Green Capitalism - Waves of the Future
Climate Change, Non-Renewable Resources, Energy, Contaminants, Carbon Pricing...Book Reviews & Comments
The Depletion Wall: Non-Renewable Resources, Population Growth, and the Economics of Poverty
Mark C. Henderson. ISBN: 978-0-9809989-2-4 ©2012-- Warning 404 Error --
Around June 15, 2025, our website will be renovated.
GOOGLE SEARCH RESULTS and the current LINKS and BOOKMARKS you may have will stop working and probably show 404 Error messages.
To access our new site, simply type:
wavesofthefuture.net
in your browser's address bar at the top.
Once there, you can recreate your bookmarks and links. Thanks.
The Depletion Wall (2012)
Comments by Mike Nickerson:
"It is a breath of fresh air to see the issue of population
addressed directly
with some good supporting evidence to say that a decreasing population
would improve global prospects."
...Mike Nickerson
Mike Nickerson is the author of "Life, Money and Illusion; Living on Earth as if we want to stay" and Executive Director of The Sustainability Project / 7th Generation Initiative (for lack of time, a full review will not be provided by Mr. Nickerson).
The 21st Century Environmental Revolution (2nd Ed.): A Structural Strategy for Global Warming, Resource Conservation, Toxic Contaminants, and the Environment / The Fourth Wave //
Mark C. Henderson. ISBN: 978-0-9809989-1-7 ©2010The 21st Century Environmental Revolution (2008)
Reviewed by David McCorquodale (Co-chair of Green Pages, the US Green Party quarterly)November 2008
[XYZ] Subtitled The Fourth Wave, this book is an effort to
[XYZ] envision the social and economic changes that an environmental
[XYZ] revolution would produce and to provide a feasible strategy capable
[XYZ] of delivering the large-scale change that would make it
[XYZ] possible. Proceeding from the premise that just as the
[XYZ] information age has changed the way human beings interact
[XYZ] as described by Alvin Toffler in The Third Wave, so to will
[XYZ] the environmental revolution change the social and economic
[XYZ] landscape by putting "a stop to the chronic and wanton
[XYZ] destruction of the planet and to the reckless wasting
[XYZ] and plundering of non-renewable resources."
[XYZ] The key recommendation for this transformation is to modify
[XYZ] the taxation system by progressively eliminating consumption
[XYZ] taxes, reducing income taxes on the average working person
[XYZ] and shifting to an environmental taxation system (ETS)
[XYZ] [the GEE or Green Economic Environment in the
[XYZ] 2nd edition]. This system would levy taxes based
[XYZ] on the environmental impact or scarcity of three
[XYZ] classes of substances: metals, toxic compounds and oil & other
[XYZ] fossil fuels. Similarly, taxes would be levied on packaging.
[XYZ] The ETS would create much more disposable income for individuals,
[XYZ] but products would cost much more, depending on the
[XYZ] environmental impact of the product. The total amount of tax
[XYZ] paid under the new system would equal that of the old taxation
[XYZ] system. But individuals and businesses would rapidly begin
[XYZ] to change their consumption patterns to reduce costs and
[XYZ]would begin to consume in a more sustainable pattern.
[XYZ] The author points to several positive developments with this
[XYZ] new system. The taxation bureaucracy would be simplified with
[XYZ] costs levied at the basic level and passed on up the chain of
[XYZ] manufacturing to the consumer, instead of levying taxes at
[XYZ] every point in the chain. Markets for recycling and renewables
[XYZ] would explode, as limited resources are deemed valuable, instead
[XYZ] of being viewed as trash. "The ETS would rely on the governments
[XYZ] for general directions and on the market for complex decisions"
[XYZ] without burdening businesses with reams of paperwork to comply
[XYZ] with environmental regulations as happens currently. The logic of
[XYZ] the system would lead business enterprises into doing what is
[XYZ] right for the planet because it is also the profitable way to proceed.
[XYZ] The book, which is presented as the first of a series by publisher
[XYZ] Waves of the Future (https://wavesofthefuture.net), leaves some
[XYZ] issues unaddressed. While nuclear power is derived from toxic
[XYZ] metals, the author did not specifically address the issue, which
[XYZ] many politicians, in the thrall of the energy companies, have
[XYZ] pushed as an intermediate solution to dependence on foreign oil.
[XYZ] The author's model might be easier to implement in Canada, which
[XYZ] is used as the example, because it is economically less complex
[XYZ] and more progressive than the United States.
[XYZ] Perhaps the thorniest unmentioned problem is the question of how
[XYZ] to put the ETS into law when politicians are beholden to
[XYZ] corporations whose business model is based on waste. In a
[XYZ] country where over half of the federal budget goes to "defense",
[XYZ] including wasteful armaments production, and every state gets
[XYZ] handouts to keep the addiction going, the question is how to
[XYZ] start the process of weaning the economy from wasteful production.
[XYZ] In response to this review, the publisher intends to address
[XYZ] this question on its website. [see below]
[XYZ] The author acknowledges that the ETS system is only part of
[XYZ] the answer because it does not assume a reduction in consumption,
[XYZ] which would mean unemployment and which would be politically
[XYZ] unpopular. But it would make the products we buy greener.
[XYZ] If population (the topic of the next book in the series)
[XYZ] continues to increase, even the ETS may not be enough. But it is
[XYZ] a step that would start humanity on the road to a greener future.
[XYZ] Greens, who wish to show communities that they
[XYZ] know how to lead toward a better future in a sustainable
[XYZ] world, will be provided with a foundation for
[XYZ] understanding environmental taxation concepts. The
[XYZ] book has convinced me that the ETS could be an
[XYZ] immensely important tool for the environment, but
[XYZ] the obstacles are sizable, especially in the United
[XYZ] States. Greens' support for such a strategy may play
[XYZ] a critical role in overcoming the odds.
[XYZ] know how to lead toward a better future in a sustainable
[XYZ] world, will be provided with a foundation for
[XYZ] understanding environmental taxation concepts. The
[XYZ] book has convinced me that the ETS could be an
[XYZ] immensely important tool for the environment, but
[XYZ] the obstacles are sizable, especially in the United
[XYZ] States. Greens' support for such a strategy may play
[XYZ] a critical role in overcoming the odds.
[XYZ] The 21st Century Environmental Revolution is available
[XYZ] through the publisher and many online retailers. See the
[XYZ] following webpage for best places to buy, royalties, and
[XYZ] discount information [below].
This review was written by David McCorquodale, co-chair of Green
Pages, the quarterly publication of the Green Party of the United
States, and appeared in the Summer 2009 edition of that publication.