Beyond Extractivism

Working towards a sufficiency-based approach to the extraction and use of resources

Feasta is working with partner organisations to identify and address the economic dynamics that are encouraging the current rush to mineral prospecting and mining, both in Ireland and elsewhere.

While it is clear that everyone on the planet needs access to a certain amount of energy and resources in order to live a decent and dignified life, we believe it is dangerously erroneous to assume that overall energy and resource use must (and can) therefore remain at its present high level, or indeed increase.

Rather than planning for …

Healthy Habitats

Environmental action is often framed in terms of improving single metrics such as carbon or nitrogen. Yet this approach risks inadvertently causing damage by over-emphasising one metric at the expense of the overall ecosystem.
For example, poorly-managed efforts to decarbonise through reforestation can result in the planting of non-native monocultures, which compromise soil health and undermine biodiversity.

It’s clearly vital that we take as holistic an approach as possible to healing breaches in planetary boundaries. A more detailed discussion on this subject can be found here.

Parallel to the need to avoid over-simplifications and reliance on one metric,

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Environmental Justice and Carbon Pricing

"Environmental Justice advocates argue that current carbon pricing programs place undue burdens of combustion-related diseases on low-income communities and communities of color, and this is true," writes Brent Ranalli, who goes on to propose some potential solutions.