10 Ideas for Greening the USA - Part 2
January 4th, 2009 | Published in Biomimicry, Change, Innovation, Systems thinking | 2 Comments
I really want to see the USA, and the world become green. Here are my next 3 ideas to ponder as we count our way down to #1.
7. Progressive Corporate Taxation. Nothing should be too big to fail, and no single entity should wield such outsize influence on the system. There need to be limits to growth. If we look to the ecosystem as an example, and apply the principles of biomimicry to our economic system, then we can see that gravity plays an essential role in limiting the size of any creature. Elephants can’t get much bigger. Progressive corporation taxation would limit the size of a corporation, and thus their influence.
6. Create a new for profit, triple bottom line corporate form and grant it advantageous tax status. Take the concept behind the B Corporation to the next level. Leverage the power of entrepreneurship fully towards social and environmental good. Bring the invisible hand of the market into alignment with the requirements of the real world.
5. Launch a Green Apollo Program. Along the lines proposed by the Apollo alliance. Create jobs, whilst making our nation sustainable. It seems like a no brainer to me, if you can keep the hogs from the trough. Yes we can!
more to come..
part 3 - not yet published
part 4 - not yet published
January 5th, 2009at 8:48 pm(#)
Great that you are thinking along these lines. Just a quick note on item 5: Creating jobs can only be sustainable if each job has a zero net impact on CO2 emissions and ecological footprint in general. Job creation is a feel-good term. Everybody loves jobs. But is job creation really part of any truly sustainable plan?
Dave Gardner
Producer/Director
Hooked on Growth: Our Misguided Quest for Prosperity
Join the cause at http://www.growthbusters.com
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January 8th, 2009at 9:23 am(#)
Hi Dave - that is an excellent point - on reflection I’d go one stage further and say that we need each job to have a regenerative impact on both the ecosystem and society. A job is not a job is not a job..