Category: Rethinking money
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Driving transition with local businesses
This is a subject I have thought a lot about. Would it be possible to completely side-step the toxic, debt/credit-based system we are living in and just invest the money we have in local, sustainable and resilient businesses? Well, we could give it a go. It is all to do with bonds. A bond is a simple certificate that for…
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The sticky problem of trade deficits
But what about the balance of trade? By Anders Höglund with Stephen Hinton Trade imbalances which persist for long periods of time tend to warp the infrastructure of the economy and create imbalances which will harm the economy in the long run. Sooner or later these structural imbalances will have to be remedied at a…
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On the same page with Virgin’s co-founder Sir Richard Branson
Writing in the British newspaper, the Telegraph, today, Sir Richard Branson, co-founder of the Virgin Group, says Business as usual is wrecking our planet. Resources are being used up. Air, sea and land are heavily polluted. The poor are getting poorer. Many are dying of starvation, or because they cannot afford life-saving medicine. Nearly half…
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Newsletter from the future: Region achieves local economy
Could we rapidly transition from a global to a local economy? This article explores how it could happen. Click here to read. The idea is for businesses to offer investment instruments as well as products. For a deeper discussion see the white paper.
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Economic reality check with Professor Tim Jackson
The economic system we have is incapable of delivering the transition to a zero or negative carbon system we need, says professor Tim Jackson. The system pulls economic resources through the system. If we not buy the system crashes, but if it continues we are in debt with a degraded environment. This is about people…
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Decoupling of the economy from fossil fuel – myth or reality in Sweden?
Sweden often claims it is demonstrating a miracle: that economic growth can take place decoupled from inputs of fossil fuel. I am not so sure, and have been looking at the figures for myself. In a rather unscientific way I decided to plot trends to see if there was any pattern that showed up. The…
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We need to stop interfering with the Nitrogen Cycle, too.
Many have earlier pointed out how fossil fuel emissions and the handling of the phosphor cycle need to be regulated. For this the Swedish Sustainable Economy Foundation propose a flexible emissions taxes. But are more needed? A new report, cited in the INDEPENDENT calls for changes to how we handle nitrogen. The report by 200…
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Sustainable investment
Sustainable investment is for investors who believe economic growth is close to being curtailed by lack of raw materials, energy shortfalls, restriction on greenhouse gas emissions and the effects of a sustained economic downturn . The challenges that face many business operations will come from: Rising prices or supply shortfalls of fossil fuels in their…
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White paper shows how market forces can tackle carbon dioxide and phosphorus challenges
This updated White Paper How Flexible Emissions Fees Can Drive Transition to Fossil-free and Sustainable Living explains why we need to discourage supply chains from emitting waste into the natural environment. It also explains that what we call waste could be a resource in another supply chain if the economic context were to encourage recycling.…