Richard Heinberg on The End of Growth, with State Rep. Bill Botzow
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Richard Heinberg's The End of Growth considers global, national, local, and individual responses to an end to economic growth, but he includes few policy options for state governments. In this radio broadcast, Vermont state representative Bill Botzow, chair of the House Commerce Committee, joins Heinberg and host Carl Etnier to consider what a state can do to promote its residents' welfare when resource constraints stall economic growth.
Editorial Notes: From Carl Etnier: For Energy Bulletin readers, much of Heinberg's discussion of the The End of Growth will be familiar. However, they may be surprised that he calls on the US government to borrow more money in the short term to invest in energy-efficient infrastructure, which is not an idea I had detected support for in the book. While the conversation with Botzow did not go into great detail on Vermont initiatives and possible future initiatives, I think EB readers may be interested in hearing how a thoughtful state representative engages in this conversation. Interestingly enough, the day this show aired, Vermont state senator Anthony Pollina proposed that Vermont follow Maryland's lead and adopt the Genuine Progress Indicator as an alternative to GDP for use in evaluating state policies. Unfortunately, the only article I've seen about this is behind a paywall.
