The Green Growth Delusion

Absent from most public and policy conversations is any acknowledgment of the possibility that renewable energy cannot power a high-consumption civilization.

This series will explore mounting evidence that a major downshift in consumption is looming — and explore the implications of this energy realism for human progress and flourishing.

Advocates of “Green Growth” promise a painless transition to a post-carbon future. But what if the limits of renewable energy require sacrificing consumption as a way of life?

In the annals of industrial civilization, the Green New Deal counts as one of the more ambitious projects. Its scale is vast, promising to reform every aspect of how we power our machines, light our homes and fuel our cars. At this late hour of ecological and climate crisis, the Green New Deal is also an act of desperation. Our energy-ravenous culture cannot continue producing carbon without destroying the systems that are the basis of any advanced civilization, not to mention life itself. Something must be done, and quickly, to moderate the pressure on the atmospheric sink while powering the economic machine.

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