Kerryn Higgs - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Kerryn Higgs

The Women S Review of Books, 2010

The Women's Review of Books, 2002

Sustainability and the New Economics, 2021

The United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2015are rightly celebrated as a ... more The United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2015are rightly celebrated as a major achievement: an agreement between nationson a comprehensive plan to tackle worldwide social and environmental crises.However, they rely on elements that are likely to undermine their success, andon trade-offs where some SDGs will have to be sacrificed to achieve others.Of particular concern is the injunction to foster economic growth, defined asgrowth in per capita gross domestic product (GDP).The SDGs include specific goals for conservation, protection and restorationof land, sea and climate for the first time. A fourth goal (SDG12), ‘sustainableconsumption and production patterns’, also implies environmental limits.These four goals are an advance on the 2001 Millennium Development Goalswhich, though they talked of ‘sustainable development’ in general terms,otherwise ignored the Earth system that supports all life, including human life.

Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, 2019

Anthropocene The human-dominated era in which we now live. There is debate over when this started... more Anthropocene The human-dominated era in which we now live. There is debate over when this started, but the most widespread views are either the mid-18th century when carbon dioxide levels started to rise sufficiently to alter Earth System function, due to the Industrial Revolution, or the first human created nuclear explosion, in 1945. The word combines the root "anthropo," meaning "human" with the root "-cene", the standard suffix for "epoch" in geologic time. Ecosystem services The benefits or "services" which ecosystems (functionally linked combinations of species) provide to humans, either indirectly or directly. These are normally grouped into four: "supporting" (e.g. soil formation, nutrient recycling, and water purification), provisioning" (e.g. food or fiber from crops or forests), "regulating" (e.g. the reduction in the harm, "provided" by forests, wetlands and mangroves against floods, landslides, droughts and tsunamis), and "cultural" (e.g. aesthetic, recreational and spiritual benefits that humans derive from contact with some forms of nature). Energy return on energy investment The ratio of useful energy obtained to the energy expended in obtaining that useful energy. The concept is particularly associated with the work of systems ecologist Charles A.S. Hall. Health A word derived from "whole" referring to a desired and robust, resilient state of function, normally of humans, animals or plants, both individually and as populations. Some also apply the term to ecosystems, or even the Earth System. Limits to growth The name of a study, commissioned by the Club of Rome and published as a book in 1972. It summarizes modelling work that explored the complex interactions between human civilization and the physical world in which it is inextricably embedded. The book's title reflects its main conclusion: on a finite planet, despite abundant solar energy, growth of the human enterprise is not infinite. Novel entity A term introduced and defined in 2015 as a planetary boundary, evolving from chemical pollution in previous planetary boundary publications. It was defined as "forms of existing substances, and modified life forms that have the potential for unwanted geophysical and/or biological effects." Planetary boundaries Earth System processes, modifiable by human actions, whose boundaries, if not exceeded, constitute a "safe operating space for humanity". This term, first published in 2009, is conceptually linked to the Limits to Growth framework.

Sustainability and the New Economics, 2021

Sustainable Development Goals: Their Impacts on Forests and People, 2019

The achievement of SDG 3 depends on many other SDGs; some SDGs are logically inconsistent, especi... more The achievement of SDG 3 depends on many other SDGs; some SDGs are logically inconsistent, especially in the attempt to increase conventionally defined GDP while preserving natural capital. • Any short-term gains for human health from further forest conversion (e.g. food production) creates short-and long-term, direct and indirect health risks for humans, as well as for other biota. • Failure to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services (including family planning) will increase pressure on forests at local, regional and global scales. • The burning and clearing of forests cause significant harm to health via impaired quality of water, soil and air; increased exposure to infectious diseases and impacts climate regulation. • Many infectious diseases are associated with forest disturbances and intrusions; some important infectious diseases have emerged from forests (notably HIV/AIDS). • Greater exposure to green space, including forests, provides mental and physical health benefits for the growing global urban population.

Choice Reviews Online, 2015

The notion of ever-expanding economic growth has been promoted so relentlessly that "growth&... more The notion of ever-expanding economic growth has been promoted so relentlessly that "growth" is now entrenched as the natural objective of collective human effort. The public has been convinced that growth is the natural solution to virtually all social problems—poverty, debt, unemployment, and even the environmental degradation caused by the determined pursuit of growth. Meanwhile, warnings by scientists that we live on a finite planet that cannot sustain infinite economic expansion are ignored or even scorned. In Collision Course, Kerryn Higgs examines how society’s commitment to growth has marginalized scientific findings on the limits of growth, casting them as bogus predictions of imminent doom. Higgs tells how in 1972, The Limits to Growth —written by MIT researchers Donella Meadows, Dennis Meadows, Jorgen Randers, and William Behrens III—found that unimpeded economic growth was likely to collide with the realities of a finite planet within a century. Although the book’s arguments received positive responses initially, before long the dominant narrative of growth as panacea took over. Higgs explores the resistance to ideas about limits, tracing the propagandizing of "free enterprise," the elevation of growth as the central objective of policy makers, the celebration of "the magic of the market," and the ever-widening influence of corporate-funded think tanks—a parallel academic universe dedicated to the dissemination of neoliberal principles and to the denial of health and environmental dangers from the effects of tobacco to global warming. More than forty years after The Limits to Growth , the idea that growth is essential continues to hold sway, despite the mounting evidence of its costs—climate destabilization, pollution, intensification of gross global inequalities, and depletion of the resources on which the modern economic edifice depends.

The Women's Review of Books, 2004

... born, Marilyn married Moses Havini, a Bougainvillean, in 1971 and moved to Bougainville'... more ... born, Marilyn married Moses Havini, a Bougainvillean, in 1971 and moved to Bougainville's Buka region. "My new adoptive Buka family," she writes, "had welcomed me into their hearts to such a degree that I melded with the clan... I had found acceptance as a 'mama'... ...

The Women's Review of Books, 2004

This thesis investigates the history of the debate about the limits to economic growth. It asks h... more This thesis investigates the history of the debate about the limits to economic growth. It asks how it came about that the emerging concerns of natural scientists and physical modellers were scorned by economists and, at least after 1980, largely ignored by governments and policy-makers world-wide. The unprecedented character of economic growth in the twentieth century is examined and its roots, scale and relationship to cheap energy is analysed, as well as the conflict between the pre-analytic assumptions of the two disciplines most concerned with the debate-economics and the natural sciences. The increasingly self-conscious pursuit of economic growth is explored as is the process by which growth was adopted as the self-evident solution to all social problems, .displacing ideas about equity and fairness. It is argued that the newly consolidated corporations that emerged in the US at the tum of the twentieth century progressively banded together to sell not just their products but &...

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2016

This paper reviews the theories concerning economic growth. It proves that none of them is succes... more This paper reviews the theories concerning economic growth. It proves that none of them is successful in explaining and offering solution to growth. While some offer dismal solution to preserve growth, most others rely on some magical tool for growth.

The Journal of Population and Sustainability, 2017

The idea of physical limits to human economic systems is advanced by physical scientists and ecol... more The idea of physical limits to human economic systems is advanced by physical scientists and ecological economists, as well as appealing to the common sense proposition that unending growth in physical processes such as material extraction and waste disposal will ultimately be inconsistent with any finite entity, even one as large as the Earth. Yet growth remains the central aim of business and government almost everywhere. This paper examines the history of the idea of economic growth and the many influences and interests that supported – and still support – its enshrinement as the principal aim of human societies. These include the apparatus of propaganda in favour of corporate interests; the emphasis on international trade; the funding of environmental denial; and, underlying all these, the corporate requirement for profit to continue to increase. The dominance of these influences has serious consequences for the natural world while growth has failed to solve the problems of pove...

The Women S Review of Books, 2010

The Women's Review of Books, 2002

Sustainability and the New Economics, 2021

The United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2015are rightly celebrated as a ... more The United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2015are rightly celebrated as a major achievement: an agreement between nationson a comprehensive plan to tackle worldwide social and environmental crises.However, they rely on elements that are likely to undermine their success, andon trade-offs where some SDGs will have to be sacrificed to achieve others.Of particular concern is the injunction to foster economic growth, defined asgrowth in per capita gross domestic product (GDP).The SDGs include specific goals for conservation, protection and restorationof land, sea and climate for the first time. A fourth goal (SDG12), ‘sustainableconsumption and production patterns’, also implies environmental limits.These four goals are an advance on the 2001 Millennium Development Goalswhich, though they talked of ‘sustainable development’ in general terms,otherwise ignored the Earth system that supports all life, including human life.

Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, 2019

Anthropocene The human-dominated era in which we now live. There is debate over when this started... more Anthropocene The human-dominated era in which we now live. There is debate over when this started, but the most widespread views are either the mid-18th century when carbon dioxide levels started to rise sufficiently to alter Earth System function, due to the Industrial Revolution, or the first human created nuclear explosion, in 1945. The word combines the root "anthropo," meaning "human" with the root "-cene", the standard suffix for "epoch" in geologic time. Ecosystem services The benefits or "services" which ecosystems (functionally linked combinations of species) provide to humans, either indirectly or directly. These are normally grouped into four: "supporting" (e.g. soil formation, nutrient recycling, and water purification), provisioning" (e.g. food or fiber from crops or forests), "regulating" (e.g. the reduction in the harm, "provided" by forests, wetlands and mangroves against floods, landslides, droughts and tsunamis), and "cultural" (e.g. aesthetic, recreational and spiritual benefits that humans derive from contact with some forms of nature). Energy return on energy investment The ratio of useful energy obtained to the energy expended in obtaining that useful energy. The concept is particularly associated with the work of systems ecologist Charles A.S. Hall. Health A word derived from "whole" referring to a desired and robust, resilient state of function, normally of humans, animals or plants, both individually and as populations. Some also apply the term to ecosystems, or even the Earth System. Limits to growth The name of a study, commissioned by the Club of Rome and published as a book in 1972. It summarizes modelling work that explored the complex interactions between human civilization and the physical world in which it is inextricably embedded. The book's title reflects its main conclusion: on a finite planet, despite abundant solar energy, growth of the human enterprise is not infinite. Novel entity A term introduced and defined in 2015 as a planetary boundary, evolving from chemical pollution in previous planetary boundary publications. It was defined as "forms of existing substances, and modified life forms that have the potential for unwanted geophysical and/or biological effects." Planetary boundaries Earth System processes, modifiable by human actions, whose boundaries, if not exceeded, constitute a "safe operating space for humanity". This term, first published in 2009, is conceptually linked to the Limits to Growth framework.

Sustainability and the New Economics, 2021

Sustainable Development Goals: Their Impacts on Forests and People, 2019

The achievement of SDG 3 depends on many other SDGs; some SDGs are logically inconsistent, especi... more The achievement of SDG 3 depends on many other SDGs; some SDGs are logically inconsistent, especially in the attempt to increase conventionally defined GDP while preserving natural capital. • Any short-term gains for human health from further forest conversion (e.g. food production) creates short-and long-term, direct and indirect health risks for humans, as well as for other biota. • Failure to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services (including family planning) will increase pressure on forests at local, regional and global scales. • The burning and clearing of forests cause significant harm to health via impaired quality of water, soil and air; increased exposure to infectious diseases and impacts climate regulation. • Many infectious diseases are associated with forest disturbances and intrusions; some important infectious diseases have emerged from forests (notably HIV/AIDS). • Greater exposure to green space, including forests, provides mental and physical health benefits for the growing global urban population.

Choice Reviews Online, 2015

The notion of ever-expanding economic growth has been promoted so relentlessly that "growth&... more The notion of ever-expanding economic growth has been promoted so relentlessly that "growth" is now entrenched as the natural objective of collective human effort. The public has been convinced that growth is the natural solution to virtually all social problems—poverty, debt, unemployment, and even the environmental degradation caused by the determined pursuit of growth. Meanwhile, warnings by scientists that we live on a finite planet that cannot sustain infinite economic expansion are ignored or even scorned. In Collision Course, Kerryn Higgs examines how society’s commitment to growth has marginalized scientific findings on the limits of growth, casting them as bogus predictions of imminent doom. Higgs tells how in 1972, The Limits to Growth —written by MIT researchers Donella Meadows, Dennis Meadows, Jorgen Randers, and William Behrens III—found that unimpeded economic growth was likely to collide with the realities of a finite planet within a century. Although the book’s arguments received positive responses initially, before long the dominant narrative of growth as panacea took over. Higgs explores the resistance to ideas about limits, tracing the propagandizing of "free enterprise," the elevation of growth as the central objective of policy makers, the celebration of "the magic of the market," and the ever-widening influence of corporate-funded think tanks—a parallel academic universe dedicated to the dissemination of neoliberal principles and to the denial of health and environmental dangers from the effects of tobacco to global warming. More than forty years after The Limits to Growth , the idea that growth is essential continues to hold sway, despite the mounting evidence of its costs—climate destabilization, pollution, intensification of gross global inequalities, and depletion of the resources on which the modern economic edifice depends.

The Women's Review of Books, 2004

... born, Marilyn married Moses Havini, a Bougainvillean, in 1971 and moved to Bougainville'... more ... born, Marilyn married Moses Havini, a Bougainvillean, in 1971 and moved to Bougainville's Buka region. "My new adoptive Buka family," she writes, "had welcomed me into their hearts to such a degree that I melded with the clan... I had found acceptance as a 'mama'... ...

The Women's Review of Books, 2004

This thesis investigates the history of the debate about the limits to economic growth. It asks h... more This thesis investigates the history of the debate about the limits to economic growth. It asks how it came about that the emerging concerns of natural scientists and physical modellers were scorned by economists and, at least after 1980, largely ignored by governments and policy-makers world-wide. The unprecedented character of economic growth in the twentieth century is examined and its roots, scale and relationship to cheap energy is analysed, as well as the conflict between the pre-analytic assumptions of the two disciplines most concerned with the debate-economics and the natural sciences. The increasingly self-conscious pursuit of economic growth is explored as is the process by which growth was adopted as the self-evident solution to all social problems, .displacing ideas about equity and fairness. It is argued that the newly consolidated corporations that emerged in the US at the tum of the twentieth century progressively banded together to sell not just their products but &...

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2016

This paper reviews the theories concerning economic growth. It proves that none of them is succes... more This paper reviews the theories concerning economic growth. It proves that none of them is successful in explaining and offering solution to growth. While some offer dismal solution to preserve growth, most others rely on some magical tool for growth.

The Journal of Population and Sustainability, 2017

The idea of physical limits to human economic systems is advanced by physical scientists and ecol... more The idea of physical limits to human economic systems is advanced by physical scientists and ecological economists, as well as appealing to the common sense proposition that unending growth in physical processes such as material extraction and waste disposal will ultimately be inconsistent with any finite entity, even one as large as the Earth. Yet growth remains the central aim of business and government almost everywhere. This paper examines the history of the idea of economic growth and the many influences and interests that supported – and still support – its enshrinement as the principal aim of human societies. These include the apparatus of propaganda in favour of corporate interests; the emphasis on international trade; the funding of environmental denial; and, underlying all these, the corporate requirement for profit to continue to increase. The dominance of these influences has serious consequences for the natural world while growth has failed to solve the problems of pove...

Climate Change and Global Health, 2024