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More copies of this ISBNThis title in other editionseBook editionsGreat Disruptionby Paul Gilding
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:"One of those who has been warning me of [a coming crisis] for a long time is Paul Gilding, the Australian environmental business expert. He has a name for this moment-when both Mother Nature and Father Greed have hit the wall at once-'The Great Disruption.' "-Thomas Friedman in the New York Times It's time to stop just worrying about climate change, says Paul Gilding. We need instead to brace for impact because global crisis is no longer avoidable. This Great Disruption started in 2008, with spiking food and oil prices and dramatic ecological changes, such as the melting ice caps. It is not simply about fossil fuels and carbon footprints. We have come to the end of Economic Growth, Version 1.0, a world economy based on consumption and waste, where we lived beyond the means of our planet's ecosystems and resources. The Great Disruption offers a stark and unflinching look at the challenge humanity faces-yet also a deeply optimistic message. The coming decades will see loss, suffering, and conflict as our planetary overdraft is paid; however, they will also bring out the best humanity can offer: compassion, innovation, resilience, and adaptability. Gilding tells us how to fight-and win-what he calls The One Degree War to prevent catastrophic warming of the earth, and how to start today. The crisis represents a rare chance to replace our addiction to growth with an ethic of sustainability, and it's already happening. It's also an unmatched business opportunity: Old industries will collapse while new companies will literally reshape our economy. In the aftermath of the Great Disruption, we will measure "growth" in a new way. It will mean not quantity of stuff but quality and happiness of life. Yes, there is life after shopping. Review:"Gilding, former director of Greenpeace International and now on the faculty at Cambridge University's Program for Sustainable Leadership, proposes that global warming is just one piece of an impending planetary collapse caused by our overuse of resources. According to the Global Footprint Network, we surpassed Earth's capacity in 1988, and by 2009, we needed the resources of 1.4 planets to sustain our economy — and any increases in efficiencies that some claim will solve the problem are likely only to encourage us to use more. Gilding argues that, like addicts who need to hit bottom, we energy users will deny our problem until we 'face head-on the risk of collapse,' but when we do, we will address the emergency with the commitment of our response to WWII and begin a real transformation to a sustainable economy built on equality, quality of life, and harmony with the ecosystem. Gilding's confidence in our ability to transform disaster into a 'happiness economy' may astonish readers, but the book provides a refreshing, provocative alternative to the recent spate of gloom-and-doom climate-change studies. (Mar.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright PWyxz LLC) Synopsis:It's time to stop just worrying about climate change, says Paul Gilding. Instead, we need to brace for impact, because global crisis is no longer avoidable; we have come to the end of a world economy based on consumption and waste, where we live beyond the means of our planet's resources. The Great Disruption offers a stark and unflinching look at the challenge humanity faces-yet also a deeply optimistic message. The coming decades will see loss, suffering, and conflict as our planetary overdraft is paid; however, they will also bring out the best humanity can offer: compassion, innovation, resilience, and adaptability. Gilding tells us how to fight-and win-what he calls the "one-degree war" to prevent catastrophic warming of the earth, and how to start today. Praise for The Great Disruption: "Gilding offers a clear-eyed and moving assessment of our predicament, but more important, he offers a plausible way forward and good reasons to think we will rise to the occasion." -David W. Orr, author of Hope Is an Imperative "Paul Gilding offers some excellent insights into how we might weather that which we can no longer completely prevent-and how we can still prevent that which we won't be able to weather. If you're planning to stick around for the twenty-first century, this might be a useful book to consult." -Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth, and founder of 350.org About the AuthorPaul Gilding is a thought leader and advocate for sustainability and climate change. His thirty-five years of experience include a stint as the global head of Greenpeace, consultancies with both global corporations and community-based NGOs, and more. He blogs at www.paulgilding.com. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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