We’ve all heard of the sharing economy. We’re all aware of the need for double decoupling. We all know that our resource consumption needs to drop drastically. But still, nothing is less disputed than our...
Tag - studies
Chance or Catastrophe? Towards a Constructive Media Coverage of Climate Change
Instead of using the opportunity to promote a low-carbon society, media reports of global warming generally convey only two messages. First, “watch out, the apocalypse is coming”, and second, “we don’t really know...
Sustainability Triangle? One Pillar Missing!
There is a significant growing concern in several arenas that the three-pillar model of sustainability, consisting of environmental, economic and social dimensions, may be overlooking something of fundamental importance...
How to Get Maximum Greenhouse Gas Reductions in Emerging Economies, Part II: India, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea
Last week, I critically reviewed the term emerging economy and concluded that, given the lack of an appropriate alternative, it remains all right to use it even though some of the countries it refers to have long since...
How to Get Maximum Greenhouse Gas Reductions in Emerging Economies, Part I: Brazil and China
Over the course of the last two decades, most people have realized that in a rapidly changing economic world order, country development categories could do with an update. Especially needed is a new title for the...
The Outweighed Efficiency Gain – 13 Rebound Effects in Detail
According to Tilman Santarius, one essential concept is missing in all the scenarios that lead toward a green economy. It is, so he wrote, that expectations for reduced energy consumption from efficiency gains need to...
Why Environmental Regulation Is Not Scaring Off Industry – On Declining Evidence for Pollution Haven Theory
Some say strict environmental regulations in individual countries are useless, especially from a global perspective. The thought behind this view is that the actual benefit to the environment resulting from strict...
Green Ocean Hunters? The Environmental Effects of Fishing and Aquaculture, Part 2
Last week, in part one of this article, we ended with the tragedy of the commons and the question of whether overfishing is a logical consequence of human nature. Luckily, not all things are as bad as they seem...
Green Ocean Hunters? The Environmental Effects of Fishing and Aquaculture
Shrimp farms destroy sensitive mangrove forest ecosystems, salmon escape from designated aquaculture spots and spread parasites, fish trawlers leave nothing but empty seas behind and even organic fish farming could be...
Carbon Neutral Online Shopping – How Green are Mail Order Companies?
In the last 150 years, three major trends have changed the way humanity consumes. First, industrialization shifted production from self-sufficiency to consumerism. Second, ongoing economic development allowed local...