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The United States Society
for Ecological Economics (USSEE) was officially founded in the spring of 2000
and currently has about 400 members nationwide. These members represent
academia, government agencies, businesses, non-profit organizations,
grassroots organizations, elected government officials and concerned
individuals. The USSEE provides a venue for a holistic and strong community
of ecological economists, social and natural scientists, and people who care
for the well-being of this planet and its inhabitants so as to allow this
diverse membership to easily communicate with and learn from each other on a
regular basis. We believe this will better enable members of the USSEE to
develop solutions to our most pressing economic, social and environmental
problems.
Ecological economics is
a transdisciplinary field of inquiry that
facilitates understanding between economists, ecologists and many others
interested in real solutions to environmental problems and the integration of
new ideas to create a sustainable world. It includes a preanalytic
vision of the economy as a part of the relevant whole, i.e. planet Earth,
which is a thermodynamically open, but materially finite system. Consequently
the field addresses the optimal scale of the economy, efficiency in the
allocation of resources (goods & services), and the equitable
distribution of this resource flow among alternative people, and between
humans & other species.
What We Do and
Support
The USSEE is primarily
an academic society that continues to support research and advance the
trans-disciplinary field of ecological economics. It will also focus in the
next few years on going beyond the walls of academia in bringing together
scientists, environmental and equity advocates to address real, actual and
current social and ecological problems. You will see this in the USSEE's 2005 Conference and, increasingly, in the
programs and projects we will be working on in the months to come.
University Education
The Society provides leadership and is instrumental in curriculum development
at the undergraduate and graduate level in a diversity of academic fields
such as environmental science, environmental studies, social science,
ecological economics, policy, management, law and religion.
Citizen Education
The US Society provides a holistic and comprehensive venue for the
educational challenge of communicating the scope of the economic, social and
environmental crises we as a nation are facing (causing) and the policy
options we have available for dealing with them.
Research, Policy
Analysis and Community Projects
The US Society plays a key role in helping to set the US Ecological Economic
research agenda, in communicating the development of effective economic, social
and environmental policies and highlighting successful community projects.
Student Support
The USSEE welcomes students of ecological economics as special members.
Students are represented in the USSEE Board. It provides financial aid to
students to enable them to participate in meetings and present their work.
Visit the student members'
page for more details.
Biennial Meetings
The US Society's Biennial meetings provide a national and international forum
to focus on the latest issues and share the latest developments in Ecological
Economics.
The next full-USSEE
conference will be held in 2007, possibly in conjunction with another
scientific society. Click here if you would like to offer help with
the 2007 conference.
In addition, the Student Chapter of the USSEE
is working to hold at least one regional meeting for student members in the
first half of 2006. Stay tuned!
The Inaugural
conference was held in Duluth,
Minnesota July 2001 and
attracted over 200 ecological economists from around the world. The 2003
conference was held in Saratoga
Springs, New York
in May 2003. Click here to read the 2003 abstracts. We held our Third USSEE Biennial Conference
on July 20-23, 2005. Click here for more information on the 2005 USSEE Conference.
Books
In conjunction with the Institute for a Sustainable Future, the US Society
features a bookstore featuring a selection of the latest titles in the field
of Ecological Economics. The majority of the titles found in this store are
authored by USSEE and ISEE members. USSEE and ISEE members will receive a 10%
discount at the store, and part of the proceeds will support the USSEE.
Other Publications
To advance the discussions in ecological economics and have the expertise of
its members readily available to the public, the USSEE publishes Policy Briefs, Working Papers, and Quarterly Newsletters on its
website. It is exploring other publication ideas so keep posted.
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