Welcome to Week 2, Lesson 1. In this module we’re going to pick up the pace a little bit and I’m going to ask you to listen to and view a PowerPoint presentation on the Tragedy of the Commons. This is a discussion about what I’ll call externalities, things that companies do, or that we do, that might impact others in some fashion. I’d like you to read a nice article by Michael Porter called, "Creating Shared Value."
These are pretty, we’re going to move into a more heavier discussion of sustainability in these, in this segment and I’d also like you to look at a pair of articles on the question is monetizing ecosystem services essential for sustainability? This is a very interesting piece because we often take nature for granted. Clean water, clean air, we don’t usually pay a full, full price for these services, particularly when nature provides it for nothing. So our accounting framework, our economic framework, our government framework, we assume that these services are infinite and can be provided at modest or nominal cost or even no cost for all the future, and that’s not necessarily true.
So I’d like you to read those articles, think about them, and perhaps articulate and think about other ways that markets may be failing us. They could fail us in terms of providing services at the proper price, they could be failing by serving the needs of all the people. So I’d like you to think about those questions and come prepared ready to debate and discuss them.
So I look forward to working with you this week.