

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

"Decolonization or Extinction: Indigenous Red Deal Lays Out Plan to Save the Earth"

 https://www.democracynow.org/2021/4/22/the_red_deal_book

At the link above, two indigenous scholars lay out the following.

1.  How/why we're still tinkering around the edges of solving the Socio-Eco-Econ-Ethical Crisis upon us.

2.  Neoliberalism, neocolonialism, and neoimperialism still are the flavor of the day.

3.  The Biden Crew is not adequately addressing the above problems.

4.  Our relationship with Earth is in dire need of a paradigm shift.

The lambasting of Biden may seem excessive to some, but I believe it's right on the mark.  Like Obama, he's a wolf in sheep's clothing when it comes to the Oligarchy v. the rest of us, or ecological ethics v. mega corporate greed.  [Nevertheless, both men are orders of magnitude better than Trump.  But that alone will not rescue Homo sapiens from disaster.]

The two interviewees are proposing the adoption of  ecoethics, and that's the first step toward sustainability.

...................

Not only my opinion.  Happy Trails

Solutions to Our Socio-Eco-Econ-Ethical CRISIS

 These all speak for themselves.  You may be familiar with some of them.  I'll bet my Stetson you won't be familiar with all of them.  😊

file:///C:/Users/abstr/Downloads/sustainability-13-01263.pdf

If the above link doesn't work, this one should - 

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/3/1263/htm

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/14/5548/htm

https://inequality.org/great-divide/the-pre-existing-condition-that-doomed-the-u-s-covid-response/

https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S0921800921000161?token=C6EB71D48606824B54E300D3D1CE7EFFEEABBC1397DEE469E7B9A17DCA4B40C417BDED2500C266EA7C44146B3E68EF38

https://researchportal.northumbria.ac.uk/files/20387227/Accepted_How_the_Rich_are_Destroying_the_Earth.pdf

Here's a full-length book for your personal library on sustainability.

http://feineigle.com/static/books/2014/beyond_growth/Beyond%20Growth_The%20Economics%20of%20Sustainable%20Development-Herman%20E.%20Daly-(1997).pdf

https://steadystate.org/population-and-a-dose-of-common-sense/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378014001368

https://media.rff.org/archive/files/document/file/RFF-DP-16-24.pdf

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800919312273

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344917303701

https://www.int-res.com/articles/esep/2002/E21.pdf

The above are but a few of the considerations we must take seriously if we are to have a sustainable future.

............................................

Not only my opinion.  Happy Trails

Transformations and Rethinking Development - Thanks to the Pandemic

 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X20303600?dgcid=raven_sd_recommender_email

From the journal, World Development Volume 138, February 2021, 105233 -

Article title: " Post-pandemic transformations: How and why COVID-19 requires us to rethink development".

SSDD simply won't do anymore.  Neoliberal economics, the Oligarchy & Plutocracy Era, and the days of Crony-Casino-Disaster-Surveillance Capitalism are all at the beginning of their end.  Most likely, the combination of democratic socialism plus Adam Smith capitalism*** (a Mixed Economy) - which most free countries now have to varying degrees - will become stronger.  That, coupled with a genuinely eco-ethical approach to Nature & its resources, will be the new paradigm.

[*** As I've pointed out before, Adam Smith was in favor of small business, not mega business.  He denigrated the concept of monopolies, and rather than support them, he decried the so-called "Masters of the Universe" - the Big Biz men who thought they ruled the world.  His idea was for small business to benefit common people.]

Perhaps then, more people will understand that when we damage ecosystems because of genuine necessity, we should take care to keep the damage as small as possible.  Why?  Because one of the many key services provided by the ecosystems of Nature is:  they are natural barriers to the spread of disease.

The article at the link above addresses the following topics re post-pandemic development:

1.  science and policy;

2.  resilient economies;

3.  the nexus between the citizenry and the State; and

4.  new ways of thinking & acting in relation to all the above and sustainability.

While the article is about world development, especially re the North-South (in general) global inequality, I believe its concepts can be applied more regionally and locally, and to more equitable "development" in "developed" countries.  These ideas, I think, should start at the grassroots level (county, city).  Then State or Province and National politicians will be more amenable to instituting needed support at their levels.  From the bottom up is usually (not always) better than from the top down.  Those at the top sometimes seem to be out of touch with the practical reality of the everyday/common people.

It's highly probable that many researchers and some politicians, policy makers, and a few private companies (& others) have been working on sustainability & equity (in the ethical sense) since at least the 2008 Crash.  Now we need to kick that into high gear.  A massive shift is on the horizon, and there's no time to waste in getting to it.

Tick-tock.

...........................

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Five pillars for post-neoliberal development

 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X2030485X

Like Germany, Austria, Ireland, Portugal, Denmark, and several other countries outside North America, the Netherlands [with the journal article at the link above] demonstrates that it is light-years ahead of the USA when it comes to the concept of sustainability.  Kudos.

The article is right on the mark.  The full title is:

"Planning for a world beyond COVID-19: Five pillars for post-neoliberal development".

This is the type of thinking we need if organized human existence is to survive and thrive in the Anthropocene.

........................

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Ten Essentials

 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629617304413#sec0080

The article, found in the Journal Energy Research & Social Science Volume 40, is titled "Ten essentials for action-oriented and second order energy transitions, transformations and climate change research".  According to its multiple authors, if we as a species are to transition to a low-carbon and sustainable world, then there must be a paradigm shift in research approaches, entrenched disciplines, institutions, and political systems.  Researchers thus far have been great at grasping the problem and proposing solutions, but not so great at identifying HOW to make the transition happen.

The article at the link above is about three years old.  I'm curious as to whether or not any of the "ten essentials" have been implemented anywhere.  Some of you may know the answer to that.

.......................

Not only my opinion.  Stay Well

Modern Circular Economy - a Practical Study, AND - The Extraterritorial Commons, Corporate Responsibility, & Governance

 Sustainability | Free Full-Text | Modern Circular Economy: Corporate Strategy, Supply Chain, and Industrial Symbiosis | HTML (mdpi.com)

Published this month in the journal, Sustainability.

...........................

Sustainability | Free Full-Text | The Commons, the Common Good and Extraterritoriality: Seeking Sustainable Global Justice through Corporate Responsibility | HTML (mdpi.com)

Published this month in Sustainability.

This second journal article introduces the innovative concept of the "extraterritorial commons" in relation to corporate responsibility, justice, and extraterritorial governance.  It's a much-needed discussion.

...........................

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

All Politicians Should Pay Attention to This

 https://www.uvm.edu/gund/news/can-regenerative-agriculture-save-american-farms

I've watched the number of family farms in the USA shrink for over sixty years.  Their replacement, industrial agriculture, is harming soil, water, air, plants, animals, and the ecosphere in general.  This has to stop if we are to thrive as ethical, sensible, and practical beings.

We humans tend to take air, water, and food for granted.  Fortunately, over the last half century or so, we've started to realize that's a mistake.  We're finally beginning to edge toward some version of ecological economics and sustainability.  Let's hope that continues.

At the link above is a brief description of a policy which should be supported and promoted by politicians everywhere.

............................

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Sustainability re: transport industry, decarbonization, lithium, magnesium, energy, & a decent living, Plus commentary on world efforts

 2020 research - Two important views---

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211467X20300961

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378020307512

At least read the Abstracts and Conclusions.

Commentary on world efforts---

Public officials, researchers, the business community, & others in the EU (in general) - especially in Germany, Ireland, Denmark, The Netherlands, Austria, & Portugal (mea culpa if I left out a country) - AND in other parts of the world are working hard to develop & implement sustainable policies geared toward saving organized human existence on this planet.  Kudos to all of them.

With some significant exceptions, the USA is light-years behind in those efforts.  As we all know, that's especially true for the last four years or so, particularly in the national government.  The current Administration is working hard to reverse gains made in the sustainability arena.  That, along with other egregious actions, has made the USA an object of pity - as well as a laughingstock - in the eyes of most of the world.  On top of all that, our "Leader" has some chance of getting re-elected shortly.  It's truly mind-boggling.  His chances of re-election should be extremely close to zero... or ZERO.  Thanks to Edward Bernays style molding of the public mind plus a huge dose of ignorance, those chances are higher.  It's all very Orwellian.  Life is full of paradoxes, eh?

The human dilemma we face consists of a socio-ecological-economic catastrophe which already has started, coupled with an ongoing belief by too many in the practices of unlimited growth, overconsumption, and overexploitation of resources.  In far too many ways, we've become too anthropocentric, as opposed to ecocentric.  Fortunately, that's beginning to change.  Keep in mind, though -

TICK-TOCK.

.............................

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Evolution of a Food Network as Urban Commons in Portugal

 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800919308262

At the link above, the authors of a journal article dissect and analyze the qualities of an urban food network as a "commons" in Portugal.  A particular group of "prosumers" founded the network, and saw it through until its demise.  Though it eventually ended (for numerous reasons), it gave birth to other new food networks.  Along with Germany and several other European countries, Portugal is front and center in the search for ecological solutions to the human predicament in which we find ourselves.  Kudos!

Our current, globalized food supply system is fragile at best.  Especially during an emergency event such as a pandemic, that supply chain is often broken.  Humanity would benefit greatly from urban food networks... which go way beyond urban gardens.

Decades ago, a popular book by E.F. Schumacher, Small is Beautiful, had the subtitle: a study of economics as if people mattered.  The book stressed the importance of locally based economics, sustainability, and the appropriate use of technology.  In general, it eschewed the very idea of corporate globalization and neoliberal economics.

Unfortunately, after a relatively brief time of popularity (in the 1970's), the ideas presented in that text faded away in the minds of policy makers.  What a shame.

...........................

Not only my opinion.  Stay Well

In General, Is This Close to the Bioeconomics Being Pursued in Europe?

I haven't had time to study the article at the link below, but thought I would post it with the title question.  While I'm reviewing the piece, does anyone know the answer to the question?  [I'm guessing the answer is Yes.]

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212567114000677

............................

You will have to scroll down when you get to the page in order to access the pdf text - "Download full text in PDF".

............................

Be Well

Georgescu-Roegen's Bioeconomics Approach to Development and Change

Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen (G-R), a highly skilled mathematician, epistemologist, & economist, was one of the thinkers who laid the bedrock for anything "Green" in economics.  He did so with his concept of Bioeconomics.

G-R spent much of his career at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.  His best known book, The Entropy Law and the Economic Process (1971), dealt not only with the two subjects in the title, but also science & thought, dialectics, epistemology, mathematical analysis, change/evolution, and society.  It's truly a "magnum opus".

Because the book detailed the problems and dangers of unlimited economic growth, it drew negative reactions from neoclassical/neoliberal economists.  After that, the work largely was ignored by mainstream economics.

G-R's Bioeconomics was/is genuinely revolutionary, and it's making a bigtime comeback.  In large part, that's due to the failures/problems of mainstream economics.  The two primary foundations of G-R's theory are as follows.
1. Human evolution, in addition to being within the body (endosomatic), has been outside the body (exosomatic) in the form of tools, machinery, industry, and external energy (e.g., fossil fuels).  Not only exosomatic manufactured components have become part of our evolution, but money as well.
2.  The recognition of the importance of qualitative change caused by new elements in economic processes is crucial to understanding economic reality.  [The mechanistic epistemology of neoclassical/neoliberal economics largely fails to account for such change because primarily (often only) mathematical analysis is used in constructing economic models.  Math formulas dominate.  G-R proposed a combination of math and a dialectical approach (involving discourse, discussion, & reasoned argumentation) in order to determine economic reality.]

In simpler terms, G-R maintained that neoclassical/neoliberal economics could not account for the unanticipated, unknown variables (e.g., the effects of industrial pollutants, social & income inequality, overharvesting of natural resources, and a plethora of anomalies in human behavior) in an economy because only math is used in economic analysis and prediction.  Dialectical reasoning - discussion of opposing views - is needed.  Input of words, not just math formulas.

In relation to development and change, G-R antagonized the mainstreamers by his insistence that economic analysis must be based on reality, observed facts, rather than mathematical abstractions.  He maintained that the neoclassical approach primarily consisted of nothing but conjecture.

For a much deeper look, see the article at the link below.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1467-7660.2009.01603.x

The economic genius of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen finally is being recognized.
...................................
Not only my opinion.  Stay Well

Myopia and Deep Denial by Too Many People

Continuing on with the Introduction to Ecological Liberalism---

Any informed, reasonable assessment of the current state of humanity on finite Earth surely would conclude with the following.
1.  The Powers-That-Be and too many Main Street people apparently believe we humans are separate from and superior to Nature... and thus not subject to the Laws of Nature.
2.  As a consequence, we have been and continue to be on a path of subduing Nature, rather than extracting natural capital in a sustainable manner.
3.  The results have been:  overuse, degradation, and dangerous disruption of our natural habitat... plus, pollution in the extreme.
4.  Much of the above is due to propaganda, a lack of knowledge concerning natural science (especially ecology), economics, & ethics, and a deep denial of readily apparent facts.
5.  Too many people have bought into the fallacies of unlimited population and economic growth, expanding consumption/consumerism, and the ability of technology to overcome any problem whatsoever.

Fortunately, amidst all the short-sightedness and denial, many institutions and people are working hard to provide valuable education toward a sustainable, ecological path forward.  Here are a few of them---

https://naturalcapitalproject.stanford.edu/

https://mahb.stanford.edu/blog/never-let-a-good-crisis-go-to-waste/

https://mahb.stanford.edu/

https://psmag.com/magazine/fallacy-of-endless-growth

http://williamrees.org/on-herman-dalys-economics/#more-261

https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2020/04/06/The-Earth-Is-Telling-Us-We-Must-Rethink-Our-Growth-Society/

If you really want to educate yourself, you're going to have to read and/or watch relevant videos.  Twitter is great, but 140 characters only points the way.  😊

Not only my opinion.  Everyone Be Well