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Due to popular demand this blog now has an accompanying facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/discoveringecolecon .

This is where more recent posts will be found. Please do follow and join the community of people interested in an Ecological economics perspective. Lynda

Sorry - Rapper Prince Ea gives an apology to the environment

A wonderful poem highlighting environmental issues and ending with a lot of hope for the future.

The Economics of Happiness

An inspiring TED talk by Helena Norberg-Hodge about moving towards a more localised economy and the associated environmental, economic and social benefits of doing so.

The Story of Cap and Trade

If you though tradable emissions permits is a good solution to climate change this short video will make you think again.

The Circular Economy

A wonderful summary of what the circular economy is and how it could be achieved.

The end of suburbia

A very interesting documentary about how suburbia developed and its inevitable demise in the face of peak oil.

The Power of Community. How Cuba Survived Peak Oil

This is a powerful film describing the transition of Cuba to a low carbon economy. It is remarkable what is possible when change is a necessity! The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil is a project of the Arthur Morgan Institute for Community Solutions, a non-profit organization that designs and teaches low-energy solutions to the current unsustainable, fossil fuel based, industrialized, and centralized way of living

Live Rich - A spoken word film about the true meaning of wealth.

Spend less, Live Rich. Following on from Story of stuff and planned obsolescence this is a wonderful poem for us all. Sent to me by a student. Thank you James.

A "crash course" in Ecological Economics

This is a great summary of the main issues that Ecological Economics tries to tackle and the approach it takes. Jon Erickson is based at the Gund Institute of Ecological Economics, University of Vermont and the co-author of the Problem based learning text that we will base Year 2 workshops on.

Conversation with Annie Leonard (Story of Stuff)

This is a very insightful interview with the creator of the Story of Stuff 'movement'. She answers her critics! Highly recommended.

The Overview Effect

Ecological economics takes a big picture approach to consider how our society, economy and the environment are all interconnected. This 19 minute film gives a beautiful explanation of that interconnectedness by describing the overview effect experienced by astronauts as they look back at our planet from space. Enjoy it. I found it very inspiring.

OVERVIEW from Planetary Collective on Vimeo.

What is wrong with our cutlure?

Another very thought provoking video related to Ecological economics. Alan Watts was a philosopher and writer who wrote numerous books which helped to explain Eastern philosophies to western audiences. Thank you Carlos for sending this to me.

Debate about the role of markets. Michael Sandel and Michael Porter

A very interesting debate about the role of markets in our society between two Harvard Professors - one a Political philospher and one a Business professor. It is worth watching the talks by each of the professors given before this debate. Michael Sandel: Why we shouldn't trust markets with our civic life. Michael Porter: Why business can be good at solving social problems. Watch out for the comment about businesses creating resources!!

Pyramids of Waste - Planned obsolescence documentary

Here is a fascinating history of planned obsolescence and how it influences our behaviour today. Thank you Jasmine for sending this to me.

The Century of Self - Episode 1 Happiness Machines

This is the first episode of the BBC award winning series "The Century of Self" which I mentioned in class. After watching, you can view the rest of the series by clicking on the relevant tabs at the top of this page. It is a fascinating series which is highly relevant to your Ecological Economics studies. Thank you, Richard, for bringing it to my attention.

The Story of Solutions

Here is the Story of Solutions film which came out last week. I really encourage you to watch this and other films in the Story of stuff series (www.storyofstuff.org). Critically consider the ideas.

The Story of Stuff

Welcome to my new Year 1 students. If you have never seen this short film then it is a very good opportunity to familiarise yourself with the key issues covered by Ecological Economics in 20 mins. Please do watch it and make any comments below. We will be discussing it in class

Ecocide - The 5th Crime Against Peace

Using her legal expertise Polly Higgins gives a fascinating TEDxExeter talk about the potential to eraditcate ecocide, "the extensive damage to, destruction of or loss of ecosystem(s) of a given territory, whether by human agency or by other causes, to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants of that territory has been or will be severely diminished". I really encourage you to watch it. More information can be found at: http://eradicatingecocide.com/. Thank you Siobhan for passing this on to me.

Crisis of Civilization

A past student of mine sent this film to me. The important issues covered, such as the failing policy of economic growth, are highly relevant to my Ecological Economics lectures so I recommend watching it. The Crisis of Civilization is a remix documentary feature film investigating how global crises like ecological disaster, financial meltdown, dwindling oil reserves, terrorism and food shortages are converging symptoms of a single, failed global system.

Living Planet Report 2012

Living Planet Report 2012

This is a recent report by WWF which gives a good indication of the pressure being put on our planet. Think about this in terms of the 'throughput' we discussed in class.