Steady State Economy

By Dave Rollo

As the setting for Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, Sauk County, Wisconsin, holds a special place within the pantheon of environmental literature. Leopold’s writings on ecology and forestry brought an understanding of land repair and remediation to academic and general audiences. It is difficult to imagine the fields of wildlife biology, soil conservation, or restoration ecology without Leopold’s contribution.

Likewise, the moral basis for the environmental movement in later decades owes its origins in part to Leopold’s land ethic.

The post Steady-State Origins in Sauk County appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

by Alix Underwood

Like the economy of nature, the human economy has a “trophic” structure. In nature, nutrition and energy flow from plants to herbivores to carnivores, with each of these comprising a trophic level of the ecosystem. In the human economy, materials and energy flow from agriculture and other extractive activities to heavy manufacturing to light manufacturing. Both economies include service providers, such as pollinators in nature and the transportation sector in the human economy.

The post A Trophic Perspective on Fossil Fuels appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

by Daniel Wortel-London

Working long hours? You aren’t alone.  Forty-one percent of U.S. workers reported working more than 45 hours a week in 2021. Sixteen percent said they spent more than 60 hours per week at work. Working long hours has been shown to degrade quality of life and productivity. But there’s a bigger problem with full-time employment: It isn’t environmentally sustainable.

Additional economic growth is the only way to generate full-time employment.

The post Introducing a Different Type of 32-Hour Workweek Act appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

by Alix Underwood

Though it’s easy to lose sight of, with our language and culture and smartphones, Homo sapiens is an animal species that exists within natural ecosystems. All our activities, including our economic activities, take place within and depend upon these ecosystems. This is the starting point for the trophic theory of money (TTOM).

“Trophic” refers to the flow of nutrition and energy. In the economy of nature,

The post Rooted in the Earth: The Economy Needs Agriculture appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

by Brian Czech

Perhaps you’ve heard: Autocracy is on the march. Not just in the obvious places like Russia, China, and North Korea. Democracy has been declining throughout the world for decades, sometimes gradually, sometimes suddenly, but invariably replaced by autocratic tendencies, politicians, and states.

What’s going on in places as far-flung as Hungary, Myanmar, and Nicaragua? Why, after the lessons of world wars, the Cold War,

The post Democracy Trumped at the Limits to Growth appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

by Gary Gardner

Mention the steady state economy at a gathering of friends and a predictable concern is sure to arise. “I couldn’t possibly manage on a flat income, much less a reduced one. I can barely make ends meet now!” Heads will nod all around. The idea of a nongrowing economy—not to mention degrowth—quickly sours the party mood.

The objection is understandable from people long accustomed to ever-greater levels of consumption.

The post Rendering the Economic Fat for a Steady State Economy appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

by Dave Rollo

The Finger Lakes region of western New York State is distinguished by a series of long and narrow glacial valleys, dammed by moraine, that now contain lakes. Glacial scouring created some of the deepest lakes in North America, including Seneca, Cayuga, and Skaneateles lakes. These spectacular natural features give the region its identity.

The region features ample farmland and forest and a relatively sparse population. Tompkins County,

The post Tompkins County, the Finger Lakes Hub of Sustainability appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

by Daniel Wortel-London

What’s your mission? While few can answer this question quickly, most of us recognize the importance of a mission to an individual or an organization. A mission provides direction, a framework of goals, and a basis for developing the strategies we need to reach them. In the USA, every cabinet-level department must develop a mission as part of its broader strategic planning process.

Unfortunately, most federal mission statements tend to promote planet-destroying economic growth or attempt—in vain—to reconcile growth with conservation goals.

The post Introducing the Sustainable Missions Act appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

by Kent Peacock

The idea that 2⁰C is a safe guardrail against global heating was a guesstimate by an economist almost fifty years ago, and it had a sketchy scientific basis even at that time. In November 2023, a consortium comprised of many of the top glaciologists and climate scientists in the world published a report entitled “The State of the Cryosphere 2023—Two Degrees is Too High.” (See also the review on Carbon Brief.)  The only hope of preventing catastrophic sea-level rise,

The post Two Degrees: Guardrail? Or Guide Rail to Disaster? appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

by Brian Czech

Promulgating the steady state economy via federal legislation has long been a primary goal at CASSE. However, even a primary goal isn’t necessarily pursued from the get-go. Much of the CASSE run thus far has been focused on raising awareness of the need for a steady state economy. Raising such awareness was even higher on the list of goals, because drafting statutory law is of limited use if there is no knowledge of the need for it.

The post The Steady State Economy Act: Halfway to the Hill? appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.