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  • Book cover of Supply Shock
    Brian Czech

     · 2013

    THE STEADY STATE REVOLUTION -- NAVIGATING THE END OF ECONOMIC GROWTH Supply Shock "clearly describes the heart of what ails us--a zombie-like addiction to economic growth everywhere at all costs. Brian Czech brilliantly dissects the economic theories, models, and mindsets that are diminishing the human prospect while calling it "progress." ... King Midas would have understood the point, as we will someday." -- David W. Orr, Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics, and Senior Adviser to the President, Oberlin College .".. it's evident that Czech has mastered the art of melding science, economics, policy and politics in one readable piece. Supply Shock belongs in the classroom, boardroom, town halls and policy circles." -- Herman Daly, from the foreword Politicians, economists, and Wall Street would have us believe that limitless expansion is the Holy Grail, and that there is no conflict between growing the economy and protecting the environment. "Supply Shock" debunks this widely accepted myth, leaving no doubt that the biggest idea of the 20th century - economic growth - has now become the biggest problem of the 21st. Starting with a refreshingly accessible, comprehensive critique of "the dismal science," author Brian Czech develops a compelling argument for a steady state economy. Whereas many works of economic thought can be dry and boring, Supply Shock succeeds at engaging readers while conveying keen scientific, economic and political insights including: The "trophic theory of money" The overlooked source of technological progress that prevents us from reconciling growth and environmental protection Bold yet practical policy objectives designed to ease the transition to life after growth. "Required reading for anyone concerned about the world our children and grandchildren will inherit, this landmark work lays a solid foundation for a new economic model, perhaps in time for preventing global catastrophes; certainly in time to mitigate the damage. Czech's vision of "steady statesmanship" is impressive and convincing, and this book easily qualifies as one of the key manuals for those who care about the world and its inhabitants." -- Lynn Gree nwalt, former director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service "An old economic world is dying, and a new economic world is being born. Brian Czech is one of the visionaries..." -- Governor Rich ard D. Lamm Brian Czech is the founder of Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy (CASSE), the leading organization promoting the transition from unsustainable growth to a new economic paradigm.

  • Book cover of The Endangered Species Act

    The new model of policy design theory frames the discussion regarding the frequently analyzed Endangered Species Act in this historical perspective. Since the 1970s, the Endangered Species Act (ESA), by virtue of its regulatory impact, has been a frequent subject of policy analysis. In this comprehensive history and critique of the ESA, Brian Czech and Paul R. Krausman incorporate the new model of policy design theory to frame a larger discussion about conservation biology and American democracy. Czech and Krausman provide a historical background of endangered species policy that integrates natural history, socioeconomic trends, political movements, and professional developments. Outlining the controversies surrounding the ESA, they find a connection between challenges to species conservation and challenges to democracy. After an assessment of ESA analyses that have been performed from traditional perspectives, they engage policy design theory to review the structural logic of the ESA, analyzing each clause of the legislation for its application of the fundamental elements of democracy. To address the technical legitimacy of ESA, they propose two new genetic considerations-functional genome size and molecular clock speed-to supplement phylogenetic distinctiveness as criteria with which to prioritize species for conservation. Next, they systematically describe the socioeconomic context of ESA by assessing and classifying the causes of species endangerment. A hybrid of policy analysis and ecological assessment, The Endangered Species Act: History, Conservation Biology, and Public Policy will appeal to scholars and students in the fields of natural resource policy and law, conservation biology, political science, wildlife ecology, and environmental history, and to professionals at agencies involved in wildlife conservation. “Interesting for anyone concerned about the preservation of species and, more generally, the global environment . . . a good explanation of the statute, a wonderful and often entertaining description of how we view and rank nonhuman species, and a provocative critique of the very policy analytic framework the authors have employed.” —Joseph F. C. DiMento Environment “Czech and Krausman are effective and original scholars. The Endangered Species Act: History, Conservation Biology, and Public Policy is both a treatise on policy assessment and an excellent history, assessment, and discussion of the ESA itself. Those interested in natural resources policy and those interested specifically in the ESA will want to read this book.” —Jack Ward Thomas, The University of Montana, Chief Emeritus, U.S. Forest Service

  • Book cover of Shoveling Fuel for a Runaway Train
    Brian Czech

     · 2000

    Publisher Fact Sheet A bold critique of runaway spending & unchecked economic growth.

  • Book cover of Gag-Ordered No More
    Brian Czech

     · 2023

    For two decades Brian Czech was a loyal civil servant at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. But he got little loyalty in return. As the nation's first Ph.D. wildlife biologist, Czech warned superiors of an underappreciated threat to wildlife and indeed, to the U.S.A. itself: the problem of ongoing economic growth. Backed by data and sound science, Czech made the irrefutable argument that infinite growth is impossible on a finite planet-and that ignoring this truth would cost the country not only vital ecological assets, but economic treasure as well.Uncomfortable with Czech's zeal, his bosses assigned him to basement offices, manipulated an online campaign to exclude his views, and even pulled the plug on him at a Q&A session with former president Jimmy Carter. But Czech persisted. So supervisors pulled out their most humiliating disciplinary tool-the gag order-eventually issuing three of them. Under one, Czech could not even make small talk with colleagues. In this maddening tale of small-minded leadership at a key government agency, Czech details petty power games, favoritism, and corruption as he called out the "800-pound gorilla" that threatened, and continues to threaten, Americans' wellbeing. Czech continues to warn the world about the foolhardy venture that is unchecked economic growth. He founded and leads the nonprofit Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy in Arlington, Virginia. He wears his gag orders as badges of honor.

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    Since its establishment in 1903, the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) has grown to 635 units and 37 Wetland Management Districts in the United States and its territories. These units provide the seasonal habitats necessary for migratory waterfowl and other species to complete their annual life cycles. Habitat conversion and fragmentation, invasive species, pollution, and competition for water have stressed refuges for decades, but the interaction of climate change with these stressors presents the most recent, pervasive, and complex conservation challenge to the NWRS. Geographic isolation and small unit size compound the challenges of climate change, but a combined emphasis on species that refuges were established to conserve and on maintaining biological integrity, diversity, and environmental health provides the NWRS with substantial latitude to respond. Individual symptoms of climate change can be addressed at the refuge level, but the strategic response requires system-wide planning. A dynamic vision of the NWRS in a changing climate, an explicit national strategic plan to implement that vision, and an assessment of representation, redundancy, size, and total number of units in relation to conservation targets are the first steps toward adaptation. This adaptation must begin immediately and be built on more closely integrated research and management. Rigorous projections of possible futures are required to facilitate adaptation to change. Furthermore, the effective conservation footprint of the NWRS must be increased through land acquisition, creative partnerships, and educational programs in order for the NWRS to meet its legal mandate to maintain the biological integrity, diversity, and environmental health of the system and the species and ecosystems that it supports.

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    Brian Czech

     · 2013

    Biological integrity, environmental health, and naturalness are increasingly relevant to the management of conservation lands. Biological integrity and environmental health, integrated via the concept of ecological integrity, imply the recognition of natural conditions. A holistic and adaptable approach to ascertaining natural conditions recognizes geological and evolutionary processes and the role of humans in modifying such processes. For policy purposes, a reasonable frame of reference for natural conditions begins with the Medieval Warm Period of approximately 800 A.D. and ends with the advent of industrial economy approximately 1000 years later. Data sources for ascertaining natural conditions are primarily ethnographic, historic, archeological, and paleontological. This pre-industrial frame of reference for natural conditions acknowledges a fundamental transformation in the relationship of humans to nature corresponding with proliferation of the human economy at the competitive exclusion of nonhuman species in the aggregate. Ecological integrity remains at its highest level in areas where natural conditions have been least compromised, but some level of ecological integrity exists everywhere and may be maintained accordingly. Ultimately, ecological integrity relies on macroeconomic prudence.

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