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Food for Thought: Downsides of Growth

by , posted on Monday, August 15th, 2011 at 3:00 pm

Cross-posted from the website of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady-State Economy (CASSE).

There is a Conflict between Economic Growth and:

(1) Environmental Protection

A growing economy consumes natural resources and produces wastes. It results in biodiversity loss, air and water pollution, climate destabilization, and other major environmental threats.

(2) Economic Sustainability

A healthy environment is the foundation of a healthy economy. We need healthy soils for agriculture, healthy forests for timber, and healthy oceans for fisheries. Along with clean air for breathing and clean water for drinking, these are the building blocks of a prosperous economy and a good life.

(3) National Security and International Stability

When economic growth threatens the environment and economic sustainability, social unrest is the result, and national security is compromised. Economic growth was once used for building military power, but in an overgrown global economy, economic sustainability is more conducive to diplomacy and stability among nations.
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