Toward a green economy?
Concern for the environment, we are being told, is a luxury to be had only in good times. During recessions, hard decisions have to be made: jobs or trees? paying off the mortgage or defending the habitat of the long-footed potoroo?
But the worldwide ecological crisis does not vanish because of recession; in fact, it is growing worse. The vision of a socially just economic order, existing harmoniously with nature, is more relevant than ever.
In the following pages, we examine some of the issues being debated in the context of the upcoming federal mini-budget: the state of the world and Australian economies, the economic strategies being developed by green organisations, protecting the disadvantaged.