Deep Economy by Bill McKibben

by Merete Heather Mueller on Aug 6, 2008

According to my eco-hero Bill McKibben, More doesn’t necessarily equal Better. In present modern society, More often means Sicker, Fatter, Spoiled, Distracted, Isolated, Depressed and Facing Global Environmental Destruction.

And so McKibben, a former editor at the New Yorker who’s been writing about climate change since the 80s, embarks on his 232-page quest to outline a worldview where people put values like quality of life and satisfaction above short-sighted economic growth. The book takes readers to both familiar (the farmer’s market, the local indie radio station) and distant (Chinese manufacturing plants, the organic food movement in Bangladesh) locales.

While the book is rooted in the stark, frightening reality of climate change and peak oil, it’s also inherently a plan of action that everyone can take part in, everyday when buying food or furniture or picking up the local paper or drinking a cup of coffee.

With resources like this (and this and this and this), I have no excuse not to make informed, deliberate decisions about the products I buy and the life I live.

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