See on Scoop.it – The Great Transition

Does a new extractive technology arrive before or after limits to growth in resource throughput are in place?

Willy De Backer‘s insight:

Interesting article by Herman Daly on the death of a American proponent of ‘limits to growth’ who went over to the fracking side – Darth Vader?

 

"If we were to first enact limits to growth in resource throughput, then even a violent extractive technology such as fracking would be constrained in its ability to wreck the planet on a large scale. The lower carbon content of natural gas might reduce global warming enough to make up for additional extraction damage to the environment. However, if we insist that unlimited growth must remain our first goal, then fracking will just increase total greenhouse gas emissions, not to mention groundwater depletion and pollution. With growth in first place, even soft technologies, those that increase efficiency of resource usage, are likely (thanks to the Jevons Paradox) to promote growth in resource throughput to a scale that is on balance harmful."

See on www.resilience.org

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