Understanding Sustainability

Mainstream society is a delirious glittering fantasyland of limitless growth, technological progress, and shopping our way up the social status pyramid. But behind the curtains is a ghastly nightmare world that is rarely acknowledged — climate change, mass extinction, ocean acidification, deforestation, and on and on.Our civilization is a peculiar phenomenon, a wacky whirlwind of mindless self-destruction. Its brilliant plan is to keep consumer society on life support for as long as possible, at any cost, and leave the bills for the kids. It’s about enduring jobs you don’t like, to buy stuff you don’t need, to impress people you don’t respect. It’s about living as if we’re the last generation.Some folks have not been swept away by the mass hysteria. They have an amazing ability to perceive the obvious. Every civilization collapses, and ours will too, one way or another, suddenly or gradually. Industrial civilization was designed to grow like crazy, flame out, and collapse. It has provided humankind with tremendous unforgettable lessons on how not to live. We would be wise to learn them.How did this happen? What needs to be done? It’s hard for us to imagine what a healthy ecosystem looks like, never having seen one. Living in balance is not taught in schools. A sustainable way of life is one that can continue for millennia without causing permanent degradation to the ecosystem.Tragically, far too few grasp the fundamental concepts of genuine sustainability — a vital realm of knowledge. It’s a vast subject, and it should be the central focus for our education system, our politics, and our conversations. Understanding Sustainability is a tool for those with a desire to learn. It provides brief reviews of seventy-four books that examine aspects of ecological reality. It’s a companion to my two previous books.