Addicted to Growth: Societal Therapy for a Sustainable Wellbeing Future by Robert Costanza

                                     

  Two years before he was born, Robert Costanza’s mother lost her baby when she was six months pregnant. It happened in the year 1948 in Donora, Pennsylvania, with the Donora Smog, an environmental disaster that helped to raise awareness on the dangers of air pollution.

 The incident led to 20 immediate deaths in October, 1948, and another 50 deaths took place within the following month. Respiratory problems affected a large fraction of the population. Robert’s mother lost her baby after she got sick with pleurisy and pneumonia.

  This environmental disaster and the unregulated industrial emissions and car exhaust in big cities like Los Angeles and New York sparked an outcry that led to the creation of the Clean Air Act in 1968. Yet these changes were not followed by any long-term plan to build a sustainable economy.

   How can we develop an economy that is not about providing short-term benefits but that evolves to develop a creative plan to address the issues the system perpetuates consistently? These issues are climate and environmental disruption, biodiversity loss, financial instability, inequality and eroding democracies.

    Robert Costanza argues that the GDP or Gross Domestic Product should not be used as an indicator of a healthy economy. Every country uses GDP to assess the health of the economy. The use of the GDP dominates policy goals and consumerism. Yet the GDP is misleading. He explains this thoroughly in his book Addicted to Growth.

 To understand the limited value of the GDP, take a moment to reflect on the true goal of the economy.

       What is the goal of the economy?

 Robert Costanza states that the economy should sustainably improve human wellbeing, and he reminds us that the quality of human life is interdependent with the quality of all life on the planet. On the other hand, what happens when humans are at the service of the economy? What happens if the economy grows at all costs by exploiting the environment, compromising physical and mental human health and causing the extinction of multiple species?

  According to Robert Costanza, "we are trapped in an addictive pattern of behaviors called social traps, or societal addictions, that provide short-term rewards but are detrimental and unsustainable in the long run.” 

 I would argue that it is detrimental right now if you consider the current effects of the climate crisis as I write these words.

  Robert Costanza’s reflections and facts encourage us to get together to create a vision of the kind of world we want. He also sets the strategies to face the addiction through something called Motivational Interviewing (MI), a non-judgmental approach that is based on fostering a positive vision. He describes the elements of the motivational interviewing technique in detail and I highly recommend this chapter. It has the potential to kindle conversations that may help us find common ground with others, and to work toward a shared vision of the future.

Overcoming an addiction

  “It is rarely effective to confront addicts concerning the damage they are causing to themselves and to others.” Denial is the most likely response when an addict is confronted. For this reason, an introspective read of the MI and the application of these elements in different settings may help create a path of understanding and hope.

 The fossil-fueled economic growth and the “economic growth at all costs” model are important aspects of this societal addiction. We must address it in constructive ways. To do this, Robert Costanza invites us to review how we dealt with societal addictions before. For example, he refers to slavery and tobacco as forms of societal addictions.

  How did societies overcome past addictions? He cites the example of slavery in the United States of America as a form of addiction. The American South wanted the profits of slavery, so they refused to abolish it. Even after slavery ended, it took one hundred years for the Civil Rights Movement to take place, and we are still dealing with the aftermath of slavery.

  Tobacco is another example of a societal addiction. Despite the clear evidence of the effects of tobacco on human health, it took fifty years to reduce smoking rates by fifty percent. Why did it take so long?

 

 “It took 50 years for smoking rates to halve in the face of tobacco companies seeking to lobby governments and muddy the waters of scientific evidence. Advocacy, policies, and education can work but in the face of determined opposition it can take a long time.”

  Like the tobacco industry, the fossil fuel industry knew about the dangers in using their products. They were well aware of the links with climate change and the consequences of spewing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, but they used the strategies of the tobacco industry. They invested in ongoing disinformation campaigns and political lobbying to prevent change.  Robert Costanza makes it clear: “In fact, both the tobacco and fossil fuel industries used many of the same scientists, publicists and advertising firms to downplay the dangerous impacts of their products. Both industries continue to work like drug dealers concerned with their own interests by preventing the addiction from being recognized and overcome.”

 On why I read this book by Robert Costanza

  When I read the book Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, I became intrigued to learn more about ecological economics, so I researched information on the topic and I came across the works of Robert Costanza. I borrowed his book from the library.

  Robert Costanza is Professor of Ecological Economics at the Institute for Global Prosperity (IGP) at University College London (UCL). He is the 2024 winner of the Blue Planet Prize. His work brought global attention to the previously understated importance of ecosystem services. As a co-founder of ecological economics, a new field of study that recognizes that the economy is embedded in society and a finite biosphere, Professor Costanza advocates for an ecologically sustainable wellbeing society. You can learn more about his work by visiting his website:

https://www.robertcostanza.com/

 

 Conclusion

  If you don’t have time to read the whole book, go to chapter 5 and read pages 102, 111 and 112. I hope this will help you to broaden your perspective on the subject and to set new expectations. I would like to ask Robert Costanza what the universities are doing to integrate ecological economics into mainstream economics.

  Finally, Chapter 6 of Addicted to Growth provides a variety of practical ways through which people and countries are already working to build a sustainable, healthy future in harmony with the environment.  We can all be part of this movement to embody the vision and policies that foster the development of sustainable, healthy, happy and fair societies, so I hope I inspired you to you explore his book. Hopefully, Addicted to Growth: Societal Therapy for a Sustainable Wellbeing Future will be shared in high schools and universities. I strongly encourage educators to read it and share it.

  A world of peaceful, healthy coexistence is possible when we create the medium and mindsets to make it possible.  

 

 Relevant links:

https://sph.emory.edu/about/communications/health-wanted/show-notes/episode-fifteen-smoking/index.html

 

https://commonhome.georgetown.edu/topics/climateenergy/defense-denial-and-disinformation-uncovering-the-oil-industrys-early-knowledge-of-climate-change/

 

https://www.greattransition.org/publication/farming-for-a-small-planet

 

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/11/wildfires-los-angeles-climate-crisis-john-vaillant

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22012025/trump-executive-orders-have-advocates-across-the-nation-on-edge/

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to check my writing on Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

Photo by Sebastian Gabriel. Source: unsplash.com

What A Bee Knows: Exploring the Thoughts, Memories and Personalities of Bees by Stephen Buchmann

 

  Bees remember and recognize human faces. I wrote about this on a post last year, and I mentioned some facts about the fascinating brain of a bee.

 The brain of a bee is about the size of a poppy seed, but it contains almost one million neurons.  I was thrilled to discover Stephen Buchmann’s book, which was published by Island Press this year, so I borrowed it from the library as soon as I learned about it.

 Buchmann is a pollination ecologist who specializes in researching bees. His book takes us on an adventure to explore their sensations, minds and experiences. His goal is to spark wonder and curiosity for bees, and to dispel fears. 

 Buchmann describes the structure of a bee brain and the ways it functions. I was astonished to learn that brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) that exist in our own brains and influence our behaviors also exist in bees. For example, serotonin and dopamine are also found in bees. 

 What a Bee Knows reveals details about the intriguing lives of different species of bees. We learn about their behaviors, moods, nutrition and special abilities. Most bees feed on pollen and nectar.

 You may have heard about the “bugs” living in our gut, and how these bugs make up the composition of our microbiome. Our microbiome is linked to our health and general wellbeing. You will be surprised to learn that bees also have a gut microbiome. Researchers are actively studying their microbiome and how this amazing assemblage of bacteria, fungi and viruses is connected to their health. For example, Buchmann and his colleagues have found Lactobacillus in the gut of honey bees.

 Some of the components of the bees’ microbiome transfer from the pollen of flowers when the bees visit the flowers, and some of the protein from the microbes in the pollen are part of the nutrition of the larvae of the bees.

 Pesticides and herbicides in the environment cause a disruption of the microbiome of bees, and this has the potential to compromise their health. Currently, bees are in serious decline and there are many reasons for this.

  Climate change is an important one. The massive amounts of carbon dioxide spewed by burning fossil fuels continues to worsen climate change. Everybody is impacted by climate change. Bees are not an exception. Pesticides are fossil fuel- based, so they belong to the same issue that deserves our attention and understanding.

 Let’s share some figures from Buchmann's book to emphasize the need to protect bees:

"About 80 percent of the world’s 369,000 species of flowering plants depend upon insect pollination for fruit and seed set. More than 80 percent of the leading 115 major crop species worldwide depend on or at least partially benefit from floral visitation by animal pollinators. Pollination by animals, with bees predominating, contributes to an estimated 35 percent of global total crop production. Globally, the annual value of insect pollination of crop plants is estimated to be around 253 billion US dollars".

 Bee pollination improves both the quality and quantity of the crops. Food, fiber and beverage production depend on bees. Bees even ameliorate shelf life and commercial values. "We need bees more than they need us". 

  It is time to push human arrogance aside and do what it takes to support them. The good news is that we can help bees to survive and thrive by making mindful choices:

 

Plant wildflowers. If you don’t have a yard, use your window sill. Everything helps. Avoid buying hybrid flowers because those plants are selected to please humans, not pollinators, so they may have little nectar or pollen. Choose plants that are adapted to the local soil and climatic conditions. Native plants will entice a vast array of pollinators and will enliven your garden in delightful ways.

 Avoid using insecticides. Neonicotinoids, for example, are responsible for decimating bees and other pollinators and they still continue to be on sale.

 You can learn more about this here:

 https://wisconsinpollinators.com/Articles/Neonicotinoids.aspx

Roundup contains glyphosate, which affects the gut microbiota of honey bees. Other ingredients in Roundup are also toxic.

Avoid using lawn chemicals. Lawn care products contain hidden insecticides and herbicides. Besides, you risk harming yourself, your family and your pets. Enjoy the dandelions and clover. Remember that clover enriches the soil.

Avoid herbicides; they lower the number of blooms. Roadside weed blooms are food sources for various pollinators. Even though fungicides used on fruit trees don’t kill bees directly, they contaminate the food used for the bee larvae. This contamination affects the gut microbiome, whose integrity they need to stay healthy. 

Avoid mulching flower beds or paths. Thick-chipped bark mulches in flower beds harms bees. Around four thousand species of native bees in the United States are ground nesting. They need bare ground to make their nests.

Dead trees or limbs provide a habitat for leafcutter bees, mason bees, and other wildlife. Don’t remove them. 

There are projects you can join to support bees as a citizen scientist. You can also visit sites that post relevant information about bees:

https://www.beesinyourbackyard.com

  It goes without saying that everything we can do to address climate change is crucial  to protect bees as well. 

 Understanding the complexity of their brains and behaviors is an important aspect of the book. However, when the author compared the bee brain to the human brain he stated that human beings are born with a fixed number of neurons, and that this number does not change after birth. This has been debunked by research. Neurogenesis has also been documented in human brains, and it is also relevant to emphasize the concept of neuroplasticity. 

 Neuroplasticity is the process through which new connections and pathways develop in the brain, and brain stimulation plays an important role in boosting neuroplasticity. Doing activities that stimulate the brain, such as reading, learning new skills and other activities can help to foster neuroplasticity. The good news is that keeping a healthy lifestyle with adequate nutrition, sleep hygiene, exercise and meditation helps to support the neuroplasticity of the brain. The bottom line is that neuroplasticity happens in bees as well as in human beings.

  I found this amazing interview to Dr. Julia Basso. She is a neuroscientist, yoga instructor and dancer who researches the effects of yoga and dance on the brain. Last but not least, if you want to keep your brain healthy, avoid smoking, alcohol and drugs as part of your supportive plan.

 I never understood the fear of bees. I work alongside them without any kind of problem. If we treat bees with respect and consideration, they have no reason to attack us, so it is time to make choices that support their survival. We can all do our part to protect them. In doing so, we are supporting our own wellbeing as well as the present and future of all life in this beautiful planet.

 

References related to this post:

https://wisconsinpollinators.com/Articles/Neonicotinoids.aspx

 https://phys.org/news/2023-05-evolution-honey-bee-brains.html

https://beyondpesticides.org