Ecology

In the dismal reality of the deepening financial crisis in the European Union, exploiting the natural environment is seen by troubled member states as a quick-fix solution for rapid economic recovery. Following decades of massive spending on an unsustainable economic and development model, the EU’s policy response is essentially a recipe for a much deeper and longer-term environmental crisis.

The topic of greening the economic and financial system is broad and daunting. However breaking it down into a few key questions can highlight the steps that we as Greens must urgently take to reign in the financial industry.

Angela Merkel fell just a few MP’s short of getting an absolute majority in the German Bundestag. The ironic title of “the Queen of Europe” doesn’t sound too ironic after these elections.

Are Greens republicans who ignore that they are republicans? And if so, what consequences may that have for their political doctrines?

The Green Movement owes a great deal to science, but is sometimes portrayed as anti-science.

While Germany phases out its atomic energy production and the expansion of nuclear power in Europe is mostly slowed down or even put to a halt, the Indian government plans to increase the country´s nuclear power production capacity by a factor of 100.

The 21st century presents a fascinating paradox: never before in its history has humanity reached such an advanced and refined level of technological development, but never has it come so close to the ecological precipice and global collapse. If this contradiction is to be overcome, political ecology must focus on two priorities: the relocalisation of the economy and the democracy of self-limitation.

Can Croatia’s entry to the European Union create an opportunity to change the country’s economic and ecological paradigms? That potential exists, but will only succeed if new political alliances are created that bring together a broad range of social movements.

A problem cannot be solved using the same thought that created it.

A relationship with, not against, nature should be one of the core principles of ‘green growth’.