Streamed live on Apr 9, 2020
The Earth Institute's Sustain What webcast takes a deeper look at economics shaped to spread progress and cut chances of pandemics or other jolts by better integrating human systems with the non-human systems around them.
On March 31, Herman Daly, the pioneer who laid the foundation for steady-state economics, chatted with viewers and Kate Raworth, whose "Doughnut Economics" model has added dimensions to this emerging field.
Now we dig deeper, as emerging scholars from leading programs in the United States and Canada present ideas to Daly and Jon Erickson of the University of Vermont's Gund Institute.
As one of the scholars summarizes:
"Ecological economics is uniquely positioned to answer some of the questions and debates regarding our current pandemic. Those with the highest stake in this reality are the young and emerging scholars in the field. We’ve been trained by the best and have made the discipline our own by bringing in ecofeminism, political ecology, sociology, and anthropology to create solutions that address the problematic relationship between the economy and environment, as well as what our social reality looks like and how it needs to change. The specter of collapse regularly emerges in our discussions, and we’re challenged to both soften the impact on the most vulnerable while enabling a more resilient and just future to emerge. Given our current pandemic, we have inspired and passionate ideas about what comes next."
As always, the host is Andy Revkin, a longtime journalist who is building an initiative on communication and sustainability at Columbia University's Earth Institute.