Martin, I get the frustration with the perceived gag rule on population control, but to be fair politicians are unable to discuss it for a reason. Either way, I think we all understand that overcrowding and the growth of the human population beyond the carrying capacity of the Earth is a problem. But there are, in my opinion, very few options for population control that are ethical. The only one that really comes to mind is the voluntary human extinction movement<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voluntary_Human_Extinction_Movement>, which submits that human beings stop making babies to end the human race. Even that one is controversial for many people. I, for one, would prefer to find other alternatives to sustainable human life before aggressively seeking population control. But, if anyone wants to dive into that can of worms, you're more than welcome to.
On another note, I think Herman Daly's essay is pretty interesting, as his assertion that the economy needs to emulate the ecosystem. But, I would also say it's all fine and good to say that we ought to have an economy that operates in a "stable state" on a finite flow of energy. The reality is that it's difficult to have such a sustainable economy when current economic infrastructures and systems are flawed. Anyway, just my two cents, but the essay ignores a lot of important caveats: what is the mechanism for conforming the economy to the confines of a finite ecosystem? Daly says that current economic theory about internalizing negative or positive externality costs (via taxes/cap and trade/what have you) is a pipe dream. So... what's next? (also something I somewhat disagree with, since incorporating externality costs can shrink the economy.) Even Daly, with his last sentence, seems to throw up his hands and say, "well, fuck it, there's clearly no good or even plausible political or economic solution at this point." On 24 September 2013 20:52, Martin Meiss <[email protected]> wrote: > I'm tired of people expressing deep thoughts about sustainability and > "green" this and "green" that and steady-state economics and never once > mentioning limiting the human population. I realize that people running > for public office dare not mention population control, but does the ban > extend to scientists and economists? > > Martin M. Meiss > > > 2013/9/24 Rob Dietz <[email protected]> > > > This short essay by Herman Daly describes the political ramifications of > > approaching the ecological limits to economic growth: > > http://steadystate.org/growth-and-laissez-faire/ > > > > Thanks, > > Rob > > -- > > Robert Dietz > > Author, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH - http://steadystate.org/enough-is-enough/ > > Editor, DALY NEWS - http://dalynews.org > > >
