We know that the earth's resources are limited, yet we continue to live like there's no tomorrow. A new documentary called Growthbusters "examines the cultural barriers that prevent us from reacting rationally to the evidence" that our lifestyle is unsustainable. It looks like an excellent film - I may break down and buy a copy. I'm trying not to spend money on non-essentials, but I want to support the writers and filmmakers who help us understand what's happening and figure out how to respond. Here's the website and the trailer...
Richard Heinberg was here in Portland last week, speaking about the current economic crisis and why endless growth is not sustainable. Heinberg's point is that our economy has been based on debt-driven growth, with Americans buying things we don't need and can't afford. While we've been going deeper and deeper into debt, our incomes have stagnated or decreased. Americans are being laid off because of mechanization and because of jobs being shifted overseas, where labor is cheaper. With millions unemployed, there is downward pressure on wages, as people compete against each other for jobs. So, as more Americans become unemployed or employed at lower wages, we are less able to engage in excess consumption, which results in reduced sales of consumer goods, more lay-offs and more economic contraction. At the same time, the era of cheap fossil fuels is coming to an end, driving up prices of everything that requires energy to make or transport, which is basically everything. Most economists and almost all politicians talk about getting the economy back on track, back to the way it was before the bubble burst. But, clearly, that's not going to happen. We need to figure out how to create a new economy, that is not based on endless growth, debt and cheap oil. I'll discuss these topics further in future posts. In the meantime, here's a video of Heinberg from earlier this year, explaining why things can't go back to the way they were... By the way, I haven't read Heinberg's new book yet, but I plan to...  |  about this blogHi, my name is Diane and I live in Portland, Oregon. I'm learning how to reduce my expenses so I can spend less time working to pay the bills and more time doing things that are meaningful to me, including volunteer work. I'm finding that it's not easy - our economy is designed to keep us trapped in a "spend more, work more" cycle. In this blog, I explore these issues and share insights from experts about the new economy, social justice, sustainable living and related topics. I hope this information is helpful and interesting to you.  in my garden, tomatoes rub elbows with helenium and salvia
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