The Five-Ton Life
Carbon, America, and the Culture That May Save Us
1st Edition
Published on 1. August 2018
304 pages
978-1-4962-0809-5 (ISBN)
Description
Winner of the 2018 Nautilus Book Award, Silver, for Green Living/Sustainability
At nearly twenty tons per person, American carbon dioxide emissions are among the highest in the world. Not every American fits this statistic, however. Across the country there are urban neighborhoods, suburbs, rural areas, and commercial institutions that have drastically lower carbon footprints. These exceptional places, as it turns out, are neither "poor" nor technologically advanced. Their low emissions are due to culture.
In The Five-Ton Life, Susan Subak uses previously untapped sources to discover and explore various low-carbon locations. In Washington DC, Chicago suburbs, lower Manhattan, and Amish settlements in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, she examines the built and social environment to discern the characteristics that contribute to lower greenhouse-gas emissions. The most decisive factors that decrease energy use are a commitment to small interiors and social cohesion, although each example exhibits its own dynamics and offers its own lessons for the rest of the country.
Bringing a fresh approach to the quandary of American household consumption, Subak's groundbreaking research provides many pathways toward a future that is inspiring and rooted in America's own traditions.
At nearly twenty tons per person, American carbon dioxide emissions are among the highest in the world. Not every American fits this statistic, however. Across the country there are urban neighborhoods, suburbs, rural areas, and commercial institutions that have drastically lower carbon footprints. These exceptional places, as it turns out, are neither "poor" nor technologically advanced. Their low emissions are due to culture.
In The Five-Ton Life, Susan Subak uses previously untapped sources to discover and explore various low-carbon locations. In Washington DC, Chicago suburbs, lower Manhattan, and Amish settlements in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, she examines the built and social environment to discern the characteristics that contribute to lower greenhouse-gas emissions. The most decisive factors that decrease energy use are a commitment to small interiors and social cohesion, although each example exhibits its own dynamics and offers its own lessons for the rest of the country.
Bringing a fresh approach to the quandary of American household consumption, Subak's groundbreaking research provides many pathways toward a future that is inspiring and rooted in America's own traditions.
Reviews / Votes
"Susan Subak focuses on looking to the past for a way forward into the future. It is a very interesting way to approach climate change and I think it is unique."-Brett Favaro, author of The Carbon Code: How You Can Become a Climate Change Hero"A wonderfully crafted book. While there are a zillion books produced on climate change, this book fills a crucial niche in terms of both content and style. Looking at cases of existing low carbon culture in the United States is very useful. It draws attention to various ways of living and conducting one's life. It's a great, very readable addition."-Johannes Stripple, editor of Governing the Climate: New Approaches to Rationality, Power, and Politics
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Lincoln
United States
Illustrations
7 photographs, 2 tables, 10 graphs, index
File size
1,29 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-4962-0809-5 (9781496208095)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
08/2018
University of Nebraska Press
€24.00
Shipment within 10-20 days
Person
Susan Subak has twenty years of experience as an environmental analyst studying the causes and consequences of climate change and as a contractor and researcher in the United States and Europe with the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the University of East Anglia, and the Stockholm Environment Institute, among others. She is the author of Rescue and Flight: American Relief Workers Who Defied the Nazis (Nebraska, 2010).
Content
List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Introduction
1. Founding Mitigator: George Washington
2. Carbon Dissenters: The Amish
3. Urban Families: Washington DC
4. The Greenest Suburb: Berwyn, Illinois
5. College, Commercial Carbon: The New School, New York City
6. Becoming Five Tons: Anywhere, USA
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
List of Tables
Introduction
1. Founding Mitigator: George Washington
2. Carbon Dissenters: The Amish
3. Urban Families: Washington DC
4. The Greenest Suburb: Berwyn, Illinois
5. College, Commercial Carbon: The New School, New York City
6. Becoming Five Tons: Anywhere, USA
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
