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.
Adding monetary value to CO2
This is an overview of the carbon credit system as it was formalized in Kyoto (1997). The aim is to understand what we can learn from this system with respect to proposing an eco currency. Both try to introduce a non-material good into the financial market in order to keep it from being overrun by current economy.
Tonight at the Eco-Currency Night four programs will be shown about inspirations, backgrounds and economical scenarios. Tonight we will show:
Yochai Benkler explains using many examples emerging on the internet that collaboration is much stronger than traditional organizations. In an information economy in which we live, it’s a very powerful fact that almost anyone in this most advanced economy has a computer. Benkler argues that a computer is in fact the one most important building blocks in this economy, opening up the way to true collaboration in a what he calls ‘open source economics’.
While a lot of things posted on this site are very serious in nature, this is an example that is a little less serious. This massive LEGO creation is a self-sufficient sustainable crawler town, according to the builder. I can’t believe how much hours went into it, and the level of detail is astonishing.
Cut down forest on Indonesian Borneo
In order to develop poorer areas, the Brazilian government has been stimulating agriculture in some remote and forested areas until recently. Although the education and healthcare facilities have improved the lives of the local people, it has come with great natural depletion. Deforestation accounts for 70% of Brazils carbon emissions today.
The richness of the soil in these areas make for attractive farming of soy and palm oil for which there is a high demand in American, European and Chinese industries. Because people cut down their trees for economic reasons, it is necessary to provide them with a financial alternative.
Hackers have recently found their ways into databases of the Brazilian governments. The aim were so-called transport permits which allows transportation of timber.
Chris Martenson gives a crash course of US Economic history, and an alarming statement on current trends.
This is a series of videos by Chris Martenson, explaining the basics of United States/global economy. In just under three and a half hours he goes through the basic factors that formed the economy of today. He also gives a view on possibilities how to handle the resulting crisis. It is a worthwhile sit if one wants to grasp a basic understanding and everything is presented in a way that is also understandable by the average Joe. Downside to this simplicity that the video sometimes lacks depth and gives some very simplistic examples.
photo by Alan Cleaver on Flickr
Even though it is yet unclear how the proposed system will get its money (Tobin tax has been proposed), a study by Mother Jones shows us we should carefully think about how we name it.
American participants in this experiment -with self acclaimed, varied political preferences- were proposed a program that would increase prices of carbon emitting activities. The extra costs would be directly used to pay for renewable energies or carbon capture and sequestration. All participants received the exact same proposal except for the name of the surcharge, half the people read about a “carbon tax”, the other half about “carbon offset”. They were finally asked to choose between purchasing two identical products, one only being costlier because it had this surcharge.
