Location: Mary Ward Centre WC1
Network link: New Economics Forum
Launch of new book and discussion with Wolfgang Sachs (Research Director Wuppertal Institute, IPCC panellist, former chair of Greenpeace Germany)
Oil crisis, water conflicts, declining food security - we hear one report after another about resource scarcity - while with growing populations and huge poverty, nations are demanding their right to development. In the age of globalization this right cannot be disputed, yet the planet is already exhibiting signs of acute environmental stress. This book provides an account of what is involved in the resource conflicts of today and tomorrow. It puts forwards perspectives for resource justice and outlines a global economic and environmental policy equally committed to nature and to humanity.
Overview of themes
The book looks at levels of resource consumption across the North/South divide and positions arguments for equality as necessary and inevitable.
The concept of "ecological rucksack" is introduced being the invisible weight of resources used to produce or import goods to the developed economies. Major themes of the book:
- 1) Progress on Social justice and ecological living are intertwined - through an emerging drive for equality
- 2) Security will be one of the big drivers of equalization, as resource inequality leads to more conflicts. Violence has become de-territorialized and harder to contain without addressing the root cause - injustice
- 3) Equality has become inevitable as a unexpected benefit of globalisation. As our trade flows become ever more interdependent and disparities become more transparent, equality will come from evolution or revolution - it is our choice
What is ecological rucksack?
A measure which quantifies the “weight” of resource use associated with production and consumption. That is the “rucksack” is the weight of resource burden associated with any object or person. Similar to footprint except this is more suited to energy conversations and does not consider bio-diversity or biosphere limits in the same way as foot print.
Useful links:
Wuppertal Institute http://www.wupperinst.org/globalisation/
NEF http://neweconomics.org/gen/m1_1_i1_whatwedohome.aspx
Book http://www.zedbooks.co.uk/book.asp?bookdetail=4129
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