Eco currency
A design research project in collaboration with Marcel van Heist en Billy Schonenberg. The starting point for the ECO Currency project is the hypothesis that an important factor in our current environmental crisis is the disconnect between the economic ecology and the environmental ecology. With the latter we mean the ecology of plants, trees, animals, and other organic material. Whereas the economic ecology is defined by our financial system of market, money, goods and other economic exchange.
Balancing economy and environment
The starting point for the ECO Currency project is the hypothesis that an important factor in our current environmental crisis is the disconnect between the economic ecology and the environmental ecology. With the latter we mean the ecology of plants, trees, animals, and other organic material. Whereas the economic ecology is defined by our financial system of market, money, goods and other economic exchange.
Our second working hypothesis states that we could address environmental issues by linking the economic and environmental spheres in a better way than we currently do. Eleven research questions have been formulated to investigate the possibilities of such concepts. Several potential answers to these questions lead to different scenarios of how such a connection can be made.
In times of both environmental and economic crises we have to rethink the way these two ecologies interrelate. Our research suggest three key principles for such future policy.
Collaboration
An interesting recent movement hints a new approach to administrate complex organizations: collaboration. Infrastructures that allow for collaboration to emerge prove to have the potential to break down the barriers of existing institutions and reach the same goals in a more efficient and transparent manner.
Global tax
In order to balance the environmental and economic ecosystems, a growing economy feeding on the environment should provide the financial means to stimulate growth of that same environment. Reasonable financial mechanisms already proposed, could realize billions of Euros each year.
Human Labour
We conclude that it is impossible to attach any absolute monetary value to individual instances of, and their role in our complex environment; even though their combined value is evident. Instead we propose to economically value human labour in support of the environment.
