An Approach to Sustainable Reform – Finance June 23, 2009

Financial Reform!

This is something I’ve been working on irregularly for the past couple of weeks. Here goes!

I’ve done some light reading from Redefining Progress, a think tank/nonprofit interested in changing our economic thinking to incorporate sustainability. The director of their Sustainable Economics Program, J. Andrew Hoerner, has an essay that makes a case for sustainable reform in the areas of finance, health, and energy. It’s a good essay to start learning about sustainable economics. I will only focus on his introduction and section on finance here. I will likely blog about the health and energy sections in later posts.

Some basic arguments:

• Most importantly, Hoerner lists the three necessary tools to create sustainable systems: the right indicators, incentives, and principles of justice. (explained further after the fold)
• He suggests we switch from the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as our economic health indicator to the Genuine Progress Indicator, GPI. GDP measures both good and bad economic activity. Bad economic activity includes greater purchase of health care due to personal sickness, or increased purchase of oil due to rising energy costs. These are both bad for physical and mental wellbeing. GPI is a more accurate indicator of economic collapse – it incorporates human and natural capital into its calculations. We would have a better idea of the extent of natural resource depletion and overall human wellbeing.
• Proposes we align individual liberty with the general good of society – encourage individual expression, but curb it when it is detrimental to the general good.
• Compares financial firms and corporations to evolution and natural selection - firms and corporations best capable of increasing their individual fitness/profit, not collective fitness/profit, are the ones that thrive. “So for example, a fishing fleet, if unregulated, catches the number of fish that maximizes its individual profit, even though the sum of those catches over time drives the fish population to extinction and the industry as a whole to ruin.”
• Suggests implementation of new financial regulations based on unwanted natural features of the market – i.e., make financial managers more accountable by taking part of their compensation and putting it into a long-term fund (say 10 years), so that the public has some security, should a recession occur due to bad decision-making. Or, imprison financial managers for bad decision-making.

Hoerner also goes into some detail about how to improve our health care and energy sectors. More details on his recommendations after the jump.

Thinking about this essay, along with other reports and tidbits I’ve been reading lately on this topic, I definitely feel that this topic is less about specific answers, and more about a relevant approach, or process, to building effective policies. For example, how does Hoerner come up with his ideas for new financial policy? Here’s how I see it:

Back! June 23, 2009

Hello, I’m back! I have a lot of plans for this blog, so I will give a general idea of what’s coming up in the next couple of weeks:

- more specifics on sustainable economics and policy

- I just received Blessed Unrest, by Paul Hawken, and I will definitely blog about this. Essentially, it’s about the proliferation of the nonprofit movement. And it is super exciting and optimistic!

- technical details for various renewable energy resources: solar, wind, fuel cell technology

- news of what different companies, countries, and individuals are doing in this area

Things are going to get pretty detailed! I hope it doesn’t overwhelm anyone. Feedback for anything related to this blog is greatly appreciated – design, post content, etc.

A Brief Respite… June 16, 2009

I have been quite busy lately, as I am officially starting a research internship with Coalition for Clean Air, and my personal life is also taking up a good amount of time. I have some plans for more detailed content here, and am waiting for a few books to come so I can blog about them. Anyway, I will be back on a regular posting schedule soon. Thanks for reading!

Who Has the Best Electric Car? June 10, 2009

Mitsubishi i-Miev

Many people have heard about the all-electric Chevy Volt that is set to be released in 2010. At least, I had heard about it, but nothing about other electric cars by major dealers. Now, Mistubishi is planning to produce 1,400 i-Mievs for corporate and government lease. The i-Mievs will be released in Japan, will go for around $45,300, and they qualify for a $14,300 government tax credit.

According to CNet’s CarTech blog, “The i-Miev uses a lithium ion battery pack and a 47-kilowatt electric motor to get a range of 100 miles. Recharging the batteries from a quick charger takes 30 minutes, while recharging from a 200 volt outlet takes seven hours. Regenerative brakes help recharge the battery pack during driving.”

Mitsubishi has plans to release the i-Miev in late July, at about the same time Subaru is planning to release its tiny all-electric Stella. In comparison with the i-Miev, Stella also uses a 47-kW electric motor, has a top speed of 62 mph, a range of 56 miles, and charges in 15 minutes at a quick-charge station.

I’m hoping the new interest in electric cars will generate a good amount of competition among major dealers. There’s a huge market here waiting for a good, practical replacement for my fuel-guzzling vehicle. Not only do I hope for the production of a really good electric car, but I’m also hoping to see the proliferation of quick-charging stations. Having reliable electric cars available combined with public interest and purchase will allow the infrastructure for an electric car market to develop on its own. I’m curious as to what motivated these companies to start investing in electric cars. How can we motivate companies in the future to produce products good for the public and the environment?

Related links:

• Mitsubishi i-Miev
• Subaru Stella
• Chevy Volt
• 23 Electric Cars Driving the Revolution

Solar Bus Shelters for San Francisco June 5, 2009

Solar Bus Shelters in SF

CNet reports Mayor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) have installed the city’s first solar-powered bus shelter, located on the corner of Geary Boulevard and Arguello Boulevard. The SFMTA plans to construct four more of these and will evaluate the initial design before replacing a minimum of 1,100 bus shelters in the San Francisco area. They aim to have the shelters complete and in place by 2013.

So what’s in these bus shelters?

The pilot bus shelters, which were designed by Lundberg Design, incorporate a bright red plastic wavy roof containing [organic dye-based] photovoltaic panels, two maps, LED lighting, Wi-Fi, space for two advertisements, and a NextMuni display that informs users of impending arrivals. … [The red plastic roof is] made of 40 percent recycled content. The bus shelter structure itself is made from steel consisting of 60-70 percent recycled material. The LED lights being used in the new bus shelters use about 74.4 watts, making them four and half times more efficient that than fluorescent lighting in the old shelters, which uses about 336 watts.

The story is here.

People, Planet, Profit June 2, 2009

people + planet + profit

Since discovering the basic idea behind sustainable economics, I’ve been looking into a variety of sources for more information on this topic. The concept itself is known as a few different names, all with the same general idea. Some of the names I’ve encountered include a “restorative economy,” coined by the environmental entrepreneur Paul Hawken, a conservation economy, and the “triple bottom line” (TBL). Wikipedia has a good entry on the basic idea behind the triple bottom line.

Triple bottom line is also known as “people, planet, profit”, which is a pretty good way to introduce the idea en masse. It sends out a pretty basic message – that we care about these three things and want to have them all without a sense of compromise. It’s a catchy slogan, and it makes you feel good because seriously, who wouldn’t want a happy planet, happy people, and still have good profit?? I’ll have to talk about details in a future post.

The basic idea behind the other three names I mentioned above is the triple bottom line. The restorative economy aims to restore natural resources while encouraging industry and community growth. The conservation economy conserves natural resources, and a sustainable economy aims to make all sectors of the economy sustainable. They are all essentially the same, and they call for similar policy changes.

Before anyone brushes away this idea of people, planet, profit, I’ll share my perspective on this issue. First, we have a financial problem right now in our global economy. Many people have already admitted that we have a problem. There are a few different approaches in the next step. My natural inclination, as a trained research scientist, is to ask questions about the problem at hand. What caused this problem? What will happen if we return to the status quo? Is there any way to prevent this outcome? Others will jump to studying the problem, or jump to making quick fixes to restore the economy to the status quo. No studying necessary, just go back to the way things were before. Questions are important because they address the unknown variables of a situation. It’s true that the more questions you can think of, the more answers you’ll be forced to produce. That’s definitely difficult, but it’s unrealistic and unsustainable to simply ignore the challenging questions, and hope for good luck.

We definitely have a problem, people are studying it, and currently there are new economic models in production. TBL is essentially one of these economic models. While it is still just a concept, we can take this concept and ask if it can be translated into viable policy. We can treat this like an experiment, and see what sort of policy ideas will arise. Democracy is an ongoing experiment – if one law doesn’t work, repeal it.

Links:

• Conservation Economy Net
• Related post – Why a Blog?

Coalition for Clean Air! June 1, 2009

Toxic Nail Polish

I’m going to start volunteering for Coalition for Clean Air (CCA). I currently work full time in biochemistry, but am interested in getting into environmental nonprofit work, so this is a way of getting my foot in the door. CCA works to reduce pollution in our environment through community awareness and political advocacy, tackling major issues like pollution in our ports and the widespread use of toxic cleaning products.

I will be assisting in a project to persuade the LA Unified School District (LAUSD) to switch from conventional, toxic cleaning products to safer, nontoxic ones. I’m excited! This is my first foray into a real-life project. Businesses that produce safe, nontoxic cleaning products are in luck, too! They can make a case for their products and have a reliable customer. I will be researching information on the products used by the LAUSD, communicating with researchers at Occidental College and USC on the harmful health effects caused by long-term use of these products, and looking at the LAUSD school locations to see if they are near any polluting facilities.

Click for more on CCA…

Solar Charger May 28, 2009

Solio Hybrid Charger

EcoTechDaily reports on a solar charger, from Solio, that can be used to power your cell phone or MP3 player! It costs about $100, charges your gadgets at about the same rate as a regular wall socket, and stores up to 10 hours of power for multiple charges. One hour of sun produces 15 minutes of talk time, or 40 minutes of MP3 playtime.

The great thing about this charger? It doesn’t cost a ridiculous amount (although it is on the higher end), you’ve just taken your iPod or cell phone off the grid, you can charge those items anywhere there’s sunlight, and you’re now clean tech-savvy! I could see myself purchasing an item like this because it’s so affordable.

Check out the story here.

Why a blog? May 26, 2009

My biggest inspiration for starting this blog is a report I discovered about a month ago, titled “Prosperity without Growth?”, released by the UK’s Sustainable Development Commission (SDC). It introduced me to the idea of sustainable economics – a notion that we can develop policies that support industry, basic human needs, as well as environmental preservation and the renewal of natural resources.  Industries within a sustainable economy would require businesses and corporations to be socially and environmentally responsible. Basically, everyone’s interests are supported while natural resources are left unharmed. Previous to this idea, I felt overwhelmed by all of the issues (like a corrupt financial sector as well as political leaders, high cost of healthcare, poor education, environment degradation, natural resource depletion, etc) plaguing our society today. Most of these can be resolved through the application of sustainable economics, and a shift of policy focus from what the SDC termed the economic “growth imperative” onto individual and community prosperity. The notion that practically all of our issues could be resolved through this concept is exceptionally compelling to me, and I have decided to learn more about it, and will share my findings here.

Click to learn more about the report…