Talk:Sustainability/economic/Archive 1

Economic Concerns (original version - see subpage for most recent edit)
Sustainability interfaces with economics through the social and ecological consequences of economic activity. Sustainability economics represents: "... a broad interpretation of ecological economics where environmental and ecological variables and issues are basic but part of a multidimensional perspective. Social, cultural, health-related and monetary/financial aspects have to be integrated into the analysis." At present the developing world per capita consumption is sustainable (as a global average) but population numbers are increasing and individuals are aspiring to high consumption Western lifestyles. The developed world population is stable (not increasing) but consumption levels are unsustainable. The task is to curb and manage Western consumption while raising the standard of living of the developing world without increasing its resource use and environmental impact. This must be done by using strategies and technology that decouple economic growth from environmental damage and resource depletion. In addressing these issues several key economic areas have received major attention: the potential consequences of unconstrained economic growth; the consequences of nature being treated as an economic externality; and the possibility of a more ethical economics that takes greater account of the social and environmental consequences of market behaviour.

Nature as an economic externality
The economic significance of natural resources has been acknowledged by sustainability science through the use of the expression ecosystem services to indicate the market relevance of nature which can no longer be regarded as both unlimited and free. In general as a commodity or service becomes more scarce the price increases and this acts as a restraint that encourages technical innovation and alternative products. However, this only applies when the product or service falls within the market system. Nature and natural resources are generally treated as economic externalities and because they are unpriced economic they will be overused and degraded, a situation referred to as the Tragedy of the Commons.

Protecting the biological world is becoming progressively subject to "internalising" market strategies including ecotaxes and incentives, tradable permits for carbon, water and nitrogen use etc., and an increasing willingness to accept payment for ecosystem services by these and other methods.

Decoupling environmental degradation and economic growth
In the second half of the 20th century world population doubled, food production tripled, energy use quadrupled, and overall economic activity quintupled. Historically there has been a close correlation between economic growth and environmental degradation: as communities grow, so the environment declines. This trend is clearly demonstrated on graphs of human population numbers, economic growth, and environmental indicators.

Unsustainable economic growth has been compared to the malignant growth of a cancer because it eats away at the Earth's ecosystem services which are its life-support system. There is concern that, unless resource use is checked, our civilization will follow the path of civilizations that collapsed through overexploitation of their resource base.

Part of the task for sustainability is to find ways of reducing (decoupling) the amount of resource (e.g. water, energy, or materials) needed for the production, consumption and disposal of a unit of good or service based on the assumption that reducing resource use generally equates to reduced environmental degradation.

Ecological economics includes the study of societal metabolism, the flows of energy and materials that enter and exit the economic system. Analysts from a variety of disciplines have conducted research on the economy-environment relationship, with concern for energy and material flows, sustainability, environmental quality, and economic development.

Comments
This is remaining information in the current economic parts of the article - suggestions welcome for headings, content etc. ... or total reorganisation. Granitethighs (talk) 21:57, 22 January 2009 (UTC)


 * As I've commented on the "social" section; Alot of this material may end up being inadvertently incorporated into our proposed sections. I suggest that we remove anything that is currently incorporated. Anything that isn't incorporated will remain here and we can see if we can find a place for it if it's crucial. Nick carson (talk) 12:19, 25 January 2009 (UTC)


 * OK, I think this is enough for this section - red citation note will disappear - what do people think ... put it up? Granitethighs (talk) 00:51, 3 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Looking good! The only comment would be, are there any alternatives to the commercialisation of renewable energy that we can offer in this section? It's a matter that spans both energy and economics in the context of the article, however I think it's more a product of economic factors so we should really discuss it in this section. Nick carson (talk) 03:40, 4 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I like it. Nice work, GT! Sunray (talk) 07:59, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Economic opportunity subsection (initial redraft)
Rather than treating the environment as an externality, by focussing on the triple bottom line, sustainable business practices attempt to integrate ecological concerns with social and economic ones. This approach views sustainability as a business opportunity. Waste in an industrial process is often a sign that inputs are being used inefficiently; waste itself can be seen as an "economic resource in the wrong place". The benefits of waste reduction include savings from disposal costs, fewer environmental penalties, and reduced liability insurance, in addition to increased market share due to an improved public image. Energy efficiency can also increase profit margins through reducing costs. The concept of sustainability as a business opportunity has led to the formation of organizations such as the Society for Organizational Learning's Sustainability Consortium, oriented towards large corporations, as well as regional groups such as Entrepreneurs for Sustainability in the Greater Cleveland area which are oriented towards small and medium sized enterprises. The idea of sustainability as a driver of job creation was pushed in the 2008 presidential election by Barack Obama through the rhetoric of Green-collar jobs.

Economic opportunities are sometimes in conflict with uneconomic growth. In human development theory, welfare economics (the economics of social welfare), and some forms of ecological economics, is economic growth that reflects or creates a decline in the quality of life. The concept is attributed to the economist Herman Daly, though other theorists can also be credited for the incipient idea. . Note that economic degrowth is different from uneconomic growth (or uneconomic degrowth), it is meant as a reduction of the size of the economy that would bring well-being and sustainability, see http://events.it-sudparis.eu/degrowthconference/en/.