Richard Douthwaite
Encyclopedia
Richard Douthwaite was a British economist, ecologist, campaigner and writer living in Ireland
. He died of cancer at his home in Cloona, near Westport, Co. Mayo.
Douthwaite studied engineering at Leeds
and later economics at Essex
universities. He built concrete boats at a cooperative in Port Antonio (Jamaica) in the early 1970s and was then government statistician in the British Caribbean colony of Montserrat for two years before moving to Ireland (near Westport) to write and campaign about climate and energy issues and local economic development. He also set up and ran a leather crafts factory.
He was co-founder of Feasta
(the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability) an Irish
based economic, social and environmental think tank
. He had also been a council member of Comhar, the Irish government's national sustainability council and a Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute
.
In the 1994 European Parliament election
he stood unsuccessfully as the Green Party
candidate for the Connacht–Ulster constituency.
He was a visiting lecturer at the University of Plymouth
and contributed the economic content of the Master’s course in Theology and the Environment at Dalgan Park, Navan
. He contributed lectures to courses at four parts of the National University of Ireland
(Dublin, Maynooth
, Cork and Galway
) and at the universities of London
(Goldsmiths
and LSE
), University of Edinburgh
, University of Strathclyde
, University of Leicester
, University of Newcastle, University of Manchester
, University of Uppsala, Malardalen, Stockholm (KTH) and University of Budapest
.
Douthwaite's first book, The Growth Illusion: How Economic Growth Enriched the Few, Impoverished the Many and Endangered the Planet was published in 1992 and was re-issued in an extended and up-dated second edition in 1999. It explores why the present economic system is dependent on economic growth and the effects that the resulting pursuit of growth has had on the environment and society. His other major book, Short Circuit (1996) gives dozens of examples of currency, banking, energy and food production systems which communities can use to make themselves less dependent on an increasingly unstable world economy.
In The Ecology of Money, published in 1999, he calls for different currencies for different purposes and for changes in the way money is put into circulation so that a stable, sustainable economy can be achieved. In 2003 he edited Before the Wells Run Dry, a study of the transition to renewable energy in the light of climate change and oil and gas depletion and in 2004 To Catch the Wind, a report on how communities can invest in wind energy.
He acted as economic adviser to the Global Commons Institute
(London) from 1993 to 2005 during which time GCI developed the "contraction and convergence" approach to dealing with greenhouse gas
emissions which has now been backed by many countries. He then helped Feasta devise the "cap and share" framework for emissions reduction which may be adopted by the Irish government.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. He died of cancer at his home in Cloona, near Westport, Co. Mayo.
Douthwaite studied engineering at Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
and later economics at Essex
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...
universities. He built concrete boats at a cooperative in Port Antonio (Jamaica) in the early 1970s and was then government statistician in the British Caribbean colony of Montserrat for two years before moving to Ireland (near Westport) to write and campaign about climate and energy issues and local economic development. He also set up and ran a leather crafts factory.
He was co-founder of Feasta
Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability
Feasta, the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability is an organisation based in Ireland which aims "to identify the characteristics of a truly sustainable society, articulate how the necessary transition can be effected and promote the implementation of the measures required for this purpose"...
(the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability) an Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
based economic, social and environmental think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
. He had also been a council member of Comhar, the Irish government's national sustainability council and a Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute
Post Carbon Institute
Post Carbon Institute is a think tank which provides information and analysis on emerging responses and strategies to climate change, energy scarcity, overconsumption, economics and other issues related to sustainability and long term social resilience...
.
In the 1994 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 1994 (Ireland)
The 1994 European Parliament election in Ireland was the Irish component of the 1994 European Parliament election. The election was conducted under the single transferable vote.-Results:-Voting details:-See also:...
he stood unsuccessfully as the Green Party
Green Party (Ireland)
The Green Party is a green political party in Ireland. It was founded as the Ecology Party of Ireland in 1981 by Dublin teacher Christopher Fettes. The party became the Green Alliance in 1983 and in 1987 was renamed to its current title in English...
candidate for the Connacht–Ulster constituency.
He was a visiting lecturer at the University of Plymouth
University of Plymouth
Plymouth University is the largest university in the South West of England, with over 30,000 students and is 9th largest in the United Kingdom by total number of students . It has almost 3,000 staff...
and contributed the economic content of the Master’s course in Theology and the Environment at Dalgan Park, Navan
Navan
-People:Navan was the childhood home of Pierce Brosnan, who appeared in the television series Remington Steele and was the fifth film actor to play James Bond. TV personality Hector Ó hEochagáin, and comedians Dylan Moran and Tommy Tiernan also hail from Navan....
. He contributed lectures to courses at four parts of the National University of Ireland
National University of Ireland
The National University of Ireland , , is a federal university system of constituent universities, previously called constituent colleges, and recognised colleges set up under the Irish Universities Act, 1908, and significantly amended by the Universities Act, 1997.The constituent universities are...
(Dublin, Maynooth
National University of Ireland, Maynooth
The National University of Ireland, Maynooth , was founded by the Universities Act, 1997 as a constituent university of the National University of Ireland. It is Ireland's second oldest university, having been formed from St Patrick's College, Maynooth, itself founded in 1795.The university is...
, Cork and Galway
National University of Ireland, Galway
The National University of Ireland, Galway is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland...
) and at the universities of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
(Goldsmiths
Goldsmiths College
Goldsmiths, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom which specialises in the arts, humanities and social sciences, and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1891 as Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute...
and LSE
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
), University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, University of Strathclyde
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde , Glasgow, Scotland, is Glasgow's second university by age, founded in 1796, and receiving its Royal Charter in 1964 as the UK's first technological university...
, University of Leicester
University of Leicester
The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....
, University of Newcastle, University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
, University of Uppsala, Malardalen, Stockholm (KTH) and University of Budapest
University of Budapest
The Eötvös Loránd University or ELTE, founded in 1635, is the largest university in Hungary, located in Budapest.-History:The university was founded in 1635 in Nagyszombat by the archbishop and theologian Péter Pázmány. Leadership was given over to the Jesuits...
.
Douthwaite's first book, The Growth Illusion: How Economic Growth Enriched the Few, Impoverished the Many and Endangered the Planet was published in 1992 and was re-issued in an extended and up-dated second edition in 1999. It explores why the present economic system is dependent on economic growth and the effects that the resulting pursuit of growth has had on the environment and society. His other major book, Short Circuit (1996) gives dozens of examples of currency, banking, energy and food production systems which communities can use to make themselves less dependent on an increasingly unstable world economy.
In The Ecology of Money, published in 1999, he calls for different currencies for different purposes and for changes in the way money is put into circulation so that a stable, sustainable economy can be achieved. In 2003 he edited Before the Wells Run Dry, a study of the transition to renewable energy in the light of climate change and oil and gas depletion and in 2004 To Catch the Wind, a report on how communities can invest in wind energy.
He acted as economic adviser to the Global Commons Institute
Global Commons Institute
The Global Commons Institute was founded in the United Kingdom in 1990 by Aubrey Meyer and others to campaign for a fair way to tackle climate change....
(London) from 1993 to 2005 during which time GCI developed the "contraction and convergence" approach to dealing with greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
emissions which has now been backed by many countries. He then helped Feasta devise the "cap and share" framework for emissions reduction which may be adopted by the Irish government.
External links
- Feasta: The Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability
- Short Circuit (online edition)
- The Ecology of Money (online edition)
- Post Carbon Institute
- Fleeing Vesuvius - Overcoming the risks of economic and environmental collapse (online edition)