Eco-Pioneers Practical Visionaries Solving Today's Environmental Problems

by Lerner, Steve

• ISBN13: 9780262621243
• ISBN10: 026262124X
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-07-31
• Publisher: The MIT Press

Summary

Following the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Steve Lerner spent four years searching out people he came to call "eco-pioneers"--the modern pathfinders who are working in the American pragmatic tradition to reduce the pace of environmental degradation. In this book, Lerner puts a human face on Earth Summit rhetoric, finding out what sustainable development actually looks like in the United States. He provides case studies of eco-pioneers who are inventing sustainable ways to log forests, grow food, save plant species, run cattle, build houses, clean up cities, redesign rural communities, generate power, conserve water, protect rivers and wildlife, treat hazardous waste, reuse materials, and reduce both consumption and waste. Together they are creating ways of living and working that many analysts believe are essential to an ecologically sustainable future.

Author Biography

Steve Lerner is the author of Eco-Pioneers: Practical Visionaries Solving Today's Environmental Problems (1998) and Diamond: A Struggle for Environmental Justice in Louisiana's Chemical Corridor (2006), both published by the MIT Press.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction	p. 1
Pliny Fisk III: The Search for Low-Impact Building Materials and Techniques	p. 19
Lorrie Otto: Bringing Native Plants Back to the American Lawn	p. 37
John Todd: Greenhouse Treatment of Municipal Sewage	p. 47
Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez: The New Frugality Movement Promotes Living Better by Consuming Less	p. 67
Scott Bernstein: Environmental Solutions to Inner-City Problems	p. 81
S. David Freeman: A Utility Company Switches from Nuclear Power to Energy Conservation, Renewable Energy, and Electric Vehicles	p. 91
Sally Fox: Breeding Naturally Colored Organic Cotton Eliminates the Need for Toxic Dyes and Pesticides	p. 101
Daniel Knapp: Mining the Discard Supply	p. 115
Walton Smith: Returning to Selective Forestry after the Failure of Clearcutting	p. 129
Christopher Nagel and William Haney III: Transforming Hazardous Wastes into Useful Industrial Materials	p. 143
Paul Mankiewicz: Urban Rooftop Agriculture	p. 159
David Crockett: Transforming Chattanooga into an Environmental City	p. 171
William McDonough: Redesigning Buildings and Building Materials for Environmentally Intelligent Architecture	p. 197
New Pattonsburg, Missouri: Moving Out of the Flood Plain and Designing an Environmentally Sustainable Community	p. 213
Alana Probst: Promoting Ecologically Sustainable Businesses in West Coast Temperate Rain Forests	p. 231
Daniel Einstein and David Eagan: Students Swap Protests for Practical Work Building an Ecologically Sustainable Campus	p. 243
Jack Turnell: Western Cattle Rancher Experiments with Sustainable Techniques	p. 263
Juana Beatriz Gutierrez: The Mothers of East Los Angeles Conserve Water, Protect the Neighborhood, and Create Jobs	p. 277
Ron Rosmann: Sustainable Agriculture Takes Root among Family Farmers in Iowa	p. 287
James Enote: Zunis Launch a Sustainable Action Plan to Manage Tribal Resources	p. 299
Kenny Ausubel: Saving the Seed: Rescuing Important Foods and Medicinal Crops from Extinction	p. 309
Eco-Justice Activists: Cleaning Up and Reusing Abandoned and Contaminated Industrial Sites	p. 321
David Gershon: Helping Families Minimize Environmental Impact One Household at a Time	p. 341
Thomas Schueler and Robert Boone: Two Approaches to Restoring Trashed Urban Rivers	p. 353
The Reverend Jeffrey Golliher: A Green Priest Preaches about the Need to Protect God's Creation	p. 373
Conclusion	p. 385
Notes	p. 399
Index	p. 415
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