Young people are driving this change, with nine in ten . . . S. Landrum, (2017), ‘Millennials driving brands to practice socially responsible marketing’, Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahlandrum/2017/03/17/millennials-driving-brands-to-practice-socially-responsible-marketing/#2ee16314990b
In the US, an estimated 1 per cent of the materials . . . P. Hawken, A. B. Lovins & L. H. Lovins, Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution (1999), Little, Brown & Company, p. 81
Environmentally, fashion is responsible for 10 per cent of the global carbon footprint . . . According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the fashion industry accounts for 20 per cent of waste water and 10 per cent of carbon emissions worldwide. Unece.org (2018), ‘Fashion is an environmental and social emergency, but can also drive progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals’. Available at: https://www.unece.org/info/media/news/forestry-and-timber/2018/fashion-is-an-environmental-and-social-emergency-but-can-also-drive-progress-towards-the-sustainable-development-goals/doc.html
Three quarters of the 80–100 billion garments made every year . . . R. Leblanc (2019), ‘Textile and garment recycling facts and figures’, The Balance Small Business. Available at: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/textile-recycling-facts-and-figures-2878122
A 2011 study found that for every day a company’s boycott . . . B. Watson (2015), ‘Do boycotts really work?’, Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/vital-signs/2015/jan/06/boycotts-shopping-protests-activists-consumers
Looking at data from such factories in Indonesia . . . A. Harrison & J. Scorse, (2010), ‘Multinationals and anti-sweatshop activism’, American Economic Review, Vol. 100, No. 1, pp. 247–73
In a study of ten countries, it was found that garment-industry wages exceeded . . . B. Powell (2008), ‘In defense of “sweatshops”’, Econlib. Available at: http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2008/Powellsweatshops.html
A study by the University of Washington which looked . . . S. Bowman (2015), ‘Sweatshops make poor people better off’, Adam Smith Institute. Available at: https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/international/sweatshops-make-poor-people-better-off
Social media is empowering consumers to ask brands hard . . . Fashion Revolution (2018), ‘2018 Impact – Fashion Revolution’. Available at: https://www.fashionrevolution.org/2018-impact/
There are too many more to name . . . There are too many brands to know and document, and so many I will miss, but other promising names in sustainable fashion include Ahluwalia Studio; Bethany Williams; Eileen Fisher; Elvis & Kresse; Everlane; Lois Hazel; Lowie; ONEBYME; People Tree; Phoebe English; Rafael Kouto; Teatum Jones; Patagonia; Silfir
In 2018, the UN launched an ambitious Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action . . . United Nations Sustainable Development (2018), ‘Milestone Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action launched’. Available at: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2018/12/milestone-fashion-industry-charter-for-climate-action-launched/
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has made a proposal to make circular design . . . M. Fairs (2019), ‘Ellen MacArthur’s Circular Design Programme seeks 20 million designers to transform global economy’, Dezeen. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2019/08/06/ellen-macarthur-foundation-circular-design-programme/
In 2019, Google announced a ‘moonshot for the [fashion] industry’ to apply data analytics and machine learning . . . Press release: Maria McClay from Google: ‘We have been hearing increasingly from clients, our industry partners and consumers the growing urgency around the fashion sector . . .’ https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/inside-google-cloud/googles-new-pilot-aiming-to-measure-the-environmental-impact-of-the-fashion-industry
The switch to organic cotton farming would also have tremendous health benefits for the estimated 77 million cotton farmers poisoned by carcinogenic pesticides every year . . . Environmental Justice Foundation (2007), ‘The Deadly Chemicals in Cotton’ Environmental Justice Foundation in collaboration with Pesticide Action Network UK, London, UK. ISBN 1–904–52310–2. Also available at: https://ejfoundation.org/resources/downloads/the_deadly_chemicals_in_cotton.pdf
The growing appetite for more sustainable fashion and homeware . . . Intracen.org (2019), ‘Future development of the organic cotton market’. Available at: http://www.intracen.org/Future-development-of-the-organic-cotton-market/
Diamond Foundry take gas from the natural gas industry, and use 100 per cent renewable energy to turn the gas – at high temperatures . . . Statistics from Diamond Foundry: for a single carat of mined diamond, 200–250 tons of earth needs to be removed, 2,011 ounces of air pollution is released, 143 pounds of carbon dioxide is emitted
Eating cooked meat enabled our brains to grow, and also gave us free time . . . J. Suzman, Affluence Without Abundance (2017), Bloomsbury, pp. 158–160.
As the most fundamental of human requirements, food and water represent the natural limits to population and economic growth . . . J. Owen (2005), ‘Farming claims almost half Earth’s land, new maps show’, National Geographic. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/12/agriculture-food-crops-land/. T. Khokhar (2017), ‘Chart: globally, 70% of freshwater is used for agriculture’, World Bank Blogs. Available at: https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/chart-globally-70-freshwater-used-agriculture
Whilst the aeroplane has become the poster child symbol of environmentally destructive lifestyle choices, animal agriculture generates more greenhouse gases than all forms of transportation combined . . . According to the IPCC and FAO the full life cycle of greenhouse gas emissions for livestock equates to 14.5 per cent of total emissions, whereas transport contributes 14 per cent. This comparison is complicated by World Watch’s report that claims animal agriculture actually contributes 51 per cent if you calculate other aspects (such as photosynthesis loss from deforestation): P. J. Gerber, H. Steinfeld, B. Henderson, A. Mottet, C. Opio, J. Dijkman, A. Falcucci & G. Tempio (2013), ‘Tackling climate change through livestock’, FAO. Available at: http://www.fao.org/3/i3437e/i3437e.pdf. R. Goodland and J. Anhang (2009), ‘Livestock and cli- mate change’, World Watch. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285678846_Livestock_and_climate_change
On the other hand, Anne Mottet and Henning Steinfeld from the FAO argue it is difficult to compare transport and livestock emissions, the full life cycle of transport is usually not considered when doing so, and we need to be culturally sensitive to places in the world where malnutrition is high and livestock offers an important potential source of nutrition. Available at: http://news.trust.org/item/20180918083629-d2wf0
Livestock requires disproportionately large areas of fresh water and land . . . J. Poore & T. Nemecek (2019), ‘Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers’, Josephpoore.com. Available at: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987.full?ijkey=ffye W1F0oSl6k&keytype=ref&siteid=sci
The following year, scientists from Oxford University . . . ibid.
Biotechnology is even being used to try and bring back lost species . . . 58 – L. Hickman (2013), ‘Scientists clone extinct frog – Jurassic Park here we come?’, Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/science/shortcuts/2013/mar/18/scientists-clone-extinct-frog
‘This is the most transformational human endeavour in history,’ Greenwood says . . . As quoted in R. McArthur (2008), ‘Biotechnology’, New Scientist. Available at: https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14233-advertising-feature-biotechnology/
Bruce Friedrich, co-founder of the Good Food Institute . . . As quoted in Food Tank (2016), ‘Ten questions with Bruce Friedrich, executive director at the Good Food Institute’. Available at: https://foodtank.com/news/2016/10/ten-questions-bruce-friedrich-executive-director-the-good-food-institute-2/
Whilst other entrepreneurs and M I T scientists have found, rather surreally . . . J. Temple (2018), ‘Seaweed could make cows burp less methane and cut their carbon hoofprint’, MIT Technology Review. Available at: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612452/how-seaweed-could-shrink-livestocks-global-carbon-hoofprint/?fbclid=IwAR0wmvtkcK3egKf_Hcy 5SUdhwsXfrq7WAPXlNFxNByvA3AYiqgVIQjDembg
A report published by the University of Oxford’s Food Climate Research Network concludes that ‘grass-fed livestock are not a climate solution’ . . . J. Poore & T. Nemecek (2019), ‘Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers’, Josephpoore.com. Available at: https://josephpoore.com/Science%20360%206392%20987%20-%20Accepted%20Manuscript.pdf
In 2015, France’s agricultural ministry announced the ‘4 per 1,000’ . . . 4p1000.org (2019), ‘Welcome to the “4 per 1000” initiative’. Available at: https://www.4p1000.org/
Knepp consequently produces 75 tons a year of ‘sustainable . . . As quoted in A. Wernick (2018), ‘A pioneering “rewilding” project in England transforms a 200-year-old family farm’, Public Radio International. Available at: https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-12-03/pioneering-rewilding-project-england-transforms-200-year-old-family-farm
‘Organic farming may be one of the most powerful tools in the fight against global warming’ . . . P. Hepperly (2003), New Farm Field Trials: White Paper, organic farming sequesters atmospheric carbon, Newfarm.org. Available at: http://www.newfarm.org/depts/NFfield_trials/1003/carbonwhitepaper.shtml
Our soils are now so depleted of nutrients that . . . Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2015). Available at: http://www.fao.org/soils-2015/events/detail/en/c/338738/
According to a study in Nature, organic farming could provide enough food . . . K. Erb, C. Lauk et al. (2016), ‘Exploring the biophysical option space for feeding the world without deforestation’. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms11382
Conversely, a twenty-two-year farming trial, studied by Cornell University . . . S. Lang (2005), ‘Organic farms produce same yields as conventional farms’, Cornell Chronicle. Available at: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2005/07/organic-farms-produce-same-yields-conventional-farms
Foodies like Jack Monroe and Haile Thomas . . . Thehappyorg.org (2019). Available at: https://www.thehappyorg.org/
Only 1 per cent of the global water supply is accessible fresh water, 92 per cent of which is . . . P. W. Gerbens-Leenes, M. M. Mekonnen & A. Y. Hoekstra (2013), ‘The water footprint of poultry, pork and beef’, Water Resources and Industry, 1–2 (2013), pp. 25–36. Available at: https://www.sci-encedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212371713000024
A lot of it ends up being shipped to low-income countries . . . N. Williams (2019), ‘Plastic pollution crisis – new report highlights health impacts on world’s poorest’, Fauna & Flora International. Available at: https://www.fauna-flora.org/news/plastic-pollution-crisis-new-report-highlights-health-impacts-worlds-poorest
Of the 300 million tons of plastic we produce every year, half is single-use . . . Plastic Oceans International (2019), Available at: https://plasticoceans.org/the-facts/
David Attenborough’s groundbreaking show Blue Planet II . . . A. Borja (2018), ‘Frequency of microplastics in mesopelagic fishes from the Northwest Atlantic’, Frontiers in Marine Science. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2018.00039/full
Meanwhile, in the UK the average household loses £470 a year . . . WikiTribune (2019), ‘Is plastic waste or food waste a bigger environmental threat?’. Available at: https://www.wikitribune.com/article/98316/?mc_cid=ff51ff7c08&mc_eid=4bfa4bff24
In 2016 Japanese researchers discovered that a species of bacteria had naturally evolved at a waste dump . . . S. Yoshida, K. Hiraga, T. Takehana et al. (2016), ‘A bacterium that degrades and assimilates poly(ethylene terephthalate)’, Science. Available at: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6278/1196
British scientists then developed this bacterium into a mutant enzyme that begins to break down plastic within days . . . H. Austin, M. Allen et al. (2017). ‘Characterization and engineering of a plastic-degrading aromatic polyesterase’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Available at: https://www.pnas.org/content/115/19/E4350
Thread International have paid local people in Haiti and . . . Thread International (2019), ‘Thread International impact – how we help the people of Haiti and Honduras through loans, disaster relief and mentorship’. Available at: https://threadinternational.com/our-impact/
‘I want people who don’t get to see uranium and cobalt to realize that it’s here. Because I see it every day. The Congo is here. We just have to wake up’ . . . D. Dumon, R. Mbakam & M. Popovitch (2011), Mavambu (film), Brussels: Africalia
Apple have been recognized as a leader in sourcing conflict-free minerals . . . First place in consumer company listings 2017: The Enough Project (2017), ‘Demand the supply’. Available at: https://enoughproject.org/demandthesupply?utm_source=PR&utm_campaign=Rankings2017
Others are taking a different approach, and alongside . . . S. Chaurasia (n.d.), ‘Not dumb anymore: riding on new tech, feature phone challenges smartphone’s clout’, Economic Times. Available at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/hardware/not-dumb-anymore-riding-on-new-tech-feature-phones-challenge-smartphones-clout/articleshow/65161086.cms?from=mdr
Studies have found that in 2016, a third of Twitter traffic in the run-up to the EU . . . B. Kollanyi, M. Elswah, P. Howard & V. Narayanan (2017), ‘Russian involvement and junk news during Brexit’, University of Oxford. Available at: http://comprop.oii.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/89/2017/12/Russia-and-Brexit-v27.pdf
German Chancellor Angela Merkel compared the NSA with the Stasi . . . As quoted in T. Shorrock (2013), ‘Obama’s crackdown on whistleblowers’, Nation. Available at: http://www.thenation.com/article/173521/obamas-crackdown-whistleblowers
Snowden recommends moving away from the illusion . . . As quoted in L. Clark (2014), ‘Snowden: the NSA is “setting fire to the future of the internet”’, Wired. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20160505113952/http:/www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-03/10/edward-snowden-sxsw
It was the work given to slaves, and then to leased convicts . . . D. Blackmon Slavery By Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II (2008), Anchor Books
Architect Eyal Weizman and writer Naomi Klein argue that there . . . N. Klein (2016), ‘Let them drown’, London Review of Books. Available at: https://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n11/naomi-klein/let-them-drown
People have long since tried to mimic the effect, and generate the power, of . . . D. Jensen, The Myth of Human Supremacism (2016), Seven Stories Press
Hydropower now provides over 16 per cent of global electricity . . . International Hydropower Association Limited (2019), Hydropower Status Report: Sector Trends and Insights. Available at: https://www.hydropower.org/sites/default/files/publications-docs/2019_hydropower_status_report.pdf. M. Esteban, C. Webersik, D. Leary & D. Thompson-Pomeroy (2008), Innovation in Responding to Climate Change: Nanotechnology, Ocean Energy and Forestry, UNU-IAS. Available at: https://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology/reports/reportpdf/report124.pdf
He offered the surplus electricity to the local . . . Trevor J. Price, James Blyth: Britain’s First Modern Wind Power Engineer (2005), Wind Engineering
The development of wind technology since has seen turbines erected in over eighty countries around the world . . . WWEA (2014), The World Wind Energ y Association 2014 Half-year Report, pp. 1–8
As of 2015, Denmark generates 40 per cent of its . . . J. Berggreen (2018), ‘44% wind – Denmark set new wind energy record in 2017’, CleanTechnica. Available at: https://cleantechnica.com/2018/01/06/44-wind-denmark-smashed-already-huge-wind-energy-records-2017/
One of the oldest sources of energy, biomass – developed from plants . . . Energy – European Commission, (2019), Biomass. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/renewable-energy/biomass
Meanwhile, my late uncle Adam Giffard in Devon . . . R. Cotton & A. Giffard, Introducing Wood Pellet Fuel to the UK, (2014), Renewable Heat & Power Ltd
A report by the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change claims that community-owned renewable energy projects . . . Department of Energy & Climate Change (2014), Community Energy Strategy. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/275163/20140126Community_Energy_Strategy.pdf
In 2016 the small Samoan island of Ta’u ̄ , where Margaret Mead . . . D. Lin (2017), ‘How a Pacific island changed from diesel to 100% solar power’, National Geographic. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/02/tau-american-samoa-solar-power-microgrid-tesla-solarcity/
Meanwhile, concerned about the finite materials used . . .University of Surrey (2018), ‘Alternative to traditional batteries moves a step closer to reality after exciting progress in supercapacitor technology’. Available at: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/news/alternative-traditional-batteries-moves-step-closer-reality-after-exciting-progress
Google X helped develop the ideas of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Robert Laughlin . . . R. Apte & J. Green (2018), ‘Introducing Malta’. Avail- able at: https://blog.x.company/introducing-malta-81bceb559061
A few months later, in October 2019, Google announced in Nature that this work had enabled them to achieve ‘quantum supremacy’: their processor was able to compute in 200 seconds what would take a supercomputer 10,000 years . . . F. Arute, K. Arya, H. Neven et al. (2019), ‘Quantum supremacy using a programmable superconducting processor’. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1666-5
A team of researchers in Stanford estimated that by 2031 . . . M. Jacobson (2019), ‘A path to sustainable energy’, Scientific American, pp. 58–65. Avail- able at: https://web.stanford.edu/group/efmh/jacobson/Articles/I/sad1109Jaco5p.indd.pdf
Considering that industry accounts for two thirds of end-of-use electricity . . . RE100. Available at: http://there100.org/companies
In 2013 four eminent scientists from MIT and Columbia University . . . Union of Concerned Scientists (2019), ‘Science and the public interest: an open letter to President Trump and the 115th Congress’. Available at: https://www.ucsusa.org/open-letter-president-trump-and-115th-congress
James Lovelock, originator of the Gaia theory . . . Lovelock, J. (2004), ‘Nuclear power is the only green solution’, jameslovelock.org. Available at: http://www.jameslovelock.org/nuclear-power-is-the-only-green-solution/
In the UK, travel has overtaken energy as the number one contributor . . . The data comes from National Statistics and only relates to UK emissions: Final UK greenhouse gas emissions national statistics, 1990–2016
One report claims that if all the drivers in the world converted to electric cars . . . H. Tam, (2015), Is There Enough Lithium to Maintain the Growth of the Lithium-Ion Battery Market?, greentechmedia.com. Available at: https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/is-there-enough-lithium-to-maintain-the-growth-of-the-lithium-ion-battery-m#gs.acraeq
Three quarters of railway . . . Iea.org (2019), The Future of Rail: Key Findings. Available at: https://www.iea.org/futureofrail/
In Ireland, I once met Jorne Langelaan, one of the founders of another Dutch company . . . Fairtransport.eu (2019), ‘Fairtransport – shipping cargo emission free over sea’. Available at: https://fairtransport.eu
We all know flying is bad for the environment, and yet society continues to do more and more of it . . . Airlines.iata.org (2018), ‘Passenger numbers to hit 8.2bn by 2037’. Available at: https://www.airlines.iata.org/news/passenger-numbers-to-hit-82bn-by-2037-iata-report
In 2016 two climatologists published a paper trying to make the impact of flights more real: one passenger’s economy . . . D. Notz & J. Stroeve (2019), ‘Observed Arctic sea-ice loss directly follows anthropogenic CO2 emission’, Science. Available at: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/354/6313/747.full
The California-based company, Fulcrum, say their technology can cut airlines’ carbon emissions . . . Fulcrum-bioenergy.com (2019), ‘Fulcrum bioEnergy’. Available at: http://fulcrum-bioenergy.com
In 2013, in response to the proposal, Elon Musk wrote a 56-page White Paper . . . Available at: https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/blog_attachments/hyperloop_alpha3.pdf
Initial studies from NASA into the Hyperloop proposal suggest . . . Ntrs. nasa.gov (2019). Available at: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20170001624.pdf
In Switzerland, Climeworks operate the world’s first commercial direct . . . Available at: https://www.climeworks.com
Capturing CO2 at a factory costs approximately $80 per ton, but captur- ing it from thin air . . . R. Socolow, M. Dismon & R. Aines (2011), Direct Air Capture of CO2 with Chemicals, APS Physics. Available at: https://www.aps.org/policy/reports/assessments/upload/dac2011.pdf
Matt Lucas, from the Center for Carbon Removal, is more optimistic that ‘technologies to capture CO2 . . . As quoted in M. Harris (2019), ‘The entrepreneurs turning carbon dioxide into fuels’, Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/sep/14/entrepreneurs-turn-carbon-dioxide-into-fuels-artificial-photosynthesis
Meanwhile, Canadian company Carbon Engineering . . . D. Keith, G. Holmes, D. St Angelo & K. Heidel , A Process for Capturing CO2 from the Atmosphere (2018), Joule
However, bio-fuels require a lot of arable land – competing with food – and one review estimates that to . . . Kevinanderson.info (2015), ‘The hidden agenda: how veiled techno-utopias shore up the Paris Agree- ment’. Available at: http://kevinanderson.info/blog/the-hidden-agenda-how-veiled-techno-utopias-shore-up-the-paris-agreement/
At the University of Aberdeen, engineers have developed technology to convert captured carbon . . . University of Aberdeen (2019), Carbon Capture Machine. Available at: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/ccm-carbon-xprize/
Climeworks have partnered with CarbFix to capture CO2 then pump it underground in Iceland . . . Climeworks.com (2017), ‘Climeworks and Carb- Fix2: the world’s first carbon removal solution through direct air capture’. Available at: https://www.climeworks.com/climeworks-and-carbfix2-the-worlds-first-carbon-removal-solution-through-direct-air-capture/
Basalt stones are common around the world, on oceanic floors and 10 per cent of continents . . . J. M. Matter & M. Stute (2016), ‘Rapid carbon mineralization for permanent disposal of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions’. Available at: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6291/1312. As quoted in Climeworks press release. Available at: http://www.climeworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/CDR-1.5-goal-Climeworks-press-release.pdf
Research by the Nature Conservancy and fifteen other institutions claims that using only cost-effective solutions . . . Nature Conservancy (2019), Nature’s Make or Break Potential for Climate Change. Available at: https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-insights/perspectives/natures-make-or-break-potential-for-climate-change/
According to the IPCC, if we do not use any carbon-capturing tech- nology or manage to significantly curb emissions . . . Carbon Brief (2018). Review available at: https://www.carbonbrief.org/in-depth-qa-ipccs-special-report-on-climate-change-at-one-point-five-c. IPCC report (2018) available at: https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/
The twenty-year NASA study coordinated by satellites found that the world is 5 per cent greener than it was in 2000 . . . C. Chen, T. Park, X. Wang et al. (2019), ‘China and India lead in greening of the world through land-use management’, Nature Sustainability, 2(2), pp. 122–9. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0220-7
It takes ten to twenty years for a tree to mature enough to be able to absorb meaningful amounts of CO2; forests currently absorb . . . Greenpeace (2019), ‘50 million hectares destroyed as companies disregard zero deforest- ation pledge’. Available at: https://www.greenpeace.org/international/press-release/22287/50-million-hectares-destroyed-as-companies-disregard-zero-deforestation-pledge/. S. Pollock , Forests (2017), Green Climate Fund. Available at: https://www.greenclimate.fund/stories/forests
The protection of forests internationally is also being funded through philanthropy . . . S. Pollock, op. cit.
‘There’s a belief that land protection could account for 50 per cent . . . Unfccc.int (2015), ‘Climate action now – a summary for policy makers 2015. Available at: https://unfccc.int/news/climate-action-now-a-summary-for-policy-makers-2015-presentation-18-nov
Fifty football fields’ worth of tropical forests are being cut down every minute . . . The Consumer Goods Forum (2019), ‘Environmental sustain- ability: deforestation’. Available at: https://www.theconsumergoodsforum.com/initiatives/environmental-sustainability/key-projects/deforestation/. The Rainforest Alliance available at: https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/issues/food
When Greenpeace unearthed the fact that a large but little-known company called Cargill was responsible for millions of hectares . . . Greenpeace (2006), Eating Up the Amazon. Available at: https://www.greenpeace.org/archive-international/Global/international/planet-2/report/2006/7/eating-up-the-amazon.pdf
It has since been indefinitely extended . . . B. Langert (2016), ‘Green- peace, McDonald’s and the power of collaboration’, GreenBiz. Available at: https://www.greenbiz.com/article/greenpeace-mcdonalds-and-power-collaboration
This growth has been driven by the economic rewards it offers: a palm oil plantation returns ten times the profit per . . . M. Barthel, S. Jennings et al. (2018), ‘Study on the environmental impact of palm oil consumption and on existing sustainability standards’, European Commission, DG Environment. Available at https://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/pdf/palm_oil_study_kh0218208enn_new.pdf
One study estimated that from 1990 to 2005 over half of palm oil expansion in these two countries . . . ibid.
Unsurprisingly in light of all this, multiple initiatives have been aimed at improving the industry standards . . . Rspo.org (2019), homepage. Available at: https://rspo.org
In 2010 Norway pledged $1 billion to Indonesia to keep its forests standing, and Indonesia officially banned deforestation in . . . M. Kodas (2014), ‘How did palm oil become such a problem – and what can we do about it?’, Ensia. Available at: https://ensia.com/features/how-did-palm-oil-become-such-a-problem-and-what-can-we-do-about-it/
It is also possible to make electricity from the methane produced by palm oil ponds: 5 per cent of facilities already do this, but if all of the refineries worldwide did, it would reduce the climate impacts of the operations 34-fold . . . P. Taylor & A. Townsend (2014), ‘Opinion: fixing palm oil’s other climate threat’, Ensia. Available at: https://ensia.com/voices/fixing-palm-oils-other-climate-threat/
Co-founder Sébastien Kopp says, ‘Collecting rubber from the hevea (rubber tree) offers a better salary than cutting trees to raise cattle . . . As quoted in A. Park (2019), ‘Good company: Veja’s sus- tainable sneakers’. Available at: https://www.barrons.com/articles/good-company-vejas-sustainable-sneakers-01552588887
Right now, every one to two days an Environmental Defender – like Chico Mendes – is killed for their efforts to protect the . . . ‘At what cost?’, Global Witness (figures for 2017). Available at: https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/at-what-cost/
After a career as a cinematographer he became a pioneer in sustainable energy production . . . Thetimes.co.uk (2011), ‘Adam Giffard obituary’. Available at: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/adam-giffard-ls92rmrfvd0
Emma thoughtfully compares her social and political inheritance to . . . ‘Being human in the thick of the present’, Dark Mountain, Issue 13, April 2018. Available at: https://dark-mountain.net/dark-mountain-issue-13
It was to operate until 1954, taking in and caring for approximately. . . Available at: https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk/about/our-history/
‘These wonderful people arrived, and they really turned things round for us . . . As quoted in BBC (2014), ‘Devon features – 5th anniversary of eco-warriors moving into Teigngrace’. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/news_features/2002/teigngrace.shtml
The British Department of Transport ended up building only 37 out . . . As cited in Goldman Environmental Prize (2019). Available at: https://www.goldmanprize.org/recipient/emma-must/
Steven Norris, the transport minister who oversaw the Newbury bypass, later admitted that ‘the protestors were right’ . . . BBC Panorama, 17 March 1997; transcript available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/audio_video/programmes/panorama/transcripts/transcript_17_03_97.txt
At the end of five years of road protests, BBC reporter Paul Clifton concluded, ‘The protesters lost the battle. But perhaps they won the war.’ . . . As quoted in L. Serck (2016), ‘Newbury bypass battle remembered, BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-berkshire-35132815
In an essay published in the spring of 2018, for Dark Mountain journal . . . ‘Being human in the thick of the present’, op. cit.
‘I painted the sign on a piece of wood and, for the flyers, wrote down some facts I thought everyone should know . . . As quoted in J. Watts (2019), ‘Greta Thunberg, schoolgirl climate change warrior: “Some people can let things go. I can’t”’, Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/11/greta-thunberg-schoolgirl-climate-change-warrior-some-people-can-let-things-go-i-cant
In 2014, Glasgow University committed to divesting from fossil fuels, and Stanford divested its endowment ($18.7 billion) from coal extraction after an undergraduate campaign, in a move that Naomi Klein called ‘the biggest victory to date’ . . . N. Klein, This Changes Everything (2015), Penguin Books.
‘An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest respect for law’ . . . Martin Luther King Jr (1963), ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’. Available at: https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
‘XR is not a protest,’ says co-founder Dr Gail Bradbrook . . . As quoted in F. Bakare (2019), ‘Extinction Rebellion highlight climate emergency at Glastonbury’, Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/27/extinction-rebellion-highlight-climate-emergency-at-glastonbury
By 2019 two thirds of Britons said they wanted their MPs to support ambitious new environmental plans and laws; whilst 60 per cent of Americans identified as ‘alarmed’ or ‘concerned’ about global warm- ing . . . Research conducted by Opinium on 4 June 2019, surveying 2,009 UK adults; commissioned by the Climate Coalition and Greener UK: 69 per cent ‘want to see urgent political action to combat climate change’. A. Gustafson, A. Leiserowitz & E. Maibach (2019), ‘Climate Change in the American Mind survey – a nationally-representative survey of public opinion on climate change in the United States con- ducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communica- tion.’ Available at: http://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/americans-are-increasingly-alarmed-about-global-warming/
Instead, she quit her job, sold her home, and spent the last ten years of her life trying to make a ‘missing law’ – a law that crim- inalized collective harm . . . As quoted in J. Watts (2019), ‘Polly Higgins environmentalist eradicating ecocide dies’, Guardian. Avail- able at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/22/polly-higgins-environmentalist-eradicating-ecocide-dies
‘In the first RBS meeting, there was a press conference and the CEO was asked . . . As quoted in O. Tickell (2019), ‘Getting the law in order’, Ecologist. Available at: https://theecologist.org/2019/apr/30/getting-law-order
Vanuatu’s foreign minister, Ralph Regenvanu, said, ‘My government is now exploring all . . . Taken from a statement to the Climate Vulnerable Forum, an international summit focused on those most at risk from climate change, November 2018
In March 2019 Polly was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and given only weeks to live . . . As quoted in G. Monbiot (2019), ‘Law of nature’. Available at: https://www.monbiot.com/2019/03/30/law-of-nature/
‘The New Deal was not built on a magic bullet, but on a broad range of programs and industrial projects to revitalize America. Ditto for an energy New Deal’ . . . T. Friedman (2007), ‘Opinion: a warning from the garden’. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/19/opinion/19friedman.html
Presidential candidate Barack Obama added a Green New Deal . . . United Nations (2009), A Global Green New Deal. Available at: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?page=view&type=400&nr= 670&menu=1515
A Republican think tank estimated it would cost between $51 trillion and $93 trillion . . . D. Holtz-Eakin, D. Bosch et al. (2019), The Green New Deal: scope, scale, and implications, American Action Forum. Available at: https://www.americanactionforum.org/research/the-green-new-deal-scope-scale-and-implications/
US Green Party leader Jill Stein claimed her alternative proposal for a GND would cost $700 billion to $1 trillion annually . . . Jill Stein (2016), The Green New Deal. Available at: https://www.jill2016.com/greennewdeal
‘The cost of pursuing a GND will be far less than the cost of not passing it’ . . . Committee hearing, March 2019. Available at: https://www.democracynow.org/2019/3/28/tell_that_to_the_families_in
AOC advocated raising the top marginal tax rate to 70 per cent in order to fund the programme, and in 2019 a group of billionaires in the US called on the government to introduce a ‘wealth tax’ . . . Medium (2019), ‘An open letter to the 2020 Presidential Candidates: it’s time to tax us more’. Avail- able at: https://medium.com/@letterforawealthtax/an-open-letter-to-the-2020-presidential-candidates-its-time-to-tax-us-more-6eb3a548b2fe
‘I hear people talking the language of participation and justice and equality and transparency, but no one raises the real issue of tax avoidance. It feels like I’m at a firefighters’ . . . Historian Rutger Bregman at the World Economic Forum in Davos, 2019. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5LtFnmPruU
‘The only thing as powerful as Mother Nature, is Father Greed,’ Thomas Friedman likes to say . . . T. Friedman (2007), ‘Opinion: the power of green’, New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/opinion/15iht-web-0415edgreen-full.5291830.html
As Friedman says, ‘Let a hundred Green New Deal ideas bloom! . . . T. Friedman (2019), ‘Opinion: the Green New Deal rises again’, New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/08/opinion/green-new-deal.html
Gardner poignantly observes, ‘People are not climate deniers because they don’t believe in facts . . . As quoted in A. Horton, D. McClinton & L. Aratani (2019), ‘Adults failed to take climate action. Meet the young activists stepping up’, Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/mar/04/can-they-save-us-meet-the-climate-kids-fighting-to-fix-the-planet
It is not surprising then, that much of the rhetoric around political action on climate change is focused on jobs: AOC’s Green New Deal will see ‘the creation of millions of high-wage jobs’; Labour for a GND claims to put ‘workers’ justice at the heart of the programme’ and ‘create good green jobs in every town and city across the UK’ . . . As quoted in A. Kaufman (2018), ‘What’s the “Green New Deal”?’, Grist. Available at: https://grist.org/article/whats-the-green-new-deal-the-surprising-origins-behind-a-progressive-rallying-cry/. ‘Labour for a Green New Deal – Mission’ (2019). Available at: https://www.labourgnd.uk/mission-index-impact#our-vision
The Campaign Against the Arms Trade (C A AT ) suggests that the skills of the workers . . . C A AT (2014), ‘Arms to renewables: work for the future’. Available at: https://www.caat.org.uk/campaigns/arms-to-renewables/arms-to-renewables-background-briefing.pdf. In June 2019, the Court of Appeals in the UK deemed British arms sales to Saudi Arabia unlawful on the basis that the weapons had been implicated in the war in Yemen, breaking humanitarian law. More information available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/uk-decision-outlaws-arms-sales-saudi-war-yemen-190620110547372.html
Consider that three quarters of greenhouse gas emissions are caused by fossil fuels . . . US Energy Information Administration (2019), ‘Where greenhouse gases come from’. Available at: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.php?page=environment_where_ghg_come_from
Consider that our governments still spend over $5 trillion a year subsid- izing fossil fuels . . . D. Coady, I. Parry, N. Le &B. Shang (2019), Global Fossil Fuel Subsidies Remain Large: An Update Based on Country-Level Estimates, IMF Working Papers. Available at: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2019/05/02/Global-Fossil-Fuel-Subsidies-Remain-Large-An-Update-Based-on-Country-Level-Estimates-46509
The International Monetary Fund (I M F ) calculated that governments are spending over $5 trillion a year by underpricing energy (85 per cent of which goes to coal and petroleum), and not factoring in their environmental and social costs, which will be billed to taxpayers now and in the future . . . ibid.
Economist Guy Standing maintains that anyone who pollutes the air should be made to pay . . . G. Standing (2019), Basic Income as Common Dividends: Piloting a Transformative Policy, Progressive Economy Forum. Available at: https://progressiveeconomyforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/PEF_Piloting_Basic_Income_Guy_Standing.pdf
A 2018 US survey found that 67 per cent of respondents would support a carbon tax on fuels if the funds from the tax were invested into the restoration of forests, wetlands and other natural features . . . ‘Is the public willing to pay to help fix climate change?’, Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago poll, 2019. Available at: http://www.apnorc.org/projects/Documents/EPIC%20fact%20sheet_v4_DTP.pdf
Looking at the examples of when carbon pricing has worked well, com- munities and low-income individuals have been placed front of mind to alleviate the adverse effects if consumer product prices go up . . . World Bank (2019), Report of the High-Level Commission on Carbon Pricing and Competitiveness. Available at: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/32419/141917.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=4
British Columbia’s pilot of a carbon price in 2008, with wealth redistribution built in, reduced carbon emissions at ten times the rate of the rest of Canada, and had majority support in polls . . . Environics Institute Polls (2011–2012). Available at: https://www.environicsinstitute.org/docs/default-source/project-documents/focus-canada-2013-canadian-public-opinion-about-climate-change/support-for-carbon-taxes.pdf?sfvrsn=23a2e202_2. S. Elgie & J. McClay (2013), ‘BC’s carbon tax shift is working well after four years’. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23594767
US Republican Representative Bob Inglis suggested making a carbon price revenue neutral, offsetting the income with reductions in other taxes . . . As quoted in H. Rosner (2014), ‘Q&A: the conservative case for a carbon tax’, National Geographic. Available at: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/09/140922-carbon-tax-climate-change-conservatives-environment-science/
In China, revenue from a carbon price, and air pollution penalties, has been invested in developing green technology . . . Explained to me by Dawn Nakawaga, executive vice president of the Berggruen Institute. See also E. Luxton (2016), ‘China has become a green energy superpower. These 5 charts show how’, World Economic Forum. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/06/china-green-energy-superpower-charts
A 2014 report by the Australian National University estimated that the scheme had made the biggest annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in twenty-four years of records . . . P. Hannam (2014), ‘Fall in greenhouse gas emissions biggest in 24 years’, Sydney Morning Herald. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20140721190621/http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/fall-in-greenhouse-gas-emissions-biggest-in-24-years-20140613-zs7be.html?rand=1405549716192. M. O’Gorman & F. Jotzo (2014), ‘Impact of the carbon price on Australia’s electricity demand, supply and emissions’, Australian National University. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20140721234722/https://ccep.crawford.anu.edu.au/publication/ccep-working-paper/4388/impact-carbon-price-australias-electricity-demand-supply-and
Meanwhile a carbon price proposal in New Zealand was abandoned, and in 2017 an attempt to introduce one in Washington was rejected . . . Nytimes.com(2017),‘Washingtoninitiative732–createcarbonemissiontax–results: rejected’. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/washington-ballot-measure-732-create-carbon-emission-tax
Carbon prices have been introduced or planned in over fifty countries, representing $40 billion in annual revenue and covering 20 per cent of annual global greenhouse emissions . . . World Bank (2019), Carbon Pricing Initiatives Around the World. Available at: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/31755/211435KeyFigures.pdf? sequence=5&isAllowed=y
The International Monetary Fund (I M F ) report on fossil fuel under- pricing concluded: ‘Efficient fossil fuel pricing in 2015 would have . . . D. Coady, I. Parry, N. Le & B. Shang (2019), op. cit.
In April 2019, whilst Extinction Rebellion paraded and blockaded the streets of London, the Bank of England governor Mark Carney warned that financial institutions and investors need to build the increasing costs and risks associated with climate breakdown into their modelling to ‘help avoid a climate-driven sudden collapse in asset prices’ . . . Bank of England (2019), ‘Open letter on climate-related financial risks’. Available at: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2019/april/open-letter-on-climate-related-financial-risks
This flexibility was President Roosevelt’s original approach to the New Deal: ‘It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something’ . . . Franklin D. Roosevelt, address at Oglethorpe University, 22 May 1932
Irish environmental writer John Gibbons said the citizens’ assembly led to ‘the strongest cross-party political statement of intent on climate action’ . . . As quoted in M. McGrath (2019), ‘Extinction Rebellion: can the plan work?’, BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47947775
The Swiss have made some surprising choices, sometimes seemingly against their self-interest: 66 per cent voted against having two weeks’ extra holiday pay, and 58 per cent voted to move away from nuclear power towards renewables even though this would have a higher impact on their energy bills . . . C. Brodie (2017), ‘Switzerland votes to phase out nuclear energy and switch to renewables’, World Economic Forum. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/06/switzerland-votes-to-phase-out-nuclear-energy-and-switch-to-renewables. ‘Swiss vote against taking more holiday’ (2012), Telegraph. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/switzerland/9138137/Swiss-vote-against-taking-more-holiday.html
A report in 2016 found that the Swiss are nearly twice as likely to trust their government compared to the average across OECD countries . . . World Economic Forum (2017), The Countries With the Most and Least Trusted Governments. Analysis available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/11/the-countries-with-the-most-and-least-trusted-govern-ments/. OECD (2013), Trust in Government: ‘In other words, when asked through surveys, less than half the citizens of OECD countries respond that they have confidence in their national government. National averages rank between almost 80% in Switzerland and 12% in Greece.’ Available at: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/gov_glance-2013- 6-en.pdf; OECD (2017), Government at a Glance: ‘On average, less than half of OECD countries’ citizens (42%) have trust in their national government.’ Available at: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/gov_glance-2017-en.pdf?expires=1571847295&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=179D9962C44B0453C271969A9E607ECA
They formed a political party – the Partido de la Red (Party of the Net) – which ran for office in Buenos Aires, on the pledge that elected officials would simply be a human conduit for enacting whatever the citizens voted for online: ‘We had one rule,’ Siri says. ‘Obey the Internet’ . . . As quoted in A. Leonard (2018), ‘Meet the man with a radical plan for blockchain voting’, Wired. Available at: https://www.wired.com/story/santiago-siri-radical-plan-for-blockchain-voting/
‘Our political system can be transformed, not by subverting it, by destroying it, but by re-wiring it with the tools that the Internet affords . . . P. Mancini (2014), ‘How to upgrade democracy for the internet era’, T E D talk. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/pia_mancini_how_to_upgrade_democracy_for_the_internet_era/up-next?language=en
In the fight against fake news, in the run-up to the 2017 French elections, a coalition of media companies including Google and Facebook launched CrossCheck . . . First Draft (2017). Available at: https://firstdraftnews.org/crosscheck-launches/
A Reuters report found that social media users in the US were more than twice as likely to see news from different political perspectives as people who didn’t use social media . . . N. Newman, R. Fletcher, A. Kalogeropoulos & R. Kleis Nielsen (2019), Digital News Report 2019, Reuters Institute. Available at: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2019-06/DNR_2019_FINAL_0.pdf. Rachel Botsman (2018), ‘Analysis’, Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/11/dawn-of-the-techlash
Solutions-based journalism is ‘rigorous journalism that reports critically on tangible progress being made, in order for us to understand how issues are being . . . J. Jackson, You Are What You Read (2019), Unbound. Available at: https://you-are-what-you-read.com. Constructive Journalism Project available at: https://www.constructivejournalism.org
Research shows that ‘prolonged exposure to bad news over long periods can have detrimental effects on moods, attitudes, perceptions and emotional health’ . . . Quote by Dr Ralph Haskins (1981), Newspaper Research Journal. Cited by J. Jackson (2019), ‘Jodie Jackson on why mainstream media needs to be disrupted’. Available at: https://medium.com/impossible/jodie-jackson-on-why-mainstream-media-needs-to-be-disrupted-5c490fccfa52
Psychologist, linguist and Harvard academic Steven Pinker uses data to paint a picture of our improved collective state of affairs . . . S. Pinker, Enlightenment Now (2018), Penguin Books
According to its maker, ‘In this palace, peace is an indispensable tool for the democracy of nations’ . . . Kingelez, quoted in Salvade: ‘Le zairois Kingelez n’a jamais voulu être artiste.’ As cited in S. Suzuki (2018), Kingelez Visionnaire, post.at.moma.org. Available at: https://post.at.moma.org/content_items/1176-kingelez-visionnaire
‘Without a model, you are nowhere. A nation that can’t make models is a nation that doesn’t understand things, a nation that doesn’t live,’ said Kingelez . . . D. Dumon, R. Mbakam & M. Popovitch (2011), Mavambu (film), Brussels: Africalia
Our tentative idea felt all the more poignant over the next week as we spent time in the camp: one of nine that run along the Thai–Burmese border, makeshift homes to nearly 100,000 people . . . UNHCR (2019), UNHCR: The UN Refugee Agency (Thailand). Available at: https://www.unhcr.or.th/en
According to his research, the albino redwoods are not vampires but angels; not parasites but filters . . . S. Kaplan (2016), ‘The mystery of the “ghost trees” may be solved’, Washington Post. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/10/07/the-mystery-of-the-ghost-trees-may-be-solved/?utm_term=.1d115393a5b6
In one study people were given the choice to keep $128 or donate it to charity; the researchers found that those who donated . . . J. Moll, F. Krueger, R. Zahn, M. Pardini, R. de Oliveira-Souza & J. Grafman (2019), ‘Human fronto-mesolimbic networks guide decisions about charitable donation’. Available at: https://www.pnas.org/content/103/42/15623.abstract#aff-1
One participant, who used the money to help a friend adopt a child, pay his mother-in-law’s medical bills and tip a waitress $100 after taking his kids to lunch . . . We-are-lucky.com (2019), Eli. Available at: http://we-are-lucky.com/the-lucky/eli/first-meeting/
A Harvard study demonstrated that when one person behaves generously, t inspires others to behave generously . . . J. H. Fowler & N. A. Christakis (2010), ‘Cooperative behavior cascades in human social networks’. Available at: https://www.pnas.org/content/107/12/5334
A group of psychologists consequently concluded that generosity is a built-in survival strategy: ‘Human generosity, far from being a thin veneer of cultural conditioning atop a Machiavellian core . . . A. W. Delton, M. M. Krasnow, L. Cosmides, J. Tooby (2011), ‘Evolution of direct reci- procity under uncertainty can explain human generosity in one-shot encounters’. Available at: https://www.pnas.org/content/108/32/13335
A 2006 University of California study showed that out of 3,000 women with breast cancer, those with a large network of friends were four times more . . . C. Kroenke, C. Quesenberry, M. Kwan, C. Sweeney, A. Castillo & B. Caan (2006), ‘Social networks, social support, and burden in relation- ships, and mortality after breast cancer diagnosis’. Available at: https://ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/jco.2005.04.2846
It might also be worth reflecting on the fact that, according to the British government, doing things for each other for free is already as big as GDP in the U K . . . D. Halpern, The Hidden Wealth of Nations (2010), Polity Press, pp. 98–9. David Halpern is chief executive of the Behavioural Insights team, and from 2001 and 2007 was the chief analyst at the UK Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit. Halpern argues: ‘When researchers have tried to cost the value of all unpaid work that we do, by calculating all that work (such as looking after the kids or cleaning our houses), the figure comes up as around that of the country’s GDP. Recent estimations, Office for National Statistics, ‘Household satellite account, U K : 2015 and 2016’. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/satelliteaccounts/articles/householdsatelliteaccounts/2015and2016estimates. Halpern tells me: ‘The estimates move around a bit depending on the assumptions you put in: e.g. do we value the time that a City lawyer puts into looking after their elderly parent or child at the minimum wage, or at their City firm charge rate, or somewhere in between? (Minimum wage is generally used.) Do we count the time spent cooking the kids’ dinner but not the time spent listening to their worries? Anyhow, it’s a big number in pounds sterling . . . and probably an even bigger number in social value.’
Hundreds of billions of dollars are donated every year, and trillions of dollars run through non-profit organizations . . . ‘There are no global statistics on charitable giving, but the aggregate from the United States, China, United Kingdom, Russia, Australia, and Switzerland is: $410.71 billion. Most of that comes from the United States. Also, this is only talking about contributions and not nonprofit revenue, which can come from sale of products and services, and government funding. For comparison, total nonprofit revenue in the US in 2015 exceeded $2 trillion.’ Cited in ‘Globally, how much money is donated to charity each year?’ (2016), Quora. Available at: https://www.quora.com/Globally-how-much-money-is-donated-to-charity-each-year
Their mission is to ‘build a worldwide sharing movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources and eases the burden on our landfills’. . . The Freecycle Network. Available at: https://freecycle.org/
In a 2016 study of millennials from around the world, 86 per cent defined wealth as something other than having possessions or cash . . . ‘Millennials – the global guardians of capital’ (2017), UBS Chief Investment Office Wealth Management White Paper. Available at: https://www.ubs.com/global/en/wealth-management/chief-investment-office/investment-opportunities/digital-disruptions/2017/millennials.html
We pivoted Impossible as an organization to start working on other products and services under the guiding principle of ‘planet-centric design’; and published the ‘Impossible People’ code – to be picked up by the next crazy adventurer who wants to use technology to foster a gift economy . . . Available at: http://community.impossible.com
Arguably more rental platforms, or ‘gig economy’, than sharing: some evangelists are disappointed that they have usurped the potential . . . S. Clage (2019), ‘The sharing economy was always a scam’. Available at: https://onezero.medium.com/the-sharing-economy-was-always-a-scam-68a9b36f3e4b
The research correlates with other statistics: we live in a world where the richest 10 per cent are responsible for half of all emissions . . . Oxfam (2015), Extreme Carbon Inequality. Available at: https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/extreme-carbon-inequality; Labour for a Green New Deal, p. 6. ‘According to Oxfam, the richest 10% of people globally are responsible for roughly 50% of global lifestyle consumption emissions, and the poorest 50% responsible for just 10%. In the UK, 65% of the population are among the richest 10% globally, with a staggering 93% of the UK’s population in the richest global 20%.’ Available at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c742a3c77b9036ccae1eddf/t/5d721bc50aa04000013e2a31/1567759304359/1+A+commitment+to+zero+carbon+emissions+by+2030.pdf
He proposed a more nuanced approach that deducted income from things which have a negative effect on society, like armaments: ‘Distinctions must be kept in mind between quantity and quality of growth. Goals for more growth should specify more growth of what and for what’ . . . S. Kuznets, The New Republic (1962)
An estimate of this in China found the result to be a third less than the official GDP, once you take account of waste, social costs and environmental damage . . . D. Pilling, The Growth Delusion (2018), Bloomsbury
Numerous studies suggest a disconnect between infinite economic growth and infinite happiness: finding that after people earn a certain amount, emotional well-being plateaus . . . D. Kahneman & A. Deaton (2010), ‘High income improves evaluation of life but not emotional well-being’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Available at: https://www.princeton.edu/~deaton/downloads/deaton_kahneman_high_income_improves_evaluation_August2010.pdf. A. Jebb, L. Tay, E. Diener, S. Oishi (2018), ‘Happiness, income satiation and turning points around the world’, Nature. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-017-0277-0?utm_source=commission_junction&utm_medium=affiliate
Meanwhile, the New Economics Foundation’s research using surveys on happiness (the Happy Planet Index) . . . Happy Planet Index (2019). Available at: http://happyplanetindex.org. Analysis on carbon emissions available at: https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/happiness-carbon-emissions1.htm
Yet even though automation has been displacing jobs for decades, many of us are not working any less . . . D. Graeber (2013), ‘On the phe- nomenon of bullshit jobs: a work rant’, STRIKE! magazine. Available at: https://www.strike.coop/bullshit-jobs. D. Graeber, B******t Jobs (2018), Penguin Books
By analysing the possible outcomes of a reduction in the average working week, one study in Sweden found that working hours and emissions are tied together . . . J. Naessen, J. Holmberg & J. Larsson (2009), ‘The effect of work hours on energy use. A micro-analysis of time and income effects’. Avail- able at: https://www.osti.gov/etdeweb/biblio/967906. Discussed by K. Knight, E. Rosa & J. Schor (2012), ‘Reducing Growth to Achieve Environmental Sustainability: The Role of Work Hours’, University of Massachusetts Amherst. Available at: http://www.peri.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/working_papers/working_papers_301-350/4.2KnightRosaSchor.pdf
A study from the US estimated that reducing the average work week by 0.5 per cent every year over the course of the twenty-first century . . . D. Rosnick (2013), Reduced Work Hours as a Means of Slowing Climate Change, Center of Economic and Policy Research. Available at: http://cepr.net/documents/publications/climate-change-workshare-2013-02.pdf
When the data on working practices and impacts in Europe and the US was compared, it transpired that people who live in countries . . . K. Knight, E. Rosa & J. Schor (2012), op. cit.
A ‘silent revolution’ has arguably happened in the West in recent decades. As an increasing number of people have been able to meet their survival needs, we have entered what some call a ‘post-material age’ . . . R. Ingle- hart (2016), The Silent Revolution, Princeton Legacy Library
In 2014, artist Fritz Haeg went looking for a place where he could build ‘community’ and stumbled on SCF . . . Salmon Creek Farm. Available at: https://salmoncreekfarm.org/
The studies advocating a reduced working week acknowledge that this would be difficult to achieve in countries where inequality is high and/or growing . . . D. Rosnick (2013), op. cit. Rosnick argues: ‘It is worth noting that the pursuit of reduced work hours as a policy alternative would be much more difficult in an economy where inequality is high and/or grow- ing. In the United States, for example, just under two-thirds of all income gains from 1973 to 2007 went to the top 1 per cent of households. In this type of economy, the majority of workers would have to take an absolute reduction in their living standards in order to work less. The analysis in this paper assumes that the gains from productivity growth will be more broadly shared in the future, as they have been in the past.’
As French economist Thomas Piketty has put it, the dominant model of capitalism operates as a ‘fundamental force for divergence’ . . . T. Piketty, Capital in the Twenty-first Century (2014), Harvard University Press, Chapter 15
While 10 per cent of the world’s people are still living in ‘extreme pov- erty’, struggling to meet their basic survival needs . . . World Bank (2019), Overview. Available at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview
Some pilots of the idea are being funded by philanthropists, but there have been alternative proposals for paying for it long-term: perhaps it could be funded through meaningful carbon pricing, combining two transformative ideas in one. ‘Carbon dividends represent a strong moral and politically practical justification for basic income,’ argues long-time UBI proponent Guy Standing . . . G. Standing (2019), Basic Income as Common Dividends: Piloting a Transformative Policy, Progressive Economy Forum. Available at: https://progressiveeconomyforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/PEF_Piloting_Basic_Income_Guy_Standing.pdf
Sini Marttinen, a thirty-five-year-old consultant who took part in the experiment, said the UBI payments had given her the confidence to start her own business . . . Reuters (2019), ‘Finland’s basic income trial boosts happiness but not employment’. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-finland-basic-income/finlands-basic-income-trial-boosts-happiness-but-not-employment-idUSKCN1PX0NM
A study that looked to see if the programme affected levels of employment found that it had a ‘marginally positive employment effect’ . . . D. Jones (2018), ‘The labor market impacts of universal and permanent cash trans- fers: evidence from the Alaska Permanent Fund’. Available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3118343. Jones concluded: ‘We show that the dividend had no effect on employment, and increased part-time work by 1.8 percentage points (17 per cent). Overall, our results suggest that a universal and permanent cash transfer does not signifi- cantly decrease aggregate employment.’
Luther King quoted an estimate by John Kenneth Galbraith that the cost of such a proposal would be $20 billion – equivalent to what was being spent on the Vietnam War annually at the time . . . J. Weissmann (2013), ‘Martin Luther King’s economic dream: a guaranteed income for all Americans’, Atlantic. Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/08/martin-luther-kings-economic-dream-a-guaranteed-income-for-all-americans/279147/
And when Tubbs became mayor, the town had recently declared bankruptcy, one in four people lived below the poverty line, and it had one of the highest homicide rates in the US . . . US Census available at: https://censusreporter.org/data/table/?table=B19001&primary_geo_ id=16000US0675000&geo_ids=16000US0675000,05000US06077,31000US44700,04000US06,01000US
That day is arriving; we already have phones for messages and machines to clean streets, and robots are estimated to replace up to half of jobs in the next twenty years . . . A study by Oxford University found that 47 per cent of jobs in the US are ‘at risk’ of automation in the next twenty years: M. Osborne & C. Benedikt (2013), ‘The Future of Employment’. Available at: https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/future-of- employment.pdf. According to McKinsey, ‘Almost half of the activities (not jobs) carried out by workers could be automated’: McKinsey & Com- pany (2018), ‘AI, automation, and the future of work: ten things to solve for’. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/ai-automation-and-the-future-of-work-ten-things-to-solve-for. See also L. Nedelkoska & G. Quintini (2018), ‘Automation, skills use and training’, OECD. This study estimates the number of jobs that are ‘highly automatable’ is closer to 14 per cent; but ‘close to one in two jobs are likely to be significantly affected by automation’. Available at: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/2e2f4eea-en.pdf?expires=1571856062&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=3CC7BA7FF57844D474AFFA442A948F12
In 2017, the EU published a draft report on automation from which it concluded ‘in the light of the possible effects on the labour market of robotics and Artificial Intelligence, a general basic income should be ser- iously considered, and invites all Member States to do so.’ . . . M. Delvaux (2016), ‘Draft report: with recommendations to the Commission on Civil Law Rules on Robotics’. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/JURI-PR-582443_EN.pdf?redirect
‘Cities are laboratories of democracy,’ she says . . . As quoted in P. Goodman (2018), New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/30/business/stockton-basic-income.html. See also C. Martin (2019), New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/08/opinion/baby-steps-toward-guaranteed-incomes-and-racial-justice.html
Otjivero is a small village east of Namibia’s capital where another UBI experiment ran for two years from 2008, with extremely positive results: household poverty was halved, malnutrition has decreased by a quarter, income generating activities have increased, overall crime nearly halved, and school attendance nearly doubled . . . C. Haarmann, D. Haarmann, H. Jauch, H. Shindondola-Mote, N. Nattrass, I. van Niekerk & M. Samson (2019), Basic Income Grant Pilot Project Assessment Report. Available at: http://www.bignam.org/Publications/BIG_Assessment_report_08b.pdf
Similarly, a UBI pilot by Broadway Charity, seeking to address long-term homelessness in London, successfully housed nine out of thirteen of the people in the pilot, at a seventh of the normal cost to social services. J. Hough & B. Rice (2010), Providing Personalised Support to Rough Sleepers. Available at: https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/providing-personalised-support-rough-sleepers. The Economist (2019), ‘Cutting out the middle men’. Available at: https://www.economist.com/britain/2010/11/04/cutting-out-the-middle-men
Reflecting on the Broadway pilot, The Economist concluded, ‘The most efficient way to spend money on the homeless might be to give it to them’ . . . The Economist (2019), ibid.
Brian Steensland, who has studied the history of basic income, compares the cultural resistance UBI meets in the US today to resistance . . . B. Steensland (2018), The Failed Welfare Revolution. Cited in R. Bregman (2018), Utopia for Realists, Bloomsbury Paperbacks, p. 63
That said, a 2016 poll found that the majority of people across the EU said they would definitely or probably vote for a universal basic income initiative . . . Dahlia Research (2016), ‘What do Europeans think about basic income?’. Available at: https://basicincome.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/EU_Basic-Income-Poll_Results.pdf
When I spoke to the two researchers behind the Stockton experiment – Dr Amy Castro Baker, and Dr Stacia Martin-West – they referenced the UBI experiments in 1970s Seattle and Denver (SIME/DIME) in which women were found to work less. ‘If you’re working three jobs, you don’t have much time to show up for your neighbours,’ Dr Amy told me . . . K. Widerquist (2019), ‘The basic income guarantee experiments of the 1970s: a quick summary of results’. Available at: https://basicincome.org/news/2017/12/basic-income-guarantee-experiments-1970s-quick-summary-results/
The reality is, we are still emerging out of an unbalanced system that has been very oppressive to certain groups of people for thousands of years . . . b. hooks & G. Yancy (2015), ‘Opinion’, New York Times. Available at: https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/12/10/bell-hooks-buddhism-the-beats-and-loving-blackness/#more-158658
In business in the US, female-founded teams receive only 2.2 per cent of venture capital investment (compared with 76 per cent of all male teams) . . . E. Hinchliffe (2019), Fortune. Available at: https://fortune.com/2019/01/28/funding-female-founders-2018/
This logic is the ethos of the World Economic Forum’s ‘gender gap index’ which tracks the distance between male and female power according to four criteria . . . The Global Gender Gap Report 2018. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-gender-gap-report-2018
A report in 2015 by McKinsey estimated that if women achieved gender parity with men in work, global output would increase by more than a quarter . . . J. Woetzel, A. Madgavkar et al. (2015), The Power of Parity: How Advancing Women’s Equality Can Add $12 Trillion to Global Growth. Avail- able at: https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Featured%20Insights/Employment%20and%20Growth/How%20advancing%20womens%20equality%20can%20add%2012%20trillion%20to%20global%20growth/MGI%20Power%20of%20parity_Full%20report_September%202015.ashx
The anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss argued that the Agricultural Revolution made children more valuable, as help was . . . C. Lévi-Strauss, Les Structures élémentaires de la parenté (The Elementary Structures of Kinship) (1969), Beacon Press. Analysis by G. Lerner, The Creation of Patriarchy (1986), Oxford University Press, p. 49
In The Creation of Patriarchy, Gerda Lerner argues that this practice of exchanging women for marriage made them the first slaves . . . G. Lerner (1986), ibid.
Because of existing vulnerabilities, women are the ones most likely to be hardest hit by the fallout from climate change and are up to fourteen times more likely to die during natural disasters . . . ‘Because I am a girl. In double jeopardy: adolescent girls and disasters’ (2013). Available at: https://plan-international.org/publications/state-worlds-girls-2013-adolescent-girls-and-disasters#download-options. C. Haigh & B. Vallely (2010), ‘Gender and the climate change agenda’. Available at: https://www.gdnonline.org/resources/Gender%20and%20the%20climate%20change%20agenda%2021.pdf
Male survivors outnumbered women three to one after the Thailand 2004 tsunami . . . Oxfam (2005), ‘The tsunami’s impact on women’. Available at: https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/115038/bn-tsunami-impact-on-women-250305-en.pdf
Meanwhile, women are estimated to represent 60 to 80 per cent of the membership of environmental organizations and multiple studies show that they are more likely to have environmentally positive attitudes and behaviour patterns, such as lower energy consumption, eating less meat, and recycling more . . . K. Norgaard & R. York (2005), ‘Gender equality and state environmentalism’, Gender & Society, 19(4), pp. 506–22. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/30044614?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents. L. Zelezny, P. Chua & C. Aldrich (2000), ‘New ways of thinking about environmentalism: elaborating on gender dif- ferences in environmentalism’, Journal of Social Issues, 56(3), pp. 443–57. Available at: https://spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/0022-4537.00177. L. M. Hunter, A. Hatch & A. Johnson (2004), ‘Cross-national gender variation in environmental behaviors’. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0038-4941.2004.00239.x. R. Räty & A. Carlsson- Kanyama (2009), ‘Energy consumption by gender in some European countries’. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2009.08.010
A detailed analysis of different countries found that having more women in positions of political leadership made a country more likely to enact environmental legislation . . . K. Norgaard & R. York (2005), op. cit.
Many believe that it is largely a consequence of the cultural ideas we have inherited from the patriarchy: that being ‘feminine’ means being more selfless, and that women have been socialized to be more ‘other-orientated’ – to look after children when disaster hits, do domestic work, and perhaps opt to be vegetarian . . . L. Zelezny, P. Chua & C. Aldrich (2000), op. cit.
One paper, based on seven studies, argued that there is a perceived asso- ciation between ‘green’ consumer products and ‘femininity’ and so some men are, perhaps subconsciously, trying to assert their masculinity by avoiding green behaviour . . . A. Brough, J. Wilkie, J. Ma, M. Isaac & D. Gal (2016), ‘Is eco-friendly unmanly? The green-feminine stereotype and its effect on sustainable consumption’, Journal of Consumer Research, 43(4), pp. 567–82. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/43/4/567/2630509?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Just as it might be tempting for some people to positively interpret the environmental behaviour gender gap to suggest that women are somehow fundamentally more proactive or ‘altruistic’; so too can that type of gender-stereotyping be used to justify other gender gaps – i.e. the argument that one of the reasons for the gender pay gap is be- cause women are more ‘agreeable’. . . T. Dietz, L. Kalof & P. C. Stern (2002), ‘Gender, values, and environmentalism’. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1540-6237.00088?referrer_access_token= qPPnOKbiRDojYPNbrMUeKYta6bR2k8jH0KrdpFOxC65Gejea2Uz0olKnNB8i7dX_ZQt_7Yf-3FsxAErs63Anu_cyemxHajktBupiHnveBsWtqGeplSKPmj22vKmw7reqNy9y8erQcchmFnKyOM-13oQSWn05LBWOfsH7KMWQVV0%3D. ‘It appears that, although white men and women in the United States conceptualize values in much the same way, for women altruism is a more important principle than it is for men’: C. Frieders- dorf (2018), Atlantic. Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/01/putting-monsterpaint-onjordan-peterson/550859/
Ironically, if the woman was married, and the couple separated, she would have no custody rights over her children . . . See UK Custody of Infants Act 1839 which sought to reform the law to give mothers more rights
If you combined the impact of ‘family planning’ and ‘female education’ in Project Drawdown list of climate solutions, they would arrive at first place . . . Project Drawdown (2019): ‘The resulting emissions reductions could be 102.96 gigatons of carbon dioxide.’
In 2017, actress Anne Hathaway was brave enough to admit that she had recognized internalized misogyny in her own thinking . . . J. Miller (2017), Vanity Fair. Available at: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/04/anne-hathaway-hollywood-sexism
It’s understandable that some feminists get angry; I’ve found myself angry at moments, but that doesn’t feel like the right way to escape this bind. As bell hooks recalled the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh advising her: ‘Hold on to your anger, and use it as compost for your garden’ . . . b. hooks & G. Yancy (2015), op. cit.
Western society long assumed itself superior: the colonizers were ‘discoverers’ of a ‘new world’, as if indigenous people were just part of the scenery . . . V. Shiva (2019), ‘The seed and the earth. Biotechnology and the colonisation of regeneration’, PubMed. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12286885
Now Western society is increasingly looking to indigenous traditions and communities to offer a pathway to better land management, with no less than the World Bank . . . C. Sobrevila (2008), op. cit.
Mihilakawna Pomo elder Lucy Smith recalled her mother saying, ‘The plants, animals, birds – everything on this Earth . . . K. Anderson (2013), Tending the Wild, University of California Press, p. 59
The World Bank and the United Nations have called for indigenous com- munities to be leading participants in conservation efforts . . . C. Sobrevila (2008), The Role of Indigenous Peoples in Biodiversity Conservation. Available at: https://siteresources.worldbank.org/intbiodiversity/Resources/RoleofIndigenousPeoplesinBiodiversityConservation.pdf
As doctors and scientists tell us that climate change is the biggest global health threat of the twenty-first century,’ might we pause to wonder if humanism sowed the seed of our downfall in a world where humans are not in fact omnipotent . . . The Cancer of Climate Change (2019). Avail- able at: https://cancerofclimatechange.org/about/
Research shows that exposure to nature has numerous positive benefits for mental health: improving mood and self-esteem, decreasing rates . . . J. Barton & J. Pretty (2010), ‘What is the best dose of nature and green exercise for improving mental health? A multi-study analysis’. Available at: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/es903183r
Likewise, a study at Oxford University found that meditation and mindfulness can be as effective at treating depression as antidepressant drugs . . . W. Kuyken, R. Hayes, B. Barrett et al. (2015), ‘Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy compared with maintenance antidepressant treatment in the prevention of depressive relapse or recurrence: a randomised controlled trial’, Lancet, 386(9988), pp. 63–73. Available at: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)62222-4/abstract
Medical research has found that generational trauma is even carried in people’s genes . . . R. Yehuda, N. Daskalakis, L. Bierer, H. Bader, T. Klengel, F. Holsboer & E. Binder (2019), ‘Holocaust exposure induced intergenerational effects on FKBP5 methylation’. Available at: https://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223(15)00652-6/