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.

An intersting article on New York Times website today.

UNITED NATIONS — Governments are largely ignoring a biodiversity protection treaty they signed 17 years ago, allowing the rate of species decline to continue at an alarming rate, the United Nations said in a report released today.

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.

February 10th, over fifty charity organisations (among which Christian Aid, Comic Relief and UNICEF) proposed a global tax to raise money, basically to do good. This tax will affect mostly banks but also various types of financial dealings (such as stock and bonds dealings). Getting money from ‘the rich’ to support ‘the poor’ gives this tax it’s appealing name ‘The Robin Hood Tax‘.

From VPROInternational:

Quants are the math wizards and computer programmers in the engine room of our global financial system who designed the financial products that almost crashed Wall st. The credit crunch has shown how the global financial system has become increasingly dependent on mathematical models trying to quantify human (economic) behaviour. Now the quants are at the heart of yet another technological revolution in finance: trading at the speed of light.

An interesting article in Dutch newspaper “De Pers” today about Almir Narayamoga Surui. He is the Chief of a tribe in the Brazilian rainforest. He is nothing like the stereotypical image one might have. He uses new networks and technology, such as an iPhone, Skype and FaceBook to help preserve the forest. He even has connections with Google and Al Gore to help spread his cause.

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 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.