Measuring What Matters

Dr. Kirsten Oleson, is an ecological economist at the University of Hawaii- Manoa, and head of the Oleson Lab. We discuss the valuation of ecosystem services, the potential for a climate smart food label, and the systemic changes needed in Hawaii's agricultural sector to fulfill a statewide vision of a sustainable food system The conversation covers the complexity of quantifying nature's benefits, alternative indicators to the GDP for measuring wellbeing, and the idea of integrating true cost accounting into public policy approaches to food systems upgrades, which could bring into play - at around 30% - a holistic approach to food systems that prioritizes environmental and social values over industrial-scale efficiencies. At the close, are excerpts from Robert F. Kennedy's famous 1968 speech regarding the GDP and, in his own words and voice, how it "measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile." For More Information: The Oleson Ecological Economics Lab within the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The Hawai’i Genuine Progress Indicator page at the Hawai’i Dept of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, which was developed based on a report by Kirsten Oleson and others Climate actions centered on Indigenous knowledge can improve resilience (Press Release November 14, 2023 ), regarding a chapter in the Fifth National Climate Assessment to which Dr. Oleson contributed Ocean Tipping Points, a collaborative research project for which Dr. Oleson is a case study lead The full text of the speech that Robert F Kennedy Sr gave on March 18, 1968 at the University of Kansas, which included the famous paragraph regarding the GDP (at the JFK Library site) And a link to an essay and audio recording of the GDP excerpt in the Robert F Kennedy Sr speech, at the site of the Center for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, a research organization core-funded by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council and the Laudes Foundation Credits: Created, produced, and hosted by Paula Daniels Sound engineer: Ben Lazarus Theme music: Caryssa Shinozawa Logo: Reiko Quitevis and Sue Woodard Created, produced, and hosted by Paula Daniels