Discussion Paper

The Lot of the Currency Designer

This paper was prepared by Graham Barnes for the International Social Transformation Conference in Split, Croatia, He argues that "once we realise that currency - nay, money in general - can be designed to fulfill or support specific objectives, it sets us free. Free from the constraints of the broken pseudo-science that is mainstream economics; free to recognise that not all transactions are of equal importance; and potentially free to redesign ourselves away from our existing pervasive elite monetary hegemony and reclaim the monetary commons."

Fracking good or fracking bad?

At the Feasta climate weekend in Wales last month David Knight gave a presentation on 'fracking': the use of unconventional methods for extracting natural gas. Fracking has become the subject of much controversy on both sides of the Atlantic as the energy industry lobbies for its widespread adoption. Knight discussed its viability in terms of energy return on investment, its potential as a pollutant and its effect on climate change. You can download his powerpoint slides from this site now, along with the script he used while giving the presentation.

The biofuel delusion: synopsis of the argument and implications for ZeroCarbonBritain 2030’s land use proposals

Nick Bardsley, a Feasta member and lecturer in climate change economics at the University of Reading, has prepared a slideshow presentation for the recent Feasta Climate Group weekend which is now available for download. In it he discusses the problems associated with a biofuel-based economy, drawing on the work of energetics analysts Mario Giampietro and Kozo Mayumi. Nick also discusses his own challenges as a lecturer in ecological economics.