U of I Lecture: E. O. Wilson
October 08, 7:30 p.m.
University of Iowa (location to be announced) I heard it will be at the
Englert Theatre
Iowa City, Iowa
For more information:
http://lectures.uiowa.edu/details.php?ID=445
Mike Carberry
Sierra Club
Chair Iowa City Area Group
State ExCom
2029 Friendship St.
Iowa City IA 52245-4553
office: 319.338.8820
cell: 319.594.6453
--------------------------------------------------
From: "Bill Witt" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, September 26, 2008 9:46 AM
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: E.O. Wilson discusses population
> The fallacies run deeper than "growth" as the end-all of "prosperity."
> The billions being spent on hurricane recovery will register as positives
> to our GDP. The millions Iowa farmers have spent on 900,000 miles of
> drainage tile also show up as "growth." The cleanup and reconstruction
> costs downstream are factored in as "growth." Jack buys dynamite and
> blows up Joe's barn. The added profit to the dynamite company is
> "growth." The lumber yard's profit for lumber to rebuild the barn is
> "growth."
>
> For economic theorizing only slightly more sophisticated than this,
> Milton Friedman got a Nobel Prize.
>
>
> Bill Witt
>
>
> Quoting daryl andersen <[log in to unmask]>:
>
>> I agree with your comments. A really good read on this is The Last
>> Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann. As he notes, The end of
>> oil will be a main factor in adjustment. The earth can sustainably
>> accommodate approx 1 billion people living somewhere between our
>> lifestyle and an indigenous lifestyle. Another great read is
>> Sustainable Operating Systems/ The Post Petrol Paradigm by Michael
>> Richards. If all else fails read Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer.
>> Daryl Andersen
>> On Sep 25, 2008, at 10:56 PM, Thomas Mathews wrote:
>>
>>> Cindy,
>>>
>>> You note that ". . . economic prosperity, as we currently define it,
>>> depends on growth."
>>>
>>> This summarizes the problem perfectly. Our mainstream economists
>>> define a healthy economy as being a growing economy. A recession is
>>> defined as a cessation of economic growth.
>>>
>>> Yet it occurs even to bright middle school students that on a finite
>>> planet endless growth is impossible. But being an "adult" means
>>> denying this obvious fact.
>>>
>>> In an underdeveloped country, economic growth is needed just to
>>> provide enough for everyone. But in over-developed regions like the US,
>>> growth serves mainly to provide more wealth for the already rich. And
>>> despite the events of the past two weeks, it is the rich who run the
>>> country, including its media, and who keep alive the myth that growth
>>> equals prosperity.
>>>
>>> We clearly need a new economics, one which defines prosperity as
>>> sufficiency, not growth.
>>>
>>> Richard Douthwaite has written a very good book whose title
>>> summarizes these issues. (The Growth Illusion: How economic growth has
>>> enriched the few, impoverished the many, and endangered the planet,
>>> New Society Publishers, 1992, 1999.)
>>>
>>> Tom
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Looking for simple solutions to your real-life financial challenges?
>>> Check out WalletPop for the latest news and information, tips and
>>> calculators.
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>>
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