My first book, What
Is Sustainable, presented an introduction to genuine
sustainability, with an emphasis on food.
In the old-fashioned sense of the word, sustainability has to do with
living in a way that doesn’t diminish the ecosystem during the passage of
thousands of years. Good old-fashioned
fundamentalist sustainability has nothing to do with industrial civilization, solar
panels, wind turbines, or the lame parade of sustainable oxymorons
(“sustainable growth,” etc.).
Sustainable
or Bust is a collection of 64 book reviews, and 16 rants. It’s a gallery of thinkers, scholars, and
ideas intended to explore important notions that are routinely swept under the
carpet. It’s a book for pilgrims who are
awake, alive, intensely skeptical, and hungry for outside-the-box ideas. The earlier book does not need to be read
first, but folks who like one will like both.
I’ve been studying the Earth Crisis for over 20 years, and
have read hundreds of books. Sustainable or Bust
is a sampler of provocative thinking. It
provides no silver bullet cures for all that ails us. It intends to provide a broader understanding
of our predicament, in the hope that we can move forward without repeating many
serious mistakes.
Clearly, the “normal” way of life is entirely unsustainable,
and it has an expiration date. At
present, few are devoting much thought to genuine sustainability, because it is
so different from the status quo. It
would be wise to learn, and Sustainable
or Bust is a useful tool for the job.
Seven-point-something billion people can’t switch to
sustainable living this afternoon, because it’s temporarily impossible. But the collapse of industrial civilization
is now in its early stages, and when it’s done, the human sphere will be much
smaller, slower, and simpler. Decades
down the road, many new options will become possible, including genuine
sustainability.
We could help our descendants find a more direct path to
health and balance by learning about sustainability now, and sharing this
wisdom with the young ones. There’s
never been a better time to hit the books and feed our minds — before the
lights go out. Nothing can change until
ideas change.
I don’t expect to see the end of the collapse. What the survivors, if any, choose to do is
entirely beyond my control. I am not
responsible for the decisions they make, but I am responsible for doing what I
can to help them understand their history, predicament, and options. Who are we?
Where are we from? How did we get
here?
Sustainable or
Bust is available as a modestly priced paperback, or as a bargain priced
Kindle download. At the Amazon page for
this book, the Look Inside feature is enabled, which allows you to examine the
table of contents, and view sample sections.
Kindle downloads can be read on your computer, tablet, or
phone using free
software — you don’t need to buy a Kindle. Lending is enabled, so buyers can temporarily
“lend” the digital book to a friend.
Also, Amazon Prime members can “borrow” the book from Amazon, free of
charge. This book is enrolled in the Kindle
MatchBook program, which allows those who have purchased the paperback to buy
the Kindle version at a large discount.
The paperback should be available via most independent
booksellers. Approved booksellers can
buy books at wholesale prices via CreateSpace
Direct.
