How Much is Enough?: The Consumer Society and the Future of the Earth (Worldwatch Environmental Alert Series) - Hardcover

Alan Thein Durning

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 039303383X ISBN 13: 9780393033830

Publisher: WW Norton & Co, 1993

Synopsis

An exploration of the roots of the consumer society exposes the toll that such ""necessities"" as plastic and cars have taken on the earth's natural systems and suggests other paths to fulfillment.

About this title

From Library Journal:

Durning, a senior researcher at the Worldwatch Institute, develops the thesis that of the three issues the global community must address in order to save the world's environment--population growth, technological change, and consumption--the latter is the most neglected and can ill afford to be. He argues that it is easier to focus on technology, which is simpler to replace than the cultural attitudes governing consumption. The conundrum of consumption is that "limiting the consumer life-style to those who have already attained it is not politically possible . . . or ecologically sufficient . . . and extending that life-style to all would hasten the ruin of the biosphere." Durning calls for a "culture of permanence," a society that lives within its means. A potent philosophical as well as practical guide, this is recommended for collections concerned with the growing issue of environmental sustainability.
- Jennifer Scarlott, Campaign for Peace and Democracy, New York
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: WW Norton & Co
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 039303383X
• ISBN 13: 9780393033830
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 200