The Ecology of Commerce

1
The Ecology of Commerce
2
A Teasing Irony

• Gap between environment and business, ecology and
  economics
• Industry suppresses our immune system
• Free market capitalism?
• Restorative economy
• Waste, income and capital, diversity

3
The Death of Birth

• Transforming ecology is unavoidable. American
  culture to invasive weeds
• What are we taking?
• Usurpation of planetary production
• Carrying capacity
• Species loss
• Self interest and the myth of overabundance

4
The Creation of Waste

• End-of-pipe cleanup
• Creation of waste is the root, Disposal is a
  symptom
• Molecular waste. Bioaccumulation.
  Biomagnification.
• Economic growth as a prerequisite for
  environmental health?
• Redesign, Robert, succession

5
Parking Lots and Potato Heads

• Restoration, rejuvenation, innovation
• Interface modular carpeting
• Industrial Ecology
• Degradable products, reclaimable products of
  service, parking lots of unsalables
• Responsibility

6
Pigous Solution

• Prices, costs, market economy?
• The primary freedom is growth
• Industrialization
• Pigouvian taxes
• Higher costs to consumers?
• Cheapness threatens our integrity

7
The Size Thing

• Multinational corporations, politics, money,
  power
• Globalization
• GATT, WTO, environmental regs
• Enormity
• Corporations are the opposite of nature.

8
When an Ethic is not an Ethic

• Growth addiction, indebtedness, stress
• Propaganda
• What is for sale in America is our welfare.
• Time
• Values, creating meaningful employment

9
Restoring the Guardian

• A systemic problem
• Governance and commerce
• Reward those that internalize costs most
• Set standards for planning/developing new
  business
• Green taxes. A shift from goods to bads
• Creativity

10
Pink Salmon and Green Fees

• Efficiency
• Green fees energy, farming, traffic, war
• Public utilities publicly regulated, privately
  managed, market-based
• Salmon utility?
• Low or no tariffs to most sustainable nations

11
The Inestimable Gift of a Future

• Resilience
• Carrying capacity, exemptionalist thinking,
  Malthusianism
• The 29th day, exponential growth
• Q of life, increasing stratification
• Waste, shift to income not capital, diversity
• Favelas
• Democracy