Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources (RSENR) (established in 2003) is the University of Vermont's natural resources college. It was formerly called The School of Natural Resources (originally established in 1973). It is home to a natural resources and field study based curriculum, has its own core courses and building. There are several majors including environmental sciences, environmental studies, forestry, natural resources, recreation management and wildlife biology. The Rubenstein School campus includes members of the UVM Environmental Program, the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory, and the
The formalist vs substantivist debate The formalist vs substantivist debate The opposition between substantivist and formalist economic models was first proposed by Karl Polanyi in his work "The Great Transformation" (1944). Polanyi argued that the term "economics" has two meanings: the formal meaning refers to economics as the logic of rational action and decision-making, as rational choice between the alternative uses of limited (scarce) means. The second, substantive meaning, however, presupposes neither rational decision-making nor conditions of scarcity. It simply refers to the study of how humans make a living from their social and natural environment. A society's livelihood strategy is seen as an adaptation