growth Archive

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  Growing in a way that makes us happy - by Gareth Hughes

  
  
  
  According to a piece in the Herald today, people with longer commutes are less likely to be healthy, happy or stay married. The study found that if you commute for 45 minutes plus then your chance of getting divorced is 40% higher than for those with shorter journeys. This is good news for me (and [...] read more
  June 8, 2011 6:42 pm - 17 Comments
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  Upcoming film – ‘Growth Busters’ - by frog

  
  
  
  I’m looking forward to this doco I like the warning at the start: “This film contains material which may be offensive to economists, developers, the Pope, politicians, octomoms, wealthy capitalists, environmentalists, people who leave the lights on, and…well, pretty much everybody.” I’ve had my fill of doom documentaries, so the promise of a positive vision [...] read more
  April 5, 2010 9:25 pm - 2 Comments
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  Growth versus Development - by frog

  
  
  
  Dr Dennis Meadows, one of the authors of Limits to Growth, spoke last year at the World Resources Forum in Davos. Reading Limits to Growth was what set me on the path to becoming a Green. Despite many false and ad hominem attacks on the research, it stands up very well in its forecast for [...] read more
  March 5, 2010 8:55 am - 30 Comments
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  Population and Climate Change - by frog

  
  
  
  As greens, it seems pretty intuitive that runaway population growth is unsustainable. That argument rages in back rooms, but rarely gets much air in the media because it is such a controversial topic. read more
  September 28, 2009 10:37 am - 18 Comments
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  Bottoms up to financial growth - by frog

  
  
  
  Peter Kean, the Managing Director for Lion Nathan New Zealand gave a unique insight on Morning Report this morning into what happens when the need for financial growth detaches itself from social well being: The beer market and the alcohol market have been very resilient. We’re not complacent about that but it is a positive [...] read more
  November 19, 2008 2:56 pm - 27 Comments
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  We can’t grow our way to fairness - by frog

  
  
  
  Last week I pointed to New Scientist’s special issue on The Folly of Growth.  One of its really compelling articles was Andrew Simm’s explanation of why growth didn’t and couldn’t end poverty as its proponents have often claimed: THE last line of defence for advocates of indefinite global economic growth is that it is needed [...] read more
  November 4, 2008 1:53 pm - 22 Comments
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  Daly and Suzuki on the folly of growth - by frog

  
  
  
  I am spending some of my holiday weekend wallowing in this month´s New Scientist special issue entitled ¨The folly of growth¨. (Both linked articles require a subscription to read, sorry. I bought a hard copy.) Economist Herman Daly talks about how economics has a blind spot that has put humanity and the the earth on [...] read more
  October 27, 2008 12:01 pm - 92 Comments
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  What politicians dare not say. (Except the Greens) - by frog

  
  
  
  In the usual sequence of events, what was once Green heresy is now at least being openly discussed in the mainstream media. This month´s New Scientist has a series of articles about the limits to growth and our politician´s and economist´s obsession with growth – and how it is killing us and the planet that [...] read more
  October 25, 2008 5:05 pm - 136 Comments
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  Did National really want to be measured on how much it would grow by? - by frog

  
  
  
  Kiwiblog and National’s Nick Smith are both complaining that the Greens ‘criteria for choosing who we could or could not work with after the election were biased because they did not ask what each party was going to do to grow the economy or create wealth. This is the perfect opportunity to segue into another [...] read more
  October 20, 2008 4:33 pm - 46 Comments
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  Carbon fin prints - by frog

  
  
  
  Jeanette’s question this afternoon on the Government’s claim to be the first carbon neutral country in the world resulted in the usual banter with the Michael Cullen, who was answering on behalf of the Prime Minister. Even National’s Nick Smith got in on the game, asking much the same as what many Green supporters have [...] read more
  May 29, 2008 9:15 pm - 17 Comments
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  John Key’s Investigate interview - by frog

  
  
  
  John Key gets environmental in the latest Investigate magazine interview [not on line]: First his views on Peak Oil: Yeah, I’m not sure I entirely buy the peak oil argument. I guess, if it’s real, and demand really is greater than the world’s ability to supply, then you’ll certainly see technology being invoked that will [...] read more
  May 23, 2008 2:42 pm - 115 Comments
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  How big a slice of tax cut would you like? - by frog

  
  
  
  Tax cuts. Cullen says his will be smaller but won’t negatively affect the economy or public services. English says his will be bigger but doesn’t want to play that up too much in case he gets caught in the chewing gum trap Cullen found him self in last election. Or worse, he could end up [...] read more
  March 27, 2008 1:55 pm - 7 Comments
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  Trade and debt - by frog

  
  
  
  If it’s true as the evidence seems to indicate that New Zealand’s free trade for growth agenda is leading to larger and larger current account deficits, what does that mean for our economy? I thought it was worth reposting this comment of Andrew’s from yesterday for debate: Trade deficits have the opposite problem in that [...] read more
  March 21, 2008 8:02 am - 13 Comments
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  Bankers, like gangs, just get carried away - by frog

  
  
  
  It was such a delicious editorial to stumble upon that I had to share it. John Kay’s Financial Times article from February 13th. Now that you’ve read it, I have to ask: Could you vote for investment banker John Key and his gang in the next election? It’s not that the Greens would be exempt [...] read more
  February 19, 2008 4:30 pm - 25 Comments
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  Challenging green economics - by frog

  
  
  
  It’s a fairly regular critique from those who developed the conditions for such economic innovations as the stock market crash and the sub prime crisis, that the Greens are economically illiterate: They like to expand on this by pointing to our philistine beliefs that you can’t have infinite growth in a finite world. Or they [...] read more
  February 19, 2008 12:15 pm - 19 Comments
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  Dividing up the pie irrationally - by frog

  
  
  
  The LA Times has a fascinating story about how irrationally humans (and also capuchin monkeys) respond to money. Apparently we’re less concerned about how much money we have as a quantity, and more concerned about making sure we get at least a fair share of what is available. Would you rather earn $50,000 a year [...] read more
  January 17, 2008 10:17 am - 37 Comments