85: Election 2024 – Stephanie Attempts to Talk Dave Off the Ledge
GrowthBusters
Dave and Stephanie dig into what caused voters to ignore Donald Trump’s felony convictions, indecency, incompetence, narcissism, and dishonesty – and elect him president. This includes a review of the 50-year war waged by the mega-rich and corporations to undermine civility, compassion, equity and rule of law, to elevate the free enterprise system, rob the working class and enrich themselves. The Lewis Powell Memo kicked this into high gear 50 years ago. They also propose theories about why Dave’s campaign for president failed in its mission to alert the public, media and policymakers to...
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84: Strong Economy Begins With Shrinking Workforce
GrowthBusters
A new study debunks depopulation panic. For decades economists have perpetuated the false narrative, “If population growth reverses and begins to decline, the economy is doomed.” This belief has so frequently been repeated by economists, politicians, business people and the public, that it is generally taken as gospel. Psychologists have characterized the phenomenon as the illusory-truth effect, or believing something to be true if it’s repeated often enough, even if it is false. For the first time in modern history, a handful of countries are witnessing actual population declines. The...
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83: We Roasted Elon Musk, Raising the Curiosity of Thousands
GrowthBusters
We made it VERY clear that Musk’s worries about population collapse are ill-founded, and that attracted thousands more listeners than usual to our podcast. How did that happen? What kind of comments did we get? Find out in this episode. And get important truths about overshoot and overpopulation. Plus, learn how we’ll give YOU the mic for an episode of the GrowthBusters podcast. We explain the long wait for this episode, and share our offer to listeners to “adopt” a future episode to discuss an aspect of limits to growth important to you. If you do want to guest-host an...
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82: Governor Whitmer Unveils Ponzi Population Policy
GrowthBusters
The Michigan Governor is apparently unaware that the world, the U.S. and even Michigan are overpopulated. Michigan population has been growing a little too slowly for her taste, so Whitmer has appointed a Chief Growth Officer and formed the Growing Michigan Together Council. Not surprisingly, her bottom line is to “spur economic growth.” In an episode you should share with YOUR governor, you’ll get the details and find out why this news puts “a bee in Dave’s bonnet,” plus news about some outstanding new studies, a wonderful commentary in Newsweek, a crazy podcast you’ll like, and...
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81 Overpopulation Think Tank – Part 2
GrowthBusters
Are many vegans self-righteous, overbearing and insufferable in their efforts to recruit us? Would you believe “overpopulation” is still a taboo word? Or that human population numbers are still an “off-limits” topic at some conferences? This episode continues the conversation we began in episode 79 with five smart people: Nandita Bajaj, executive director of Population Balance Sarah Bexell, director of humane education at the Institute for Human Animal Connection at University of Denver Paul Sutton, professor of geography & the environment at DU Stephanie Gardner, co-host of the...
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80 How Do We Get Out of This Mess? University Students Brainstorm
GrowthBusters
Students in a DU ecological economics class discuss their biggest concerns and how our society might overcome them. Overshoot, polarization, the American Dream, politics, selfish individualism, and the capitalism growth imperative are among the topics explored – as GrowthBuster Dave Gardner sits down with leaders of tomorrow. Dave is joined by Professor Paul Sutton at the University of Denver and students Lilia Davis, Julia Gainey, Cassienne Levan, Nathan Cox, Mikey Ford, Geordie Shonk, Elsa Krantz, and Alexandra Van de Water. Surprisingly, all the students seem to have a clear...
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79 Overpopulation Think Tank – Part 1
GrowthBusters
Five thought leaders break the silence on the role of human overpopulation in ecological overshoot –with an informed, engaging conversation about the subject. This is what intelligent discourse sounds like. For thirty years, many people – some well-intentioned – have been trying to silence discourse about human overpopulation. One of our goals on the GrowthBusters podcast is to break that silence, and this episode does that well by bringing together three great thinkers – actually five, educators and crusaders on the subject. The occasion was a visit to Colorado by Nandita Bajaj,...
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78 Discussing Overpopulation: Let's Clear the Minefield
GrowthBusters
Why do discussions of overpopulation often elicit emotional responses of fear, anger, or indignation? Are anger and indignation what prevents productive discussion of population? These responses in a graduate college class provide an opportunity to explore how we might pave the way for productive conversations. Our guest in this episode, Professor Christopher Bystroff of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute wonders whether a “global therapy session” could end what he describes as a “global, sullen silence.” We need intelligent discourse on the subject, but too often it is being shut down....
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77 Fact-Checking News of China’s “Demographic Crisis”
GrowthBusters
The news that China’s massive population dropped by nearly a million people last year was almost universally reported as a “crisis.” In this episode we unpack the news coverage and take journalists to task for completely overlooking the fact that, in an overpopulated world, population contraction should be greeted with a collective sigh of relief. The population news was accompanied by an announcement that China’s economy grew by only three percent, less than half the previous year’s 8.1 percent. This, too, was reported as bad news for China. Of course, obsession with GDP growth is...
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76 Now Here's What We Call an Eco-Superhero
GrowthBusters
Getting take-out in your own reusable container, recycling bubble-wrap properly, and getting arrested – it’s all in a day’s work for an eco-superhero. Stephanie and Dave learn about climate activism with Extinction Rebellion, sharing quirky sustainability life hacks on social media, and the joy of a 58-hour train trip – from Stephanie’s former co-worker and friend, James Comiskey. Find out... why James is angry and thinks he has a right to be if #AmtrakLife should be your new favorite hashtag why Steve Bannon wears three shirts at one time why Dave proposes we organize a conference...
info_outlineAre Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson and Elon Musk doing civilization a favor and advancing science? Are they preparing to colonize space like the Borg in Star Trek: The Next Generation? Or are they seeking status and boosting their egos – AND their carbon footprints – with expensive toys?
July was a big month for space travel, with two billionaires blasting into space. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic sold seats and launched space tourists into near space and promised many repeat performances. Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans manned Earth orbits before the year ends.
Most of us tend to believe in science and support government funding of scientific advancement. But if we’re in a climate emergency, should we put non-essential, carbon-intensive research projects on hold in order to implement every possible CO2 emissions cut?
In this episode, environmentalist Stephanie Gardner joins host Dave Gardner to explore the questions these flights raise. They also examine the carbon footprints of lifestyles of the rich and famous.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
How to Have a Green Wedding – Episode 25 of the GrowthBusters podcast
https://www.growthbusters.org/green-wedding-episode-25/
Sarah’s Wildlife-Friendly Wedding – Episode 47 of the GrowthBusters podcast
http://www.growthbusters.org/wildlife-friendly-wedding/
Population Decline is Part of the Solution (2008 YouTube video featuring Stephanie Gardner)
https://youtu.be/XXyyCY5IM6Q
RELEVANT LINKS:
Billionaire Space Race – by Tim Jackson
https://medium.com/ending-overshoot/billionaire-space-race-7e0738703554
As Bezos Completes Blue Origin Mission, Many Ask What’s the Climate-Change Impact?https://www.marketwatch.com/story/as-bezos-completes-blue-origin-mission-many-ask-whats-the-climate-change-impact-11626795950
Space Flight for Fun: Billionaire Egotism Trumps Sustainability – by Steve Banker
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebanker/2021/07/12/space-flight-for-fun-billionaire-egotism-trumps-sustainability/
The Surprising Carbon Footprint of Space Travel – by John Armstrong
https://energycentral.com/c/ec/surprising-carbon-footprint-space-travel
Where is Starman? Track Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster in Space!
https://www.whereisroadster.com/
The Environmental Impact of Emissions from Space Launches: A Comprehensive Review (May, 2020 in Journal of Cleaner Production, by Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652620302560
An Increase in Rocket Launches Could Have a Significant Environmental Impact
https://startupsavant.com/news/increase-rocket-launches
How Much CO2 Did Bezos’ Rocket Ride Release? Close to Zero (Politifacts factcheck by The Poynter Institute)
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/jul/20/tweets/how-much-co2-did-bezos-rocket-ride-release-close-z/
Where the Space Industry is Grounded – by Andrew Beattie (published by the Millennium Alliance for Humanity and the Biosphere)
https://mahb.stanford.edu/library-item/where-the-space-industry-is-grounded/
Private Planes, Mansions and Superyachts: What Gives Billionaires Like Musk and Abramovich Such a Massive Carbon Footprint
https://theconversation.com/private-planes-mansions-and-superyachts-what-gives-billionaires-like-musk-and-abramovich-such-a-massive-carbon-footprint-152514
Environmental Concerns Grow Among Scientists as Space Tourism Lifts Off
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202107/1228942.shtml
Why Space Flights’ Green Credentials Don’t Fly (opinion column in Financial Times)
https://www.afr.com/technology/why-space-flights-green-credentials-don-t-fly-20210711-p588oy
How Bad is Space Tourism for The Environment? And Other Space Travel Questions, Answered
https://www.vox.com/recode/22589197/space-travel-tourism-bezos-branson-rockets-blue-origin-virgin-galactic-spacex
Forbes Billionaires List
https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/
Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List
https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#3384987c3d78
Jeff Bezos' $400 Million Flying Fox Yacht
https://youtu.be/MRYEcushHjc
Carbon Emissions of Richest 1 Percent More Than Double the Emissions of the Poorest Half of Humanity
https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/carbon-emissions-richest-1-percent-more-double-emissions-poorest-half-humanity
On the GrowthBusters podcast, we come to terms with the limits to growth, explore the joy of sustainable living, and provide a recovery program from our society’s growth addiction (economic/consumption and population). This podcast is part of the GrowthBusters project to raise awareness of overshoot and end our culture’s obsession with, and pursuit of, growth.
Dave Gardner directed the documentary GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth, which Stanford Biologist Paul Ehrlich declared “could be the most important film ever made.”
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