I am definitely not an economist, but I have read some discontent recently with the GDP metric (if in fact it is a real metric), so using GDP as a measure of sustainability throws up red flags in my mind.
Here are a few of the articles I read: --------------------------------------- http://www.tidepool.org/original_content.cfm?articleid=186112 Another Accounting Scandal: GDP Why trends like housework, parenting, and education should count on our national report card by ALAN THEIN DURNING | posted 02.25.06 QUOTE: "... Estimated twelve times a year by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), GDP is not a profit-and-loss statement for the nation, as many assume. It is a tally of finished goods and services. GDP math counts all spending as good, whether it's on weddings or divorces, college tuition or Botox injections, prenatal care or cyberporn. Consequently, everyone from President Richard Nixon to Nobel Prize-winning economist Simon Kuznets (who helped devise it in the 1930s), has denounced the GDP (and its sibling, GNP) as a measure of progress. Still, the public, led on by the media, continues to treat BEA's GDP figures as society's report card -- and we've organized our national economy to get "A's." GDP announcements send waves through the nation, nudging investment decisions, changing interest rates, and making or breaking political careers. ..." ---------------------------------------------- http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/01/23/MNGAPGRIJB1. DTL&hw=bhutan&sn=001&sc=1000 Finding happiness outside the GNP Bhutan searching for a way to stop drift from harmony Charles Burress, Chronicle Staff Writer Monday, January 23, 2006 QUOTE: "... How many governments are truly committed, how many communities are truly committed to equity, to sustainability?" he asked. He pointed to the frightening scenario forecast in a study by 1,300 scientists around the world that was released Thursday. They predicted famine, epidemics, environmental collapse and other disasters by 2050 if humankind doesn't halt the way it is depleting natural resources. ..." -------------------------------------------- I was particularly impressed with Bhutan's attempts to move away from materialism and focus upon happiness as their measure of national progress. Perhaps it is as 'simple' as that... David Thomson -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Luis Gutierrez Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 6:08 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Solidarity & Sustainability Mike-WLD Larson wrote: > I think human population size is still only part of the issue. > Continuous growth in the per capita rate of resource consumption is > just as unsustainable as continuous growth in abundance. Therefore, > I think economic growth--a function of population size and per capita > consumption and quantified by indexes like GDP--is a fundamental > metric by which movement toward sustainability could be monitored. Excellent point. The best representation I have seen of this reality is the "ecocosm paradox" diagram (and paper) by Fey and Lam: http://ecocosmdynamics.org/ED/fig16.asp Luis -- Luis T. Gutierrez, Ph.D., P.E. Quality, Productivity, and Sustainability Consulting http://pelican-consulting.com Solidarity & Sustainability Research Newsletter http://pelican-consulting.com/solisust.html [EMAIL PROTECTED]
