Americans work longer, with less vacation time, than the citizens of any other industrialized nation. And they consume more: recent scientific estimates indicate that at least four additional planets would be needed to support the earth's population if each of the planet's 6 billion inhabitants consumed at the level of the average American. It's a lifestyle that's hard on both people and the environment.
In Sustainable Planet, some of the best known writers on sustainable living--Juliet Schor, Bill McKibben, Mary Pipher, Herman Daly, Vicki Robin, and William McDonough--write about how we might change the way we live. Looking at issues as diverse as consumerism, overwork, lack of spirituality, loss of community, alienation from nature, and unsustainable development, the authors dissect the problems plaguing our society and offer practical advice about how to change the way we live.
This anthology comes out of the work of the Center for a New American Dream, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Americans change the way they consume to improve quality of life, protect the environment, and promote social justice.