3E Program

3E Program

The 3E program forms a network of committed citizens engaged in a global effort to address the threat of climate change. We consider carefully the relationship between the environment, the use of energy and the conception of economics (3E) as the key to a long-term solution concerning bioregionalism. We are building new alliances to probe more deeply into the essential aspects of the crisis, to propose concrete solutions, and to implement those solutions. Young people are central to 3E, particularly those interested in the STEM areas for technology and how we use technology within an ecologically-centered society.

We encourage youth to brainstorm about solutions to the threat of climate change and help them to promote their ideas from the individual to society – modifying their own behavior and by advocating for concrete reforms in society. We have engaged with the Simplified Society Research Group in Kyoto Japan, the Institute for Future Urban Environments in Seoul, Korea, the Korean Association of Environmental Movements, the Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs in Katmandu, Nepal, Ecocity Builders in Oakland, California, the Interdependence Movement in New York City, and the International Centre for Earth Simulation in Geneva, Switzerland in our activities. Our program was launched in 2009 in cooperation with the 3E Forum of Tsukuba University in Japan.

3E promotes sustainable development at the local, regional level through engagement with local governments in Korea, Japan, the United States and Nepal, holds seminars on topics such as desertification, nuclear energy, recycling, and city planning to provide continuing education for citizens to be more aware of the complex relationship between the economy, energy, and the natural environment. We pose tough questions in our publications and in our seminars to stimulate thinking about how our every actions can be a part of the larger drive to address environmental issues in a meaningful manner.

We have brought together young people from high school and colleges in Korea, Japan, the United States, and China for our seminars, such as the on-going monthly series run together with the Korean Federation of Environmental Movements and we have interns working on research projects related to environmental issues in Korea, China and Japan. The 3E Program works together closely with the Korean Federation of Environmental Movements and Future Forest, an NGO established by the governments of Korea and China that is committed to combating the spread of deserts through the engagement of young people with local communities.

The 3E Program is led by Layne Hartsell.