Welcome to our in-depth exploration of degrowth. In a world shaped by economic systems, our articles delve into the intersection of green politics, degrowth, and anti-capitalist principles, providing a unique perspective on reshaping economic paradigms.
Our articles offer a green perspective on degrowth, examining how it aims to redefine success beyond mere GDP growth and advocates for a sustainable, balanced approach to resource allocation.
Discover how anti-capitalist ideals align with the Green vision for an economic system that prioritizes people and the planet over profit. We explore the complexities of dismantling the current economic framework and replacing it with one that emphasizes social justice, environmental sustainability, and community well-being. Navigate through insightful articles that unpack the strategies proposed by green political movements to reduce the size of the military-industrial complex.
Together, let’s envision and advocate for a future where economic prosperity is intertwined with social and ecological well-being.
Life Expectancy: The US and Cuba in the Time of Covid
Don Fitz
R ecent data shows that between 2019 and 2021, life expectancy (LE) in the US plunged almost three years while for Cuba it edged up 0.2 years. Yet, in 1960, the year after its revolution, Cuba had a LE of 64.2 years, lower by 5.6 years than that in the US (69.8 years). As I document in Cuban Health Care, the island quickly caught up to the US and, from 1970 through 2016, the two countries were nip and tuck, with some years Cuba and other years the US, having a longer LE. But neither country was ever as much […]
“Water is dignity”: Residents in majority-Black Jackson, Mississippi left without drinkable water
Natalia Marques
Jackson is 82.5% Black, and has been hit with multiple water crises in recent months. As of September 2, the vast majority of the residents of the city of Jackson, Mississippi—over 150,000—still have no access to safe drinking water. The Jackson water crisis began on August 30 when flooding caused the pumps at the main water treatment facility to fail. This left most residents without clean water and many with no water at all due to low water pressure…. Water coming out of the pipes in Jackson is discolored and cloudy, if any water comes out at all… Many residents […]
Game Of Nuclear Chicken In Zaporozhye
Prabir Purkayastha
It defies logic why the Russians themselves would shell a plant which, by all accounts, is under their control. All the evidence so far supports Russia’s claim that Ukraine shelled the plant and the transmission lines. And if, as Ukraine claims, Russia has positioned heavy military equipment within the plant, it should be a simple matter for Ukraine or its NATO allies to make the evidence public in the age of satellite imagery. That they have not speaks volumes. Understandably, the Ukrainian side would make such propaganda claims. What is surprising is major news organizations—Reuters, AP, The New York Times, and The Washington Post — have […]
Green Energy’s Threat to the Desert West
Joshua Frank
Geothermal, like hydroelectric dams, is often cited as a renewable energy source, since the technology harnesses heat from the earth to produce electricity, which in theory is endless. Even so, large geothermal plants consume a lot of land and spit out a lot of water. The Dixie Meadows project, which was proposed in Nevada, was one such “green” energy plan that, if built, would suck up over 40,000 thousand acre-feet of water every single year, the result of which would be devasting. Dixie’s delicate wetlands habitat, unique to this stretch of the Great Basin, is home to the imperiled black-freckled […]
Why The Inflation Reduction Act Is Less A ‘Climate Bill’ and More a Poison Pill for Black and Indigenous Communities and Movements
Anthony Rogers-Wright
This, to me, is a fair inquiry. If a Republican introduced a piece of legislation that included opening up 600 million acres of oil and gas leasing in the Gulf of Mexico, dedicated billions of dollars to unproven “false climate solutions” like so called carbon capture and sequestration, extended the life of aging nuclear power plants, allowed for increased mining of uranium, and tied it to a commitment to ratify a separate, rubber stamped American Petroleum Institute (API) side deal that would deregulate landmark environmental laws like the National Environmental Policy Act, as well as the Clean Water Act, which […]
The System Is Causing Food Crisis, Not The War
Adele Walton
While Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine [and Western sanctions on Russia] has exacerbated this crisis, climate change and capitalism are the primary engines behind this global food emergency. The IPCC has estimated that by 2030, global warming will have diminished the world’s average agricultural production by more than a fifth. This process really took shape during the so-called “Green Revolution” in the late 1960s. This movement was a collaboration between India and the U.S. (with USAID and the Ford Foundation being key actors). This shift towards big agriculture and more profitable monocultures made small farmers more dependent on expensive […]
Class Struggle Or Degrowth?
Gray Maddrey
In his recent book, Climate Change as Class War, Matthew Huber argues that the ecological crisis is primarily caused by the capitalist mode of production, especially the preponderant deployment of fossil capital, ‘the forms of capital that generate profit through emissions’. For many on the anti-capitalist left, this is a conclusion that hardly bears repeating. I want to address the core of Huber’s critique of degrowth: the notion that a ‘politics of less’ will not win over the working-class who are struggling to make ends meet… When the economy ‘grows’, there is more production and thus more ‘value’ in circulation. But, for example, […]
Deep Sea Mining: Electric Car Batteries May Upset the Ocean Ecology
Roar Bjonnes
More electric cars are needed to save us from using fossil fuels to save us from global warming. These electric cars need cobalt, a naturally occurring metal and an essential ingredient in the lithium-ion batteries powering everything from cell phones and laptops to Elon’s Tesla. Today, 60% of the global supply of cobalt comes from copper mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with calamitous consequences to the local environment. The pollution from copper and cobalt operations has poisoned and ended fishing in the Katapula tributary of the Congo River.
The Renewables Rush In Texas
Nathan Jensen and Isabella Steinhauer
Environmentalists have long argued for federal and state subsidies for renewable energy as a means of combating climate change. However, as our data analysis shows, the owners who benefit from renewable energy incentives can in some cases be the same fossil fuel companies that actively oppose a green energy transition. The results of a 2021 study, using data released by energy companies on earnings calls, also suggest that energy company investments in renewable energy projects are often simply diversification strategies – they aren’t replacing fossil fuels.