Eco-Economics/Alternate Currencies

In the 1990s, a"third wave" of environmentalism (of which QEW is a part) grew out of the realization that earlier progress had faltered in the 1980s on a wide range of issues—from clean air and water to automobile gas mileage, from protection for endangered species to renewable energy development. Obviously something was missing.

Actually, it turned out there were two things lacking: 1) There is a need for inward transformation or change of heart as a necessary condition for acting on the accumulating scientific evidence, and 2) There is a need for systemic change in the way industrial societies are organized, without which no amount of legislation, public education, and technological advances can make enough of a difference.

Friends' interest in eco-economics has grown out of the second concern for systemic solutions to systemic problems. Drawing inspiration and insights from earlier non-conventional Quaker economists like E.F. Schumacher and Kenneth Boulding, they have been exploring the ways that modern economic systems, with their requirement of endless growth and their blindness to the limitations of the earth and the rights of other species and future generations, present an enormous stumbling block to long-term sustainability. Those in government and industry with vested interests in the dominant economic paradigm are, moreover, deaf to any persuasion about the need for change.

But there is good news! Critics of the politics of greed and growth have show that there is nothing ultimate or inevitable about the status quo. We see countless examples today of small-scale alternatives sprouting up all over the world, shining light on the dim path to a sustainable future. These determined and creative "counter-economies," ranging from local currencies and barter systems to true-cost pricing mechanisms, are spreading rapidly because they promote health and happiness in the present, not just hope for the future.

As further reading, this section has three articles on eco-economics from QEW's book, Earthcare For Friends, a Study Guide for Individuals and Faith Communities: (The book can be purchased through the QEW Publications Catalog.)

• "The Human Footprint and and Friends' Testimonies"
• "Modern Economies and Earth Process"
• "Cycles and Growth in Nature and Human Economies"

We also recommend the following books:

• The Ecology of Commerce, by Paul Hawken (HarperBusiness, 1994)
• Economics as if the Earth Really Mattered, by Susan Meeker-Lowry (New Society Publishers, 1988)
• Economics, Ecology, Ethics: Essays Toward a Steady-State Economy, Herman Daly, ed. (W.H. Freeman & Co., 1980)
• Interest and Inflation Free Money: Creating an Exchange Medium that Works for Everybody and Protects the Earth, by Margrit Kennedy (New Society Publishers, 1995)
• Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution, by Paul Hawken et al. (Back Bay Publishers, 2000)
• Small Is Beautiful, Economics as if People Mattered, by E.F. Schumacher (Perennial Library, 1973)
• Your Ecological Footprint, by Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees. (New Society Publishers, 2000)
• Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financia Independence, by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin (Penguin Books, 1993)

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