A stellar group of America's leading political thinkers explore how to reboot our democracyThe presidential election of 2016 highlighted some long-standing flaws in American democracy and added a few new ones. Across the political spectrum, most Americans do not believe that democracy is delivering on its promises of fairness, justice, shared prosperity, or security in a changing world. The nation cannot even begin to address climate change and economic justice if it remains paralyzed by p...

A leading environmental thinker takes a hard look at the obstacles and possibilities on the long road to sustainabilityThis gripping, deeply thoughtful book considers future of civilization in the light of what we know about climate change and related threats. David Orr, an award-winning, internationally recognized leader in the field of sustainability and environmental education, pulls no punches: even with the Paris Agreement of 2015, Earth systems will not reach a new equilibrium...

A remarkable cast of characters inhabit the pages of this book. Meet Tim Toben, who developed a high rise with the lowest energy consumption of any building in the southeastern United States, was foreclosed upon, and lost millions in the process. Gary Phillips held the line against real estate developers in Chatham County and was run out of office for his efforts. Elaine Chiosso has been protecting her watershed by fighting on behalf of the Haw River for twenty-eight years.Unflinch...

The collection of lectures and publications from the Schumacher Center for a New Economics represents some of the foremost voices on a new economics."For the most part . . . we are still educating the young as if there were no planetary emergency." Yet, continues David Orr, the environmental crisis is "first and foremost a crisis of mind, perception, and values—hence, a challenge to those institutions presuming to shape minds, perceptions, and values. It is an educational challenge...

In the 14 years since Sierra Club Books published Theodore Roszak, Mary E. Gomes, and Allen D. Kanner's groundbreaking anthology, Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind, the editors of this new volume have often been asked: Where can I find out more about the psyche–world connection? How can I do hands–on work in this area? Ecotherapy was compiled to answer these and other urgent questions.Ecotherapy, or applied ecopsychology, encompasses a broad range of nat...

For more than three decades, David Orr has been one of the leading voices of the environmental movement, championing the cause of ecological literacy in higher education, helping to establish and shape the field of ecological design, and working tirelessly to raise awareness of the threats to future generations posed by humanity’s current unsustainable trajectory.Hope Is an Imperative brings together in a single volume Professor Orr’s most important works. These include cl...

The first major book to deal with the dual crises of democracy and climate change as one interrelated threat to the human future and to identify a path forward.Democracy in a Hotter Time calls for reforming democratic institutions as a prerequisite for avoiding climate chaos and adapting governance to how Earth works as a physical system. To survive in the “long emergency” ahead, we must reform and strengthen democratic institutions, making them assets rat...

"The real fault line in American politics is not between liberals and conservatives.... It is, rather, in how we orient ourselves to the generations to come who will bear the consequences, for better and for worse, of our actions." So writes David Orr in Down to the Wire, a sober and eloquent assessment of climate destabilization and an urgent call to action. Orr describes how political negligence, an economy based on the insatiable consumption of trivial goods, and a disdain for ...

The environmental movement has often been accused of being overly negative--trying to stop "progress." The Nature of Design, on the other hand, is about starting things, specifically an ecological design revolution that changes how we provide food, shelter, energy, materials, and livelihood, and how we deal with waste. Ecological design is an emerging field that aims to recalibrate what humans do in the world according to how the world works as a biophysical system. Design in this sense is...

In Earth in Mind, noted environmental educator David W. Orr focuses not on problems in education, but on the problem of education. Much of what has gone wrong with the world, he argues, is the result of inadequate and misdirected education that:alienates us from life in the name of human dominationcauses students to worry about how to make a living before they know who they areoveremphasizes success and careersseparates feeling ...

The environmental movement has often been accused of being overly negative--trying to stop "progress." The Nature of Design, on the other hand, is about starting things, specifically an ecological design revolution that changes how we provide food, shelter, energy, materials, and livelihood, and how we deal with waste. Ecological design is an emerging field that aims to recalibrate what humans do in the world according to how the world works as a biophysical system. Design in this...

This is the first book of its kind: a comprehensive primer for the field of sustainability. > The book covers the history of sustainability, its evolution and a look at its future direction -- a practical way to get a grasp of this complex, all-encompassing field. > It will appeal not only to those seeking to understand sustainability for the first time, but also to those familiar with one or two sectors who want to comprehend how other sectors view the topic. > It has strong ...