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.
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.
Botany as Archaeology, to Stop a Lithium Mine
Nikki Hill
Many of the desert plants do indeed resemble ocean creatures: coral-like cactus and urchin-like succulents. Although it is commonly thought of as desolate and emptiness, the high desert steppe is incredibly abundant and alive. 350 species of wildlife and insects depend just on sagebrush herself. … There is so much in the sagebrush sea, so many plants with lineages enmeshed with the Indigenous Tribes who traditionally tended them. The ecology of the high desert steppe exist in part due to the intentional cultivation of these plants to create future abundance. … These First Food plants have evolved to be prolific […]
Lumumba’s Politics Are What Really Need to Return
Perry Blankson
When the European imperialist powers decided among themselves to carve up Africa during the 1884-5 Berlin Conference, they granted Léopold his wish, officially recognizing the International African Association of the Congo (later the Congo Free State). In what was to represent a long-lasting relationship, the United States was the first nation to recognize Léopold’s claim to this land prior to the Conference, and lobbied the European powers to do the same… Photographer Alice Seely Harris brought to life the horror of Léopold’s rule in the Congo Free State through her now-famous photograph of Congolese man Nsala in 1904. In the […]