All posts by Carl Frederik Kontny
Solar Tax Credit Due To Expire Despite Being Twice As Effective As Previously Thought
With half of the world population already getting more energy from renewables, as mentioned in Quartz, solar energy starts to get more attention. Solar energy has rapidly become the most cost-effective source of renewable energy out there, leading to massive investments in capacity. In the US, the average cost of solar panels has gone from $76.67/watt in […]
Continue readingGreen Step Cities Program
In the aftermath of a severe economic recession that left numerous businesses and individuals struggling, the start of this decade has been a time of tight budgets and fragile futures for many. It therefore seemed like perfect timing when we, as a student group from the University of Minnesota, were asked to promote the Green […]
Continue readingThe Economics Of Food Waste
While food waste is typically discussed as a moral issue of poor distribution, and quite rightfully so, there’s one concept that seems to make people listen: money.
Continue readingCarbon Leakage – The Truth Behind The Numbers
Go through any household in a western industrialized nation and chances are good you’ll find at least one product that reads: “Designed in the USA. Assembled in China.” But how does this impact global CO2 emissions and climate negotiations? When measuring the CO2 emissions of countries, a lot of attention is focused on the CO2 […]
Continue readingAlternative Ways To Measure Prosperity
After coming to the conclusion that our current way of measuring the health of an economy using GDP is insufficient at best, it is natural to have a look at the alternatives. There is consensus that in order to create a framework that more accurately values the things that are thought to increase quality of […]
Continue readingThe Impact Of Global Electronics Consumption And e-Waste Trade
The global consumption of electronics and e-waste trade inextricably links First and Third World countries together through economic development and environmental degradation. In our modern society, we have come to rely heavily on information technology and computers for everything from work and production, to information and entertainment. It is hard to imagine life without the electronic […]
Continue readingGDP Sustainable Growth – An Inadequate Framework For Measuring The Health Of An Economy
Standard Gross Domestic Product (GDP) only considers the sum of goods and services produced by a country. As a consequence, even expenditures associated with oil spills and the consumption of alcohol and cigarettes add to GDP growth, but cannot reasonably be said to increase societal welfare. However, GDP has become exactly that: a commonly used measurement […]
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