Brian Czech will provide an overview of steady-state economics, which Czech calls the “macroeconomic arm of ecological economics.” However, Czech will quickly hone in on two of the most controversial topics in ecological economics today: the sustainability of GDP growth and the prospects for avoiding limits to growth with technological progress.

Applying principles of ecology and national income accounting, Czech will argue that GDP has become an outstanding indicator of one thing above all others: namely, environmental destruction. Next, reflecting a deep dive into the origins of technological progress, Czech will defuse the notion that technological progress can reconcile the conflict between economic growth and environmental protection. Czech will conclude with policy proposals for a steady state economy and “steady statesmanship” in international diplomacy.

Brian Czech is the Executive Director of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy — www.steadystate.org — a non-profit organization based in Arlington, Virginia. Czech served in the headquarters of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1999-2017 and as a visiting professor in Virginia Tech’s National Capitol Region during most of that period. He is the author of three books, most recently Supply Shock: Economic Growth at the Crossroads and the Steady State Solution. Czech has a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin, an M.S. from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona. Czech’s primary areas of expertise include ecology, economics, and ecological macroeconomics.