Lifestyle and Livelihoods

OK, in one sense it is all economy, everything we do to provide for our needs, that is what the economy should be about and that is how a green and sustainable economy must be built. It is when you come to finding answers to the question of climate change that Bill Clinton's famous statement 'It's the economy, stupid!' really comes into its own, although we would be more polite!

One aspect of this is money and we have a special page for that Money but more widely we need to consider how we consume and how this affects our carbon output Consumption. As a group we have taken on responsibility for these issues together with waste and planning. The theory of rebuilding local economies from the ground up is sometimes called Bioregionalism, which basically means borrowing our resources from our natural environment.

There are also more down-to-earth immediate things we can do to reduce our impact on the planet. We are hoping to reduce people's consumption of high energy intensive goods. One example is to share tools rather than buying everything for each household. You can find out what tools are available to be shared at the ToolShare page.

And we support the call by Stroud's Mayor John Marjoram that we should become a plastic bag free town. You can find out how Modbury in Devon did this here: http://www.plasticbagfree.com/. See the local newspaper article on this here: http://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/mostpopular.var.1417417.mostcommented.politicians_plastic_purge_plan.php

If we are truly going to build sustainable low-carbon economies we are going to have to start being producers, not just consumers. And I mean producers of the real stuff of life, not advertising slogans and marketing plans. This means the group will have to think about business and the process as a whole may spin off businesses. Ideally these will be organised as co-operatives or social enterprises so that all the value stays with the local community. Stroud is lucky to have its own drop-in centre for people wanting to set up this sort of business. The Social Enterprise Centre also provides training: http://www.secstroud.org.uk/

How slow can you go?

This makes it sound like we are all going to be busy, busy, busy in the green economy of the future. Nothing could be further from the truth. Green economics is all about having fun and taking it slow. Check out the slow movement website for further tips on slowing up: http://www.slowmovement.com/

What can we do?

Some ideas that emerged from the first meeting of the economics group:

• A buy local scheme: working with the loyalty card scheme proposed by Philip Booth. Perhaps points for local shops but double points for local manufacture and local production e.g. farmers’ market
• Work towards a local currency learning from the experience of the Stroud LETS scheme
• Consumption audit
• Eco-teams: like weight-watchers groups, small affinity groups working together to share the emotional and practical side of carbon reduction.
• Mike Jones’s idea of setting up renewable energy clubs which allowed people to pay for energy using community currency was welcomed.

Useful links

For more on ideas for rethinking the economy please visit the Gaian Economics blog: http://gaianeconomics.blogspot.com/