Sustainable or Bust

Clearly, the "normal" way of life is the opposite of genuine sustainability, and it has an expiration date. Any way of life that is fully in balance with the family of life must be genuinely sustainable, a healthy path with a future. At present, too few really comprehend this concept. 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. Many new options will become possible, including genuine sustainability, within a century or three.

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.

My first book, What Is Sustainable, presented an introduction to genuine sustainability, with an emphasis on food. Sustainable or Bust is a collection of 64 book reviews, and 16 rants. It's a gallery of thinkers, scholars, and ideas that would make "normal" minds itch and squirm. This book is for pilgrims who are awake, alive, and weary of normal -- minds hungry for outside-the-box ideas.

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?