2009-2011 Common Theme
Consuming Well for the Wealth of Communities, from IUPUI to the World
Can we have a conversation about how we consume and what we want?The inaugural Common Theme asks this question and invites IUPUI students, staff and faculty and the broader community to a two-year discussion about the consequences of our consumption and the healthier, greener and more sustainable communities we might build here in Indiana and around the world.
Two simple but profound ideas motivate this conversation:
Consuming Well: The very idea that there are better and worse ways to consume is controversial. But this is a conversation worth having, free from the sound bites of ordinary politics. People from across the political spectrum are invited to work together to learn about the impact of our current consumption on the health of our communities and the prospects for building the green businesses, jobs, and infrastructure of an alternative energy economy.
Wealth of Communities: As Hoosiers join to rethink, rebuild and reinvest in the economy, it's worth remembering that the wealth of our communities includes more than economic wealth. Identifying and supporting the common wealth of green spaces, cultural diversity, good jobs, scientific research, artistic creativity, walkable streets, natural beauty, local food, and all of the other wealth in our communities is a second goal of this inaugural Common Theme.
Win some green by helping IUPUI go green!
The deadline for the fall Common Green Contest is quickly approaching.
Have you read your pages this week?
Pp. 162 - 172: "Direct Democracy"
Latest Blog Entry
Since happiness has increased with income in the past, we assumed it would do so in the future. However, it is a fallacy. McKibben’s aim in Deep Economy is relatively modest. It is to change minds, to present a new mental model of the possible. He suggests more progress toward local economies. His analysis of localization for food, radio, and energy, can be applied to almost any commodity. If we start thinking a little differently we can do the same for our democracy.
Bill McKibben, "Pursuing Prosperity and Local Sustainability"
Monday, Nov. 9,
CE – Campus Center Room: 450
