5 April 2016, The Conversation, What to do when machines take our jobs? Give everyone free money for doing nothing. It was Groucho Marx who said, “While money can’t buy happiness, it certainly lets you choose your own form of misery.” Quite true, but what if there’s no money coming in from work because your job’s been taken over by a machine? Low wage earners appear to be most at risk from automation. In February 2016, the Council of Economic Advisers (an agency within the Executive Office of the US President) issued an alarming report predicting that an 80% or greater chance exists for people on basic incomes of US$20 per hour or less to be made redundant by smart machines in the foreseeable future. After them come the mid-range workers. Clearly, we need strategies to address any job losses arising though increases in automation. Theoretically, just about any job that can be described as a process could be done by a computer-controlled machine. In practice though, many employers will decide that keeping a human in a job is preferable to automating it. These are jobs that involve some degree of empathy. Imagine telling a robot doctor what ails you in response to “please state the nature of your medical emergency”. Free money for all – seriously? But what about those people whose jobs are lost to automation? What if new jobs aren’t created to replace them? What are they to do if they can’t earn a living anymore? This time it’s Karl Marx, not Groucho, who comes to mind with the idea of giving people a universal basic income (UBI). This is raised as a possible remedy to any misery caused by rising unemployment from job automation. Put simply, a UBI is a pump-priming minimum income that is unconditionally granted to all on an individual basis, without any means test or work requirement. It eliminates the poverty traps that the poor fall into when welfare payments have many conditions and are administered by large and inflexible bureaucracies. The suggestion of free money is sure to raise many peoples’ hackles. Yet, this seemingly outrageous idea is being taken seriously enough to be trialled by a growing number of governments around the world, including that of Finland, the Netherlands and Canada. Read More here
Yearly Archives: 2016
4 April 2016, Science Daily, Water cycle instability is here to stay posing major political and economic risks. Adaptation to new risks: A vital necessity for development policies. The current instability and unpredictability of the world water cycle is here to stay, making society’s adaptation to new risks a vital necessity when formulating development policies, a UN water expert warns. Robert Sandford, the EPCOR Chair for Water and Climate Security at the United Nations University’s Canadian-based Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), says long-term water cycle stability “won’t return in the lifetime of anyone alive today.” “What we haven’t understood until now is the extent to which the fundamental stability of our political structures and global economy are predicated on relative stability and predictability of the water cycle — that is, how much water becomes available in what part of the year. As a result of these new water-climate patterns, political stability and the stability of economies in most regions of the world are now at risk.” Ontario Lieutenant-Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell, a former Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, and UN Under Secretary-General David Malone, Rector of UN University, are among several expert speakers joining Sandford in Ottawa Tuesday April 5 at UNU-INWEH’s day-long 20th anniversary public seminar, “Water: The Nexus of Sustainable Development and Climate Change.” The seminar will focus on national policy changes needed worldwide to achieve global water security — a pre-requisite for reaching the new global Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, agreed upon by world leaders in September 2015. Read More here
4 April 2016, Renew Economy, Canberra and Adelaide leading world in climate disclosure, action Australia has featured prominently in the latest global rankings for climate leadership, thanks to the state-based efforts of Canberra and Adelaide, both of which have been listed among the top 10 cities “setting the bar on climate disclosure” by London-based non-government organisation CDP. In a list published on Monday, the CDP – formerly the Climate Disclosure Project – ranked Canberra and Adelaide alongside Atlanta (US), Durban (South Africa), Leon (Mexico), Mexico City, New Taipei City (Taiwan), Oslo (Norway), Ravenna (Italy) and Vancouver (Canada) as world leaders in reporting on climate change. CDP said the 10 cities selected “scored highly for the quality and completeness of their environmental risk reporting,” a form of disclosure it said was “critical” for guiding investment decisions and addressing environmental risks. “These cities’ accomplishment is significant,” the CDP said in a statement on Monday. “More than 300 cities now use CDP’s system to report on their climate change progress. This group of cities includes many of the world’s largest and greenest cities, including more than 90 per cent of C40 cities.” On Adelaide, the report praises the Adelaide City Council for being “actively and continuously engaged in climate change mitigation and adaptation” since 1996. “It has consistently demonstrated leadership in delivering real and lasting reductions in carbon emissions,” the report says. On Canberra, the report notes the significant efforts the Capital’s government has made to release an annual inventory of greenhouse gases since 1998, calculating emissions back to a 1990 base year. Read More here
3 April 2016, The Guardian, Adani’s Carmichael coalmine leases approved by Queensland. Decision a major step forward for $21.7bn coalmine, which green groups warn will fuel global warming and compound threats to Great Barrier Reef. The Queensland government has granted three mining leases for Adani’s multi-billion dollar Carmichael coalmine, which will be the largest in Australia. Environmental groups say the mine will fuel global warming and compound threats to the world heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef amid one of its worst coral bleaching events on record. The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, and the mines minister, Anthony Lynham, made the announcement in Mackay on Sunday. The premier put the value of the project at $21.7bn, and said the approvals meant thousands of new jobs were now a step closer to reality. “Some approvals are still required before construction can start, and ultimately committing to the project will be a decision for Adani,” Palaszczuk said. “However, I know the people of north and central Queensland will welcome this latest progress for the potential jobs and economic development it brings closer for their communities.” She said stringent conditions would ensure the health of the reef and the environment, and the interests of traditional owners. Read More here