Earthfuture

This book presents over 40 provocative and inspiring glimpses into a world that people are managing to make sustainable. They are premised on the idea that, if we can visualise a paradise on Earth, then we can create it. Set in the early years of the new millennium, it is a world of ecovillages and self-organising city neighbourhoods, of near-zero garbage and climate-friendly cars, of work-sharing and social investment, of neighbourhood democracy and the 'syntropy revolution', of a world-wide sustainable trade and environment treaty, and the Earth Pledge. In short, it is a world where wealth is defined by peace, a healthy environment, and the high quality of our relationships. At the same time, it is not, of course, a world without its nightmares -- such as antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and genetic pollution. Nor is it without its difficult choices -- ecologically managed forests versus business-as-usual, or the free-flow of city traffic versus community gardens...With its mix of utopian fiction, and reportage of near-reality, Earthfuture sows the seeds of an alternative future with skill and obvious delight.
Highly readable and accessible, it will appeal to a wide readership including social and environmental activists, progressive urban planners and local government officials, and students in environmental, social, and urban studies, and community economic development -- as well as the general reader tired of the doom and gloom.