Beautiful and Abundant: Building the World We Want

This groundbreaking book cuts through the pessimism and denial that pervade today's discussions of sustainability and invites readers to visualize a verdant and prosperous future for humanity and all the living things that share our planet. As a practical guide, it offers a process for making our current lifestyles more sustainable and inspires us to look beyond the immediate obstacles to nurture the "destination fixation" that stimulates all humanity's greatest achievements. In the lives and accomplishments of farmers, gardeners, inventors and entrepreneurs, "Beautiful and Abundant" finds a path toward a world vision we can proudly pass on to future generations - a vision that is aesthetically beautiful, economically abundant, ethically fair and irresistibly contagious. Humanity is at a turning point. Only one species in the universe can recognize its own impact on its habitat, so far as we know, and we are that species. In the early years of the 21st Century we face the definitive human challenge - sustaining our quality of life on this miraculous, but finite sphere we call Earth. Tragically, a lot of human energy is being squandered in conflict over short-term environmental obstacles. People debate symptoms and solutions but societies persistently fail to offer positive incentives for change. To harness the full power of human imagination and community initiative we need a positive vision for humanity's future. We need a believable collective vision for the beautiful, abundant planet where our grandchildren will live. What people are saying: "This is a book that invites us all to cut through the negativity of doomsday prophets and other 'progressive' thinkers. ... Bryan Welch is a rare business leader who writes prose that is nuanced, eloquent and visionary. This luminous call to action will inspire you. ... It happened to me." - Wanda Urbanska, author of "The Heart of Simple Living: 7 Paths to a Better Life"