Every fifteen seconds on our Earth, a child dies from waterborne disease. Three times an hour, another species becomes extinct. Each day we consume eighty-five million barrels of oil and pump twenty-three million tons of carbon dioxide into an already warming atmosphere. But against this bleak backdrop, beacons of hope shine from thousands of large and small initiatives taking place everywhere from isolated villages to major urban centers. Thriving Beyond Sustainability draws a collective map of individuals, organizations, and communities from around the world that are committed to building an alternative future—one that strives to restore ecological health; reinvent outmoded institutions; and rejuvenate our environmental, social, and economic systems. The projects and initiatives profiled are meeting the challenges of the day with optimism, hope, and results, leading the way in: Relocalization Green commerce Ecological design Environmental conservation Social transformation Overflowing with inspiration, the stories and ideas in these pages will cause the most chronic pessimist to see the glass as half full—to move beyond a perception of surviving with scarcity to one of flourishing with abundance. The comprehensive resource section provides the tools for everyone to become a catalyst for change. Andres R. Edwards is the author of The Sustainability Revolution, which has sold over twenty thousand copies. He is an educator, media designer, LEED-accredited green building and sustainability consultant, and the founder of EduTracks, a firm specializing in developing education programs and providing consulting services on sustainable practices.

From the authors "Cradle to Cradle," the next step, in how society must change the way it uses resources. Drawing on the lessons gained from 10 years of using the cradle-to-cradle concept, McDonough and Braungart envision the next step in the solution to our ecological crisis.

This book approaches environmentalism via two academic disciplines, sociology and philosophy. Both have concerns about the environment's ability not only to sustain itself but to thrive. The authors argue that rather than simple sustainability, we must promote thrivability for the sake of protecting the environment and all living things. In this greatly expanded second edition, the authors have updated data and examples, introduced new topics and concepts, and emphasized the need to lessen our dependence on fossil fuels. Numerous topics are explored, from the differences between sustainability and thrivability, and the overuse of plastic, to mass extinction, the role of natural disasters and more. The Covid-19 pandemic offers an added perspective on the relationship between disease and the environment.

This book approaches environmentalism via two academic disciplines, sociology and philosophy. Both have concerns about the environment's ability not only to sustain itself but to thrive. The authors argue that rather than simple sustainability, we must promote thrivability for the sake of protecting the environment and all living things. In this greatly expanded second edition, the authors have updated data and examples, introduced new topics and concepts, and emphasized the need to lessen our dependence on fossil fuels. Numerous topics are explored, from the differences between sustainability and thrivability, and the overuse of plastic, to mass extinction, the role of natural disasters and more. The Covid-19 pandemic offers an added perspective on the relationship between disease and the environment.

This is a ‘Whole Earth Catalog’ for the 21st century: an impressive and wide-ranging analysis of what’s wrong with our societies, organizations, ideologies, worldviews and cultures – and how to put them right. The book covers the finance system, agriculture, design, ecology, economy, sustainability, organizations and society at large.

Beyond Sustainable discusses the relationship between human-beings and the constructed environments of habitation we create living in the Anthropocene, an increasingly volatile and unpredictable landscape of certain change. This volume accepts that human-beings have reached a moment beyond climatological and ecological crisis. It asks not how we resolve the crisis but, rather, how we can cope with, or adapt to, the irreversible changes in the earth-system by rethinking how we choose to inhabit the world-ecology. Through an examination of numerous historical and contemporary projects of architecture and art, as well as observations in philosophy, ecology, evolutionary biology, genetics, neurobiology and psychology, this book reimagines architecture capable of influencing and impacting who we are, how we live, what we feel and even how we evolve. Beyond Sustainable provides students and academics with a single comprehensive overview of this architectural reconceptualization, which is grounded in an ecologically inclusive and co-productive understanding of architecture.

First Published in 2009. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.