February 3rd, 2012
The Economics of Happiness
an interview with Helena Norberg-Hodge
Author and filmmaker Helena Norberg-Hodge is the founder and director of ISEC. A pioneer of the ‘new economy’ movement, she has been promoting an economics of personal, social and ecological well-being for more than thirty years. She is a widely respected analyst of the impact of the global economy on identity, community and local economies, and is a leading proponent of ‘localization,’ or decentralization, as a means of countering those impacts.
Since 1975, she has worked with the people of Ladakh, or “Little Tibet,” to find ways of enabling their culture to meet the modern world without sacrificing social and ecological values. Trained as a linguist, she was the first Westerner in recent times to master the Ladakhi language, and co-produced the first Ladakhi-English dictionary. Her book, “Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh” has been described as “an inspirational classic,” and sold almost half a million copies. She is on the International Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture, and is a co-founder of both the International Forum on Globalization and the Global Eco-village Network.
Helena speaks with Joanna about the pressure of globalization on traditional cultures, … the relationship between beautiful, healthy and sustainable, … local communities and economies as a sustainable alternative to global consumer culture, … the connection path of community and nature, … and her latest film as co-director: “The Economics of Happiness”…
Music: “Part 8” (from Salzau. Music on the Water) by Danielsson/Dell/Landgren
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Ben Hewitt is a best-selling author and farmer whose book The Town That Food Saved, published by Chelsea Green publishing, chronicles a rural Vermont town’s attempts to implement a local food system. Hewitt speaks frequently on the subjects of regionalized agriculture, relocalizing economies, and reframing America’s values to promote positive change and a durable prosperity that is not dependent on extractive industry. With his wife and two sons, he operates a diversified 40-acre livestock, dairy, berry, and vegetable farm in Northern Vermont. He lives in a self-built, off-the-grid home that is powered by wind and solar energy. To help offset his renewable energy footprint, Ben drives a really big truck.
Riki Ott, PhD, is an activist, author, marine toxicologist, and former commercial fisherma’m who experienced the Exxon Valdez oil spill first-hand. Her latest book on oil spill impacts is Not One Drop (Chelsea Green). She starred in Black Wave, an award-winning feature film. Ott received Huffington Post’s Game Changer 2010 Award for her volunteer work in the Gulf, empowering local residents to take action after BP’s disaster. She co-founded Ultimate Civics, a project of Earth Island Institute, and teaches value-based community organizing from fifth grade to university, sharing practical skills for sustainable living and ending corporate rule: 
Lynne Twist is a global activist, fundraiser, speaker, consultant, and author and has dedicated her life to global initiatives that serve the best instincts in all of us. Lynne founded the 
