Treading Softly: Paths to Ecological Order

by Thomas Princen

We are living beyond our means, running up debts both economic and ecological,consuming the planet's resources at rates not remotely sustainable. But it's hard to imagine adifferent way. How can we live without cheap goods and easy credit? How can we consume withoutconsuming the systems that support life? How can we live well and live within our means? In Treading Softly , Thomas Princen helps us imagine an alternative. We need, hesays, a new normal, an ecological order that is actually economical with resources, that embraceslimits, that sees sustainable living not as a "lifestyle" but as a long-term connection tofresh, free-flowing water, fertile soil, and healthy food. The goal would be tolive well by living well within the capacities of our resources. Princen doesn't offer a quick fix-- there's no list of easy ways to save the planet to hang on the refrigerator. He gives us insteada positive, realistic sense of the possible, with an abundance of examples, concepts, and tools forimagining, then realizing, how to live within our biophysical means.

Genres: Environment, Nonfiction

210 pages, Hardcover

First published February 19, 2010

Reviews

[Sis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book (one of my favorites on the subject) about how the human being is trampling on a delicate balance, and what actions, not on a large scale but on a personal scale, can be taken to pull oneself out of this noxious behavior.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books about sustainability I've read.