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Stern Measures
Oct. 30th, 2006 05:06 pmI've been saying it for years, that the real world - the economic real world, the one with businesses and consumers and the vast ravening machine that is modern capitalism - doesn't give a damn about the environment. There is no spiritual, or moral, or aesthetic, or ethical motivator, because the capital system doesn't recognise those as inputs (except in the limited field of marketing).
To those of us who do give a damn, it was obvious from the start that massive climate change would have a massive economic impact. Now finally, the Stern review says the same thing using the big words that make economists listen. A 20% drop in GDP? That's scary. When pitched as WW2 or the Great Depression, that's very scary to just the people who do actually change things.
So maybe for a change I'm hopeful. Though there's still pathetic short-termism and one-upmanship to deal with, so not too hopeful; I'm too burned to be naieve any more.
To those of us who do give a damn, it was obvious from the start that massive climate change would have a massive economic impact. Now finally, the Stern review says the same thing using the big words that make economists listen. A 20% drop in GDP? That's scary. When pitched as WW2 or the Great Depression, that's very scary to just the people who do actually change things.
So maybe for a change I'm hopeful. Though there's still pathetic short-termism and one-upmanship to deal with, so not too hopeful; I'm too burned to be naieve any more.
