From the family car to the dream kitchen, fossil fuel companies sold a vision of prosperity that depended on their own products. Grist dug up a century of evidence that shows how they did it.

I am so SICK of hearing about how it could cost (insert obscene amount of money here) to go green or be sustainable. Money won't mean a damn thing if the planet is inhospitable. I have a theory that most - if not all - of the problems we have (not just environmental issues) have a root cause that is greed, whether it be on an individual scale or a massive one such as corporate greed. I am frustrated with this disposable, greedy culture we are all submersed in. Companies shove propaganda down our throats saying consumerism will make you happy or will make your life better. But it is a lie based on greed. One which is a major cause of the destruction of the natural environment. I am discontent.

Read an interesting take, not sure how much of it is true - The reason many fruits have vegetables have started being seedless (think grapes, watermelons, etc) is so that produce can be controlled by corporates more and more going forward and regular people can’t grow their own food.

Do you think this is true?

There's currently a major crisis in France because the pension system is growing larger as the majority of the population is getting older and becoming non-productive. What's the solution for an aging society with more unproductive people and a smaller young population?

Before you say this:

\-"Raise the birth rates with better quality of life!"

Quality of life doesn't improve birth rates. China improved all its quality-of-life statistics, and birth rates are in the toilet. The average woman also doesn't want to have 3–4 kids on average like during the baby boom (which many women didn't want either, but they didn't have much control over their bodies).

\-immigration!

France has had constant waves of migrants since the 1970s, and these migrants have aged too. On average, they have as many or fewer kids than native French people, so it isn't a solution either.

The question is: how can you improve or manage the economy with a larger older population?

Whenever an essential resource gets scarce, like water during a dry summer or firewood in a long winter, market prices don't actually solve the physical problem. They just make things more expensive, so the wealthiest people hoard the surplus while everyone else gets squeezed out.

In our project, we wanted to budget everything directly in physical reality: kilowatt-hours of solar, liters of clean water, and kilograms of food, rather than dollars or euros.

The real challenge is keeping it practical in daily life. How do you track who needs what without creating an annoying, spreadsheet-heavy bureaucracy where people spend all day logging chores and feeling policed?

For those of you living in ecovillages, housing co-ops, or mutual aid networks: how do you manage physical sharing when things get tight without falling back on charging money?

Hey everyone!

I’m currently travelling by campervan slowly from Austria/Hungary to Greece, passing through the Balkans. Next summer, I’d love to spend some time in Romania.

I’m really interested in alternative ways of living and looking to rethink my own lifestyle. Any tips on people, projects or communities to check out along my route?

Materialism is basing theories on the environmental considerations of a society and not outside factors like g-d or ideology. By this view
Degrowth just makes sense as nothing can grow forever but for some reason many leftists hate degrowth and use stuff like the working class living conditions. Since when did the ecosphere care about if someone can take a hot bath

Come on everybody know it but nobody cares as they have disposed off the nature they will keep going

Business schools aren’t fit for purpose. What to do about it?