Category: Economy

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The Return of Despotism?

Back in 2016, I wrote a post obliquely comparing Trump to Hitler. At the time it reminded me of Marx’s famous quote that history repeats itself, first as tragedy (Hitler) and then as comedy (Trump). I could not imagine that Americans could actually elect this buffoon as our president, and I had grave concerns about our freedoms and about our responsibilities to the biosphere. Many of these were justified.

The good news is that we actually survived those years and that on January 6, 2021, the vastly outnumbered Capitol Police turned back the deadliest full-on insurrection since, well, the Civil War. The bad news is that the feckless and immoral Trumpian effort may not be over.

The latest news is that Trump intends to pardon the insurrectionists if he is returned to office, and they may even be let go sooner if the Republicans win the House and/or the Senate in the 2022 midterms. We should be clear as to what this means. It is the sort of thing that happened after President Lincoln was assassinated, and Andrew Johnson presided over an accelerated reconciliation called Reconstruction.

Continue reading “The Return of Despotism?”

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Possible Planet Holiday Party & Fundraiser – Saturday, Dec 14, 2019, 2-6 pm

You’re invited to our

 Join us for community, thoughtful discussion, and the opportunity to make a difference.

Saturday, December 14
2-6 p.m.
@ 8 Revere Drive, Basking Ridge, NJ

Bring something to share / BYOB
Bring your voices, instruments & holiday songs!

Meet people who care about restoring our communities and the climate.

Can’t Attend But Want to Support Us?

At the party, we’ll share our mission and initiatives, and you can contribute to the “mother ship,” Possible Planet, or earmark your donation to one of our initiatives:

Global Carbon Reward 
Ecovillage New Jersey 
Ecovillagers Alliance
New Jersey PACE / Regenerative Financing 
Possible Planet (General Fund)

 

Attend the Party

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Sounding the Alarm

New observations show that climate change is already harming us in a wide variety of ways. Possible Planet is looking at what we can do about it, from rewarding carbon capture on a global scale to refreezing the Arctic. 

Mounting Evidence of Harm to Humanity and the Biosphere

Climate change—or, as Dr. Janice Kirsh prefers to call it, climate disruption1—is already upon us. The effects are real, costly, and increasingly measurable. Amongst several other dire warnings issued near the end of 2018, the latest report of the Lancet Countdown notes that “Vulnerability to extremes of heat has steadily risen since 1990 in every region, with 157 million more people exposed to heatwave events in 2017, compared with 2000,” and “153 billion hours of labour were lost in 2017 because of heat, an increase of more than 62 billion hours since 2000.” Moreover,

The direct effects of climate change extend beyond heat to include extremes of weather. In 2017, a total of 712 extreme weather events resulted in US$326 billion in economic losses, almost triple the total losses of 2016.2

Add to this the “excess costs” of rising sea levels, and rising levels of ocean acidity; the agricultural impacts and the spread of vector-borne and water-borne diseases; and the broad range of public health impacts—and it’s clear that today’s costs and consequences alone are reason enough to sound the alarm.

But the planet also faces other imminent disasters:

  • the loss of natural habitat and biodiversity, precipitating what is widely considered “the sixth mass extinction event”
  • the widespread loss of soil fertility threatening agricultural production
  • and wars, conflicts, and mass migrations that are already being precipitated by environmental changes

Though some people are still apparently unwilling to believe that climate change is real, or that humans are the major cause of it, these very real economic and biophysical costs are of increasing concern to global policymakers, public health professionals, the insurance industry, and even the military. And ironically it’s perhaps the risk to the economy, even more than to the biosphere, that will drive a meaningful response.

Continue reading “Sounding the Alarm”

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Economics Driving the Clean Energy Revolution

The fossil fuel era, one of the principal drivers of the industrial revolution, is gradually giving way to a new energy future, one in which less energy is needed and what is needed is generated from renewable sources. Donald Trump notwithstanding, this transition is well under way, and will only accelerate in coming years, as humanity seeks cleaner sources of energy and a more harmonious relationship with nature. With the cost of renewables coming down dramatically, and the recognition of carbon pollution as a global waste management problem, more and more capital is being directed into the transition, whether it’s being invested in new solar capacity or in conservation or energy storage.

A 2016 Bloomberg report found that at least $11.4 trillion will be invested in new power-generating capacity over the next 25 years, and 60 percent of that will fund wind and solar power. And that’s just the power-generating capacity; overall, the UN estimates that $90 trillion will need to be invested in the next 15 years to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the promises made in the Paris Agreement.

These are seemingly staggering numbers; the entire world economic output in 2015 was about $73 trillion. But they are also a measure one of the most profitable opportunities in the history of the planet. What we’re talking about is essentially a wholesale conversion from dirty energy to clean energy, from toxic waste to the circular economy, and the recapture of carbon from the atmosphere and the oceans in order to restore soil fertility and feed a world of ten or eleven billion people a healthier diet than most of us consume today.

Continue reading “Economics Driving the Clean Energy Revolution”

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Climate Change, Sea Level Rise and Retirement Risk

By , Registered Representative and Financial Advisor at Park Avenue Securities

James-Cox-644671-220One of the oft repeated risks from climate change is the threat that comes from rising sea levels. Depending on the forecast, even in the most optimistic ones, seas are projected to rise several feet before the end of the century. With the accelerating build-up of CO2 and the rate of temperature increase (2015 being the hottest year on record), many expect dramatic sea level rise to occur much sooner than most expect. (https://www.co2.earth/ )

While people might want to buy shore property for benefits that include potential rental income, capital appreciation and personal use, they also face potential risks of hurricanes, sea level rise, etc. Some of these risks can be mitigated by purchasing flood insurance.

Last summer I explored the question, “if sea levels rise, what will be the impact on a clients’ net worth and portfolio?”

Continue reading “Climate Change, Sea Level Rise and Retirement Risk”

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Why We’re Asking

JCloudStorerSmAsking for money is one of the more challenging things that every charity has to do. The first question we need to answer, however, is “Why are we asking?” If we don’t have a clear and compelling answer, we’re handicapping ourselves from the start.

So here’s why.

  • It’s to give people the opportunity to contribute to the world they believe in.
  • It’s to give us the ability to keep working on creating a world that works, by providing “regenerative community solutions,” i.e., practical ways of restoring and building communities that last and become self-reinforcing and self-sustaining.
  • Ultimately, it’s to empower the world of generosity, the you-and-me world, rather than the you-or-me world.

In The Soul of Money, Lynne Twist, who has raised more than $150 million in individual contributions, tells the story of her own first monetary contribution:
Continue reading “Why We’re Asking”

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Crowdfunding for PACE in New Jersey

JCloudStorerSmThe challenges we face in New Jersey as a result of climate change are significant, and so therefore are the opportunities. The experience of Superstorm Sandy showed us just how ill-prepared we are for the more frequent recurrence of extreme weather; and how important it is that we set an example for taking action to mitigate our own greenhouse gas emissions, as other states are doing around us. And there’s also no doubt about the urgency of it — as you can see from this remarkable video:
Continue reading “Crowdfunding for PACE in New Jersey”

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The Democrats Still Don’t Get It

 

LNaultHi folks:

I copied below a column from tomorrows NYT by Bob Herbert.  This is the story I was yelling about in Sonal’s campaign and you guys were wondering if I was nuts and were full of denial respecting the troubles brewing here and on everybody’s mind.  My specific charge was limousine liberals.

Reading the stuff you two are batting back and forth I wonder if you two are on the same planet as I live on.  The health care legislation is dead.  Cap and trade or any variations of carbon restrictions are dead.   President Nero fiddled while the economy was burning,  hostage as he is to environmental interests as hostile to progress as the republican cabal is to co-operation.  The cart was placed before the donkey.  You can accomplish nothing until the private economy gets back on its feet.  With a robust economy, with unemployment dropping all these other things could be considered rationally. Until then nothing will get done. Continue reading “The Democrats Still Don’t Get It”