Produce Less – Exploring Degrowth

Openly discussing degrowth can be a great activity both for those who think about it a lot as well as those who never imagined that life can improve with less stuff. Our group examination proved a great way to let a thousand flowers bloom in people’s minds. Removing the ills of the old society is critical for survival but will come to nothing without provoking a cascade of ideas for building a new one.

The amount of materials needed to sustain an electrified future at the world’s continued pace of economic growth is as remarkable as it is troubling. By one estimate, at least 384 new mines will be needed by 2035.

Thessaloniki’s alternative food networks offer a grounded view of what degrowth can look like in practice. Cooperative groceries, solidarity kitchens, direct producer markets, community gardens and seed networks have developed around principles of solidarity, democratic participation, ecological sustainability and sufficiency. Emerging partly from Greece’s debt and social crisis, these initiatives have created new forms of food distribution, work and community participation. Yet they remain fragile, facing financial pressures, limited infrastructure, burnout and questions about social inclusion. This article examines both their achievements and contradictions, and considers what policymakers can learn from grassroots experiments already reshaping food systems.

The way of life of the vast majority of humanity is now wholly dependent on petroleum: in effect we eat it, wear it, get carried around by it, communicate through it, sit on it and medicate ourselves with it.  Oil has the virtue of being a dense and transportable energy source. It is not so difficult to substitute for oil in applications such as electricity generation, although the renewable energy capture systems themselves are made and maintained by burning oil.

Former Union Secretary E. A. S. Sarma has appealed to the Prime Minister not to permit private mining of Monazite, the mineral from which Thorium is extracted for India’s long-term nuclear energy programme. He argues that opening the sector to private firms would depart from the vision of Homi J. Bhabha, weaken strategic control over a critical national resource, and revive concerns arising from past instances of illegal mining and regulatory failures. The article outlines the history of beach sand mining policy, the significance of Thorium reserves, and the case for retaining Monazite extraction exclusively within the public sector.

Repeated floods and storms across the United States are making recovery a continuous struggle rather than a temporary phase. As extreme weather becomes more frequent, many communities face repeated rebuilding, mounting financial losses, strained public resources, and growing emotional exhaustion. Researchers describe this pattern as disaster fatigue, where repeated crises weaken social networks, overburden local institutions, and make long-term recovery increasingly difficult. This article examines how overlapping disasters expose weaknesses in existing recovery systems and argues that sustained investment in resilient infrastructure, coordinated support, and community institutions is essential to help people recover from increasingly frequent climate-related disasters.

A proposed AI data center in Michigan has become the focus of growing opposition from residents who argue that its costs extend far beyond the local community. Jackie Barlow and Stewart Mitchell contend that large-scale data centers consume vast amounts of energy and resources, deepen environmental damage, and strengthen surveillance and military infrastructure. They link the expansion of AI facilities to global supply chains dependent on conflict minerals and fossil fuels, while criticizing public subsidies and limited community consultation. The article argues that resistance to these projects is part of a broader struggle for environmental justice, democratic accountability, and peace.

As governments and corporations race to build AI infrastructure, a growing divide is emerging over how data centres should be understood and regulated. This article examines the contrasting approaches of the United Nations and the Indian government: while the UN emphasises the environmental costs of AI, including rising energy, water and mineral consumption, India views data centres as essential to digital sovereignty, economic self-reliance and technological competitiveness. Drawing on recent UN reports and Indian policy documents, the article explores the global environmental, political and economic implications of the expanding AI data centre ecosystem.

The global shift to clean energy depends heavily on minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earth elements. This article by Utkarsh Mishra examines how the extraction of these resources is reshaping economies and geopolitics while imposing significant environmental and social costs on communities in the Global South. Drawing on evidence from Congo, Indonesia and the Lithium Triangle of South America, it highlights issues of child labour, displacement, pollution, deforestation and water depletion. The article argues that a just energy transition requires stronger protections for workers, Indigenous communities and local ecosystems.