Because Sustainability and Regenerative Living are such overwhelmingly broadly-encompassing topics, I’ve broken up the course into sections dealing with first, meeting our basic needs [food, clothing, shelter] via sustainable agriculture and eco-design, then with meeting our personal and community needs [living a healthy lifestyle and learning community-building skills], and, finally, putting it all together and assessing it to see if we can come up with an ecologically sustainable vision for our future: what is it that we are striving for? [“Eco-villages”?, as determined using Ecological Footprint Analysis].

Some of you may insist that I am overlooking one critical topic: economics. How can we promote change without addressing economic incentives? Well, that’s a course in and of itself. I am not an economist, and, realizing the dire consequences of our current course, I think we have to develop a path to follow and then tailor the economics to make it come to pass, one way or other. I also like Ivan Illich’s view that, “We don’t need an Alternative Economics. We need an alternative to Economics!” ...so much to think about and so little time....

For those interested, check out the Cobb Hill Co-housing Community in Vermont . Donella Meadows, author of Limits to Growth and Beyond the Limits is a participant in this venture to try to build a more ecologically sane and sustainable community, and they are all incessantly frustrated by both the building and zoning codes, and the restrictions imposed by our economic system (e.g. if you want to get a bank loan, you have to comply with unsustainable standards!). It will certainly be hardest for those breaking new ground first....

I am in the process of building a web-based network of eco-alternatives and info to share with you. If there is anything you would like to contribute, please feel free to e-mail me the name of the web site and a brief description of what it’s about. There’s a lot of great stuff out there already! I’m trying to hit the main sites that will lead you to dozens of others, especially. For example, www.gaia.org leads to the Global Eco-Village network, which you can spend days browsing!

Sustainability and Education Web Links
College and University Level: Second Nature
The Simple Living Network
The Institute for Earth Education
The Center for Alternative Technology in Wales