Eco Currency

The research provided in this project is a first step into a possible introduction of an ECO-currency. It is clear that the proposition provided is merely a concretization of the research and opens up a world of new questions. The proposition shows that many practical issues still need to be researched, designed for and validated. Future projects could use the foundations this project has laid, to dive into these new questions, and continue the rationale.

Kickstarter is a funding platform for artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians, journalists, inventors, explorers etc. On this platform, creative projects can be displayed and a funding can be requested. People have to explain what they want to do and how much money they need. It’s close to the platform designed in one of the scenarios how to apply eco-currency; stewardship, where an online platform is used to show projects and to gain money.

Interim exhibition set-up

Last week we used a little experimental set-up during the mid-term exhibitions to get some initial feedback on the stewardship scenario. A tangible version of our concept platform was presented. Visitors were free to propose projects and post them on the platform. Each visitor also got three votes (lego blocks) to place next to flags on the world map that represented the project proposals.

For a time lapse movie on how the exhibition evolved please check our freshly initiated platform www.webalance.org.

Screenshots of its field guide function

NOAH (Networked Organisms And Habitat) is a tool for people interested in their local wildlife. The infrastructure contains an Iphone application with which you can photograph any species that you come across.

Back in 1978, James Tobin proposed a small tax (the Tobin Tax) – these days the suggestion is 1/10 percent – on all foreign exchange (forex) dealings, average daily turnover in global foreign exchange markets is estimated at $3.98 trillion as of April 2007. After that many discussions about tobin tax arose, but up until now nothing like it has been introduced anywhere.

The third scenario is based on interest over environmental value. Imagine you have a piece of land, sea or something else that is worth something for the ecology. A taxator will define the worth of this specific object according to Simpson’s diversity index. Every month interest is paid in ECO’s over this amount.

The second scenario. Many of our sources and research (this, and this TED-talk give a good introduction) show that a very good way towards reaching a goal is by collaboration and a bottom up approach. We don’t need big institutions, a lot of rules and bureaucracy, but allow a self-governming emergent system to grow. This is but one of the two main pillars on which this scenario is build.

This is the first of a series of scenarios. The starting standpoint we took was that a currency should be backed up by ‘real’ value. In the past this used to be the case with gold. Gold has some good properties which make it very valuable as a trading currency, and has been used as this for over 4000 years in a almost all cultures.It is not possible to get more through manipulation, and is thus a very good way to measure wealth.

In his talk at TED Oxford  in July 2009, Geoff Mulgan explains how he believes our economical system should focus on social and human growth since the current focus on economical growth is no longer sustainable. Although most governments currently spend huge amounts of money to fix the failing economical system, they should actually use the crisis to jump forward towards a different type of economy which is not about consumption or credit but about things with actual value.

In order to successfully implement our eco-currency, we have to have an overview of the world we are living in. In our case there are two very important ecologies that we have to include in this view: the economical/financial system, and the environmental world – the biosphere.