[PeDAGoG] A piece on the physical limits to infinite economic growth

[Nagraj Adve]

Dear Chirag and Vandana,
Very good essay ... raises a range of crucial questions. I loved the
opening gambit 'If EVs are the answer, what is the question?'
Last week, the International Energy Agency (IEA) came out with a relevant
report on Critical minerals in the clean energy transition, including
issues of production and supply. Very much in keeping with the arguments in
your essay, they say 'If we slightly extend the time horizon, we see ample
reasons to be vigilant about the ability of supply to meet demand' [so as
to not clog inboxes, I will email it to you separately if you have not seen
it].
Four issues come to mind, given the varied constraints you have so
elegantly presented in the essay - one, what a supply constraint would do
to price, its rise immediately affecting levels of production;
two, related to price, a sporadic slowing down or speeding up of energy
transient infrastructure and commodities, with attendant largely negative
implications for climate change and related ecological crises;
three, in the longer term, implications for the rate of economic growth as
different material constraints kick in
The fourth is more a concern: what it might imply for working people and
the poor. Both the 2009 financial crises and the 2020-2021? COVID induced
crises has shown the capacity of elites to shove its worst effect unequally
on the underprivileged people and nations ..
Finally, a minor point: your graph c) on sustainability: would flatlined
resource use be sustainable if it plateaus at a very high level? Over time,
it could - depending on the resource availability - easily overtake stocks,
and is hence not sustainable?
Thanks again for a rich essay.
very warmly,
Naga

On Mon, 21 Jun 2021 at 11:54, Dr N. Raghuram <nandula.raghuram at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Dear Vandana and Chirag,
>
> I agree with Prabhu that it is an extremely well written piece with
> concise arguments on the futility of chasing the mirage of limitless growth
> with sustainability.
>
> Best wishes,
> Raghuram
>
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>
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>
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> On Sun, Jun 20, 2021 at 11:47 PM <singhvan at rcn.com> wrote:
>
>> Dear All,
>>
>> You may be interested in this Opinion piece from climate physicist Chirag
>> Dhara and myself that came out today in Scientific American.
>>
>>
>> https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-delusion-of-infinite-economic-growth/
>>
>> For those interested in this subject in the educational context, you may
>> want to look at our chapter for a forthcoming publication from UNESCO on
>> Climate Education. Free download from the site below.
>> https://arxiv.org/abs/2101.07467
>> "The Elephant in the Room: Why Transformative Education Must Address the
>> Problem of Endless Exponential Economic Growth."
>> Please feel free to circulate.  Many thanks!
>> Best,
>>
>> Vandana
>>
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