General

Gross National Product (GDP) is the common global metric for measuring economic growth, but it does not include the costs of development. The Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW) seeks to add the costs of achieving GDP to reflect the social and environmental harm that growth incurs. The ultimate goal is to achieve a Steady State Economy, defined as a state of dynamic stability in which development is balanced with the positive and negative impacts that growth causes. The ISEW calculation begins with GDP and to that is added and subtracted all the factors reflecting the true impact on human lives and the environment. The ISEW is more complex which has slowed its adoption on a global basis. However, it has critics that believe it is too subjective. The long-term trend is increased adoption on a country-by-country basis which could eventually lead to its recognition as the global standard.

Fungi got little attention in the past and certainly not as a pathway for lowering carbon emissions. Mycologists are now researching Mycorrhiza, the symbiotic relationship of a plant and a fungus, and are already making surprising discoveries. The microscopic fungus that clings to tree roots is supplying the tree with nutrients and, in return, obtains nutrients from the tree. During this process is the absorption, release, and storage of carbon at various steps of nutrient exchanges. Fungi are proving to be efficient at retaining some of the carbon which means less carbon in the atmosphere. Should fungi be on environmental protection lists as one pathway to preventing some amount of global warming?