Brian Czech

“Steady state economy” — a positive vision in international affairs

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Before we think about the steady state economy, let’s think for a moment about economic growth. Economic growth still has such positive connotations in domestic politics, especially American politics, that the vast majority of citizens simply assume that whoever can do more for economic growth is the better statesman (man or woman), better Federal Reserve chair, better economic advisor, etc. That’s why the definition of economic growth bears repeating over and over again, to pull the magic cloak from a purely material process. Economic growth simply means increasing production and consumption of goods and services in the aggregate.

A Food Commons Grows in Detroit

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The growing movement to provide us healthy local and organic foods offers an alternative food system that is built upon commons-based institutions such as food cooperatives, farmers’ markets, nonprofit sustainable agriculture and food justice organizations as well as individuals with a vision that what we eat is more than just another product judged only for its price and the profit it produces. This becomes especially true in an economically challenged place like Detroit, which is not a food desert as many people think but rather the home of many flourishing food commons providing fresh, healthy sustenance to inner city people.

The four slugs of the apocalypse

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The other day my wife sent me a text while I was at work. “Get some broccoli”. During my lunch break, I duly headed out into Totnes in pursuit of the afore-mentioned brassica. I started out by visiting all the places that might sell local, organic broccoli, but they were all out, one telling me “it’s like gold dust mate, you’d be lucky”. I then tried the places that would stock non-organic, non-local broccoli, but they were out too. All of a sudden it transpired that I lived in a broccoli desert. Turns out it’s not just Totnes, the crappest summer the UK has ever faced has hit UK farming hard. It has also led me, I must confess, for the first time, to abandon my garden to an unprecedentedly vast slug population.

Walking out on empire

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So what do we do now? At what point does one realize that his or her paradigm isn’t working anymore, and give up and walk out on empire? How do we start walking, and where do we go? Here are some quotes from notable people who are choosing to turn at the crossroads and walk away from empire and then to talk about the transition. These quotes highlight some of their answers to the question of “what now?”

Mosquito Fleet sustainable shipping – Olympia Schooner Company interview

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Hoyle Hodges founded the new Olympia Schooner Company in the Puget Sound. This year it has instituted delivery of fresh produce as part of a business plan to at least break even with sailing cargo and eventually passengers. The company began as the Mosquito Fleet Sustainable Shipping project at Evergreen State College where Hoyle studied. When we saw his video here at Sail Transport Network central in June, we were inspired to learn more. Here’s the interview we conducted…

Moral Failing

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With the national weather maps pinker than a Barbie® SUV, more Americans are grudgingly accepting that climate change is for real, that it’s largely caused by humans, and that it’s a major threat to us here and now. It’s probably only a matter of time before America and the world finally start taking the problem seriously…

Energy, economy and the impending rite of passage

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Outsourcing manufacturing jobs, greedy businessmen and corrupt politicians — these are all red herrings, distractions from an underlying cause. That underlying cause is energy depletion. The purpose of this essay is to clarify the link between energy depletion and economic performance, and to back up my claim that we may never see US per capita GDP rise to the level it reached before the most recent recession. This essay is not all doom and gloom, however; it will end with a discussion that puts our energy and economic conundrum into a broader perspective that will hopefully empower and motivate readers.

Resilience through simplification: revisiting Tainter’s theory of collapse (part 2)

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While Tainter’s theory of social complexity has much to commend it, in this paper I wish to examine and ultimately challenge Tainter’s conclusion that voluntary simplification is not a viable path to sustainability. In fact, I will argue that it is by far our best bet, even if the odds do not provide grounds for much optimism. Moreover, should sustainability prove too ambitious a goal for industrial civilisation, I contend that simplification remains the most effective means of building ‘resilience’ (i.e. the ability of an individual or community to withstand societal or ecological shocks) [Part 2]

Sloppy thinking about local food

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Margaret Wente, a columnist for The Globe and Mail (Toronto), styles herself a provocateur. Naturally, columnists want to be read, and so often they write provocative things to attract and engage their readers. But sloppy is not the same as provocative, and for a journalist with Wente’s credentials, the sloppiness is both surprising and disappointing.