Archive for Commentary

Transforming Finance: notes from the conference on 10th May 2013

May 24, 2013 No Comments by
Graham Barnes attended the recent Transforming Finance event in London. Here are some of his recollections.
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Financing Renewable Energy Projects

Apr 01, 2013 1 Comment by
Financing of renewable energy projects is hampered by two systemic economic effects – market ‘externalities’ that make them appear less attractive (versus fossil fuel development) than they should; and the effect of embedded interest in the cost of capital. Graham Barnes describes some creative methods for overcoming these hurdles.
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Degrowth in a small peripheral European state

Mar 25, 2013 3 Comments by
Could a small peripheral state be a pioneer for adapting to degrowth? Brian Davey comments on two articles on the economy of Croatia that were recently published by the Green European Journal. The first article by Igor Matutinovic calls for green growth while the second, by the left-green Group 22, argues that we need to move away from the growth-based economic paradigm. Brian reflects on the two sides’ arguments and suggests policies to help promote a paradigm shift in the Croatian economy.
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Settlements (from A Potent Nostalgia)

Mar 12, 2013 1 Comment by
We have inherited the same social patterning that our ancestors held in pre-history (I speculate!) and though we may live in a great city we must, by nature create appropriate villages within. Our street and corner shop may be invisible to a town planner, but they replicate the inner patterns of the soul. By Patrick Noble.
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Allan Savory: How to green the world’s deserts and reverse climate change

Mar 05, 2013 No Comments by
In 2009, Allan Savory of the Savory Institute was invited to Dublin to give the Feasta Annual Lecture. His work on transforming the way livestock is managed in order to reverse degradation of arid landscapes was seen as an essential tool in reversing climate change and desertification, and was included in the work of the Carbon Cycles and Sinks Network. The recording of his fascinating full presentation was put online, as well as a few extracts, in which he explains the details of the Holistic Management system.
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Notes from the Environ 2013 colloquium

Feb 21, 2013 No Comments by
Feasta member Willi Kiefel attended this event and was impressed by the high standard of research and presentations. Converting the hard work done by researchers into political reality is a challenge however. He comments “I got the feeling again and again when I talked to researchers or other participants that there seems to be a serious lack of awareness as to the responsibility towards future generations amongst public representatives.”
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A Potent Nostalgia: Chapter 1

Jan 14, 2013 No Comments by
In this second excerpt from his book, Feasta member Patrick Noble further expands his argument about power and modernity. He maintains that true modernity has nothing to do with hierarchical power and that those trying to promote it should simply avoid engaging with the powerful. In this vein he criticises the Soil Association, among others, for allowing its label to be used by supermarket chains, as he believes that this sabotages the organisation’s own values.
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Climate activists in India are taking the litigation route

Dec 11, 2012 No Comments
Anandi Sharan writes that “the post-Milton Friedman era is not throwing up new answers easily for thinking people across the world and the same is the case in India. Pollution, unemployment and poverty in India as in all other countries are receiving only the most shoddy consideration at policy level.” So what is to be done? Sharan and her colleagues are considering taking legal action against the Indian government to force it to cut greenhouse gas emissions, along the same lines as those described by John Jopling in his post last week.
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Ignorance by Consensus

Nov 13, 2012 10 Comments
A consensus becomes established out of the persistence of what it attempts to describe. It is inherently retrospective. It tends to assume that what has been, must continue. A couple of decades of low interest rates and stable global economic growth, and well, it becomes the natural order of things.
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It isn’t too late…a plea to make a decision in favour of Site Value Tax

Nov 06, 2012 Comments Off
by Konrad. The Irish government has covered discussion of the proposed property tax in a blanket of silence.  We fear the worst.  The developers, speculators and banks are set for another bail-out by the ordinary citizen.  But it is not too late yet if we wake up and demand a Site Value Tax instead of a property tax that will exempt the 1%.
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A Potent Nostalgia: Foreword

Oct 30, 2012 5 Comments
In his new book, organic farmer and Feasta member Patrick Noble makes the case that those of us who do real, tangible work – “trade’s people” – hold the key to the future. He believes that we should not try to subdue or overthrow those who hold disproportionate power: instead we should simply ignore them and get on with things. This week we’re publishing the book’s foreword and in the course of the next few weeks we’ll be publishing several other extracts from the book.
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Sustainable currency and the green economy: An Irish perspective

Oct 08, 2012 No Comments
While “green technology” is an important response to the convergent crises that Ireland and other nations face, it is important not to overlook two other important macroeconomic issues: our current dependence on debt-based money; and the need to rebuild and strengthen local economies. By Graham Barnes.
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Trade Off: Financial system supply-chain cross contagion – a study in global systemic collapse

Jun 17, 2012 12 Comments
This new study by David Korowicz explores the implications of a major financial crisis for the supply-chains that feed us, keep production running and maintain our critical infrastructure. He uses a scenario involving the collapse of the Eurozone to show that increasing socio-economic complexity could rapidly spread irretrievable supply-chain failure across the world.
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