Make a donation so that we can continue
to educate about how real economies work!
What is ecological economics? Ecology and economics share the same Greek root, eco or oikos, meaning “household”. Ecology means the study of the house, while economics means the management of the house.
Ecological economics takes the house to studying and managing humans impacts on the world through an integrated and systems thinking approach to foster genuine wellbeing for people and the rest of nature by taking full advantage of our accumulated knowledge and understating of both the natural and the social realities of our planetary system.
Why support us? Recent surveys by Rethinking Economics International/UK and Rethinking Economics USA have found that most students of economics are only learning about one economic school of thought (neoclassical economics), and that more than 75% of universities are not educating students on the ecological/biophysical foundation of economies (i.e. the essential role of energy and ecosystems in the economic process and for wellbeing) and other economic schools of thought. As a consequence, a growing number of students perceive economics education as not providing an accurate picture of how real economies work.
More importantly, this lack of diversity in economics education prevents students and the general public from understanding the root causes and possible solutions to a variety of economic issues impacting their daily lives such as inflation, energy & financial crises, health, climate change, etc.
Ecological Economics For All (EE4ALL) is an open access educational initiative created at the University of Vermont that aims to fill this gap by making readily available the theory and knowledge of ecological economics developed through the past few decades to everyone who wishes to understand how our world works. EE4ALL aims to achieve its mission by facilitating educational, collaborative, and policy initiatives that bring people together to advance wellbeing economies for all.
Our mission is inspired and grounded in Donella Meadow’s (a pioneer of sustainable systems who lived in Vermont) tools for the transition to sustainability aimed at visioning, truth-telling, networking, collaborating, co-learning, and loving to transform, diversify and ecologize our economics education.
“EE4ALL came about from my own personal experience and frustration with the lack of diversity of thought in economics education. Once I learned about the biophysical foundation of real economic systems, the many economic issues we face and the complex world around us began to make more sense. ”
“Information is enhanced with increased use.”
We believe it is essential to overcome academic barriers to information sharing because knowledge improves with use and access. We all can agree that this important knowledge cannot be relegated to the confines of academic journals or publishing, which most people cannot access.
We welcome donations to continue our creative and rigorous efforts to pioneer, develop, and provide Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) and open access resources such as our virtual textbook in ecological economics available in the U.S.A. and globally (which we aim to translate into dozens of languages).
In 2025, we are fundraising to provide more MOOCs in ecological economics, modern monetary theory and sustainable finance, and planetary health from the ground up with Vermont as a case study, to develop a tool to explore the Genuine Progress Indicator in the U.S., to continue to develop our open access virtual textbook, and to continue to collaborate with our global networks to diversify economics to represent how the real world works.
We have a track record of success in developing these MOOCs with our highly acclaimed EE4ALL Summer Crash Course of 2022 (with more than 850 registrants from around the world), and our recent 2023 Rethinking Econ 101 Course (with hundreds of registrants) in partnership with Rethinking Economics USA and others.
Ultimately, our efforts are aimed at inspiring and empowering people from all walks of life and students of economics and sustainability (in academia, private/public sectors and the general public) to gain access and embrace diversity of economic thought to understand how our world works so that they can can influence and make more sustainable and efficient decisions.
How can you support us? EE4ALL is an open access initiative funded through gift donations via the Leadership for the Ecozoic Fund at the University of Vermont’s Gund Institute for Environment.
If you are inspired by the mission of EE4All and wish to make an impact in economics education, you can make a tax deductible donation under the “Leadership for the Ecozoic Fund” and indicate in the “Gift Instructions” that this gift is meant to support the Ecological Economics for All initiative coordinated by Rigo Melgar!
Thank you, we appreciate your support!
Fundraising Goal for 2025
For more information contact EE4ALL coordinator Rigo Melgar and advisor of the project Dr. Joshua Farley.