Linking Love for Nature and the Economic System

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The insights suggest that despite the natural love for nature in humans, the prevailing economic system primarily emphasizes profits, energy, and extraction. The idea of incentivizing regenerative actions through tax contributions or rewards can potentially bridge the gap between the love for nature and the limitations posed by the economic structure. However, caution is advised when monetizing nature, as studies show that replacing intrinsic values with financial incentives can erode moral reasons for actions. An example from Switzerland illustrates how offering financial rewards to communities led to a decline in willingness to host a nuclear waste site due to the shift from intrinsic civic duty to external motivations.

On this episode, Nate is joined by Alexa Firmenich, whose work spans biodiversity advocacy, ESG investing, wilderness excursion facilitating, and podcasting/creative writing. Together, they philosophize on the importance of developing a connection to nature and understanding the - often overlooked - but critical function of biodiversity to the climate and other natural systems. Alexa also delves into her thinking about new economic and cultural models on human systems that could work within the biosphere. How can acknowledging our individual roles as a part of the Earth’s larger system give us a new perspective on what it means to live among its other inhabitants? Why does a system full of external incentives ultimately disincentivize our natural human inclination toward pro-sociality? Will a future of lower energy throughput result in each of us rekindling the inherent connection with the land that we live on, leading to simpler lives - yet perhaps more fulfilling ones?

About Alexa Firmenich:

Alexa Firmenich is an investor, consultant and facilitator focused on climate and biodiversity. She is the co-director of SEED, a new center of the Crowther Lab at ETH Zurich. SEED is developing the world's most holistic measure of biodiversity that reflects multiple scale’s of nature's complexity for any location on the planet, with the goal to steer financial and political decision-makers to crystallize the value of nature into the global economy. Alexa is also the founder of Ground Effect, an animist investment vehicle that supports early stage nature-based solutions, scientific research and new economic models. Parallel to this work she is trained as a group facilitator in leadership development and ecological pedagogy, designing multi-day learning journeys through her role at Leaders' Quest. She is also an author, podcast host of Lifeworlds, a founding board member of Terra Habitus, a Mexican environmental fund that operates large-landscape conservation and watershed restoration, and a wilderness guide.

For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/106-alexa-firmenich

To watch this video episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/4POPay2sIr8