My recovery from heart surgery this summer is going well. I have to admit I had it pretty rough for a few weeks, not so much from the surgery but from various related complications. Since then, I have been doing great. That said, I have told everyone who would listen; this was my last major medical procedure. At some point we just have to accept the fact that the human body wasn't made to last forever and gratefully accept whatever time we have left. I am at that point.

I have taken my cardiac rehabilitation program seriously and it has paid off. I was sufficiently recovered to make a week-long trip to Scotland in early November to fulfill a speaking commitment. It was a great experience. Rural Scotland has not yet been devastated by industrial agriculture, although the threat is growing. I encouraged them not to give in to economic globalization, instead to take advantage of the heritage they have preserved and become a global leader in creating a sustainable, local food system.

I have just finished co-teaching a four-week block course on The Economics of Sustainability with Lonnie Gamble at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield.  Twenty one students completed the course and none had had more than one or two courses in basic economics and the vast majority had no formal economic education or experience. We used my book, “Sustainable Capitalism,” as a required text, but used an educational approach called “just in time learning” to make the basic principles more interesting and relevant.

We first exposed the students to several prominent people from the Fairfield community who had chosen a more sustainable approach to their work and their life -- balancing economic, social, and ecological dimensions of well-being. We taught the relevant principles, linking concepts of sustainability and economics, as questions were raised by our students and issues were raised by our guest speakers. We also engaged the students in projects related to the local community – linking economics, community, and ecology. In lieu of a final exam, we asked the students to tell us the three most important things they had learned, why these things were important to them, and what they plan to do differently as a result of their class experience. Their responses are posted on the class website http://sites.google.com/site/economicsofsustainability/home. 

John Ikerd

John and Lonnie are planning to attend 2010 conference and are hoping to present a workshop explaining the basic concepts of economics as they relate to questions of sustainability.  John says the workshop would avoid the tables, charts, and jargon that characterize most economic discussions. The workshop would also provide a forum for discussion of how these concepts can best be taught by people without an academic background in economics to students without a background in economics.

John and Lonnie are also discussing the possibility of developing a summer institute – probably two to four weeks in length – to prepare those who want to include basic economics concepts in their sustainability education programs. They are very interested in be affiliating and working closely with the MRCSE in assessing the needs of sustainability educators, recruiting participant for the institute, and evaluating and evolving the work of the institute to better meet the needs of sustainability educators. 

Would you be interested in a extended pre-MRCSE conference workshop on Economics of Sustainability for the Non-Economic Minded??  If so please respond the this poll.