Paul Sutton

Ints Vikmanis / shutterstock

November 15, 2022

Global population hits 8 billion, but per‑capita consumption is still the main problem

Lorenzo Fioramonti, University of Surrey; Ida Kubiszewski, UCL; Paul Sutton, University of Denver, and Robert Costanza, UCL

As living standards rise, we could see smaller populations but much bigger ecological impacts.

Our national wellbeing probably peaked with Australia’s population at roughly 15 million in the 1970s, when this photo was taken in Hunters Hill, Sydney. John Ward/flickr

July 10, 2017

Why a population of, say, 15 million makes sense for Australia

Peter Graham Martin, University of South Australia; James Ward, University of South Australia, and Paul Sutton, University of Denver

Australia’s GPI, a broad measure of national wellbeing, has stalled since 1974. So what has been the point of huge population and GDP growth since then if we and our environment are no better off?

No matter how hard we dig, the Earth’s resources are ultimately finite. Mining image from www.shutterstock.com

March 12, 2017

The decoupling delusion: rethinking growth and sustainability

James Ward, University of South Australia; Keri Chiveralls, CQUniversity Australia; Lorenzo Fioramonti, University of Pretoria; Paul Sutton, University of Denver, and Robert Costanza, Australian National University

Even supposedly “green” technologies such as renewable energy require materials, land and solar exposure and cannot grow indefinitely on this planet.

Clean water and access to food are two of the most priceless ecosystem services.

August 7, 2016

Without action, Asia‑Pacific ecosystems could lose a third of their value by 2050

Ida Kubiszewski, Australian National University; Paul Sutton, University of Denver; Robert Costanza, Australian National University, and Sharolyn Anderson, University of South Australia

Current land-use patterns could see the value of ‘ecosystem services’ – the natural processes that sustain life – plummet by mid-century. But with the right policies we can turn this trend around.

Dam useful: what have beavers done for you lately? Famartin/Wikimedia Commons

October 13, 2015

Beavers are worth $1b a year, yet still our economy grossly undervalues nature

Paul Sutton, University of South Australia and Robert Costanza, Australian National University

Listing the value of bees, beavers and others on the pages of the world’s financial press helps to show that ecosystems deliver benefits worth staggering amounts of money - yet we scarcely keep track of it.

We bailed out the banks – our food is worth even more, but working out exactly how much more is tricky. Louise Docker/Wikimedia Commons

March 5, 2015

If dollars rule the world, why don’t the bees get a bailout?

Paul Sutton, University of South Australia

Is it worth trying to put a price on the natural world, when things like water and food are priceless? Yes, says Paul Sutton - without knowing the value of the environment, we might not value it at all.

6

33