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About Mark H Burton

Blog • 07.11.2016

Why the proposals for the US economy might not be the right selection

By: Mark H Burton

It is great to see an attempt to put degrowth ideas into a straightforward form that can be taken into political debate.  However, the selection of points is critical and I am not convinced that this is the right selection. I'll just take issue with two: 1. Zero bank-debts “No bank should lend more than its deposits. Banks cannot be allowed to create money out of thin air, while all the re...

Blog • 07.11.2016

Why the proposals for the US economy might not be the right selection

Money tree

By: Mark H Burton

It is great to see an attempt to put degrowth ideas into a straightforward form that can be taken into political debate.  However, the selection of points is critical and I am not convinced that this is the right selection. I'll just take issue with two: 1. Zero bank-debts “No bank should lend more than its deposits. Banks cannot be allowed to create money out of thin air, while all the ...

Blog • 28.03.2016

Again and again: supposed evidence for decoupling emissions from growth is not what it seems

By: Mark H Burton

By Mark Burton It can be difficult to form a view of what’s really going on in our atmosphere, given the amount of information and of contradictory claims. This piece concerns recent reports on global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and levels. On 16th March, a Guardian headline over an article by John Vidal said: Surge in renewable energy stalls world greenhouse gas emissions That sounds good...

Blog • 12.10.2015

The decoupling debate: can economic growth really continue without emission increases?

By: Mark H Burton

By Mark Burton Most ecological economists argue that continued economic growth is incompatible with ecological safety. That is to say continued increases in Gross Domestic Product, (GDP and also Gross Value Added, GVA) cannot happen while reducing ecological impacts in general, and climate change-causing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in particular. It isn’t a popular message, and is one that ...