"GreenCapitalism!" How it can save our planet.

by Keith Mcilroy

Overview

In the last 12 years the global economy has doubled to US $70 Trillion.

During that same time oil is close to peaking, fresh water demand has ballooned, waste mountains have piled up and greenhouse gases have driven changes to our climate. If we continue at that growth rate the global economy will be US $700 Trillion per annum by 2050 and over US $11,000 Trillion by the end of this century. Can we have a global economy 160 times bigger than today?

The pessimists' view is that we cannot. We will consume and pollute ourselves to a life of meagre subsistence - "Living in caves and eating moss".

The optimists' view is that new forms of energy and new technologies will enable us to continue to grow for ever without limit. "Technology will solve the problem".

The reality is, of course, somewhere between the two.

That 'somewhere' I call GreenCapitalism. 'Capitalism' because that really is the only economic game in town. 'Green' because that is the only long term future for us.

This book will help you understand why, when and how green capitalism will impact on you. It will explain the good and the bad of our current economic model, what impact future economic growth will have on our planet and what we need to put into place for our economy to become truly sustainable.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940011423208
Publisher:	Keith Mcilroy
Publication date:	07/20/2011
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	252 KB

About the Author

My journey to Green-Capitalism

"there is no need for there to be a 'loser' between economic growth and environmental protection"

I have spent most of my professional life identifying the need for change in organisations then helping those organisations to make those changes. From turning around insolvent companies and integrating corporate acquisitions through to culture change programs on factory floors and in sales teams. Like most people deeply involved in business, my focus was on this quarter's profit, this month's sales, this week's cash flow. I paid scant regard to what was happening in the rest of the world, especially anything vaguely environmental.

This started to change when my family flew into Manchester airport in 2000 to join me in the UK. It was raining. Hardly surprising for Manchester. Over the next few months it continued to rain and there was more and more discussion on climate change. At the time I dismissed this, along with 'peak oil' and 'global warming', as fear mongering from people who should get a 'proper job'. Then in April 2001, it was announced that the previous 12 months had been the wettest in the UK since records began. And records began in the 17th Century. That caused me to wonder a wee bit. But only for a bit as I soon went back to my insular business world and stayed there, even when we returned to Australia to find ourselves in the middle of the 'hundred year drought'.

Then, in 2003 The Business Council of Australia invited me to join their working group that was preparing a range of scenarios for Australia in 20 years time. 'Aspire Australia 2025' was put together over 12 months by running workshops with seventy of the leading thinkers in Australia. We looked at every aspect of life in Australia. Our competitiveness, strategic defence, values and norms, our governance and our sustainability.

That experience triggered the start of my journey. A journey that was initially focussed on climate change for the more that I researched the arguments for and against, the more I came to the conclusion that this was a 'clear and present threat' to our quality of life. It also quickly became clear that, until the business community took the risk seriously, then we would always struggle to make the changes needed to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. And here was where the nub of the problem was.

Business had great difficulty seeing how we could both, reduce our depen...