The Great Disruption Why the Climate Crisis Will Bring On the End of Shopping and the Birth of a New World

by Gilding, Paul

• ISBN13: 9781608192236
• ISBN10: 1608192237
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-03-29
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Press

Summary

"One of those who has been warning me of [a coming crisis] for a long time is Paul Gilding, the Australian environmental business expert. He has a name for this moment--when both Mother Nature and Father Greed have hit the wall at once--'The Great Disruption.' "--Thomas Friedman in theNew York TimesIt's time to stop just worrying about climate change, says Paul Gilding. We need instead to brace for impact because global crisis is no longer avoidable. This Great Disruption started in 2008, with spiking food and oil prices and dramatic ecological changes, such as the melting ice caps. It is not simply about fossil fuels and carbon footprints. We have come to the end of Economic Growth, Version 1.0, a world economy based on consumption and waste, where we lived beyond the means of our planet's ecosystems and resources.The Great Disruptionoffers a stark and unflinching look at the challenge humanity faces--yet also a deeply optimistic message. The coming decades will see loss, suffering, and conflict as our planetary overdraft is paid; however, they will also bring out the best humanity can offer: compassion, innovation, resilience, and adaptability. Gilding tells us how to fight--and win--what he calls The One Degree War to prevent catastrophic warming of the earth, and how to start today.The crisis represents a rare chance to replace our addiction to growth with an ethic of sustainability, and it's already happening. It's also an unmatched business opportunity: Old industries will collapse while new companies will literally reshape our economy. In the aftermath of the Great Disruption, we will measure "growth" in a new way. It will mean not quantity of stuff but quality and happiness of life. Yes, there is life after shopping.

Author Biography

Paul Gilding is a thought leader and advocate for sustainability and climate change. His thirty-five years of experience include a stint as the global head of Greenpeace, consultancies with both global corporations and community-based NGOs, and more. He blogs at www.paulgilding.com.

Table of Contents

An Economic and Social Hurricane	p. 1
The Scream-We Are Their Children's Children	p. 9
A Very Big Problem	p. 30
Beyond the Limits-The Great Disruption	p. 49
Addicted to Growth	p. 64
Global Foreshock-The Year That Growth Stopped	p. 76
The Road Ahead-Our Planetary Sat Nav	p. 89
Are We Finished?	p. 96
When the Dam of Denial Breaks	p. 115
The One-Degree War	p. 123
How an Austrian Economist Could Save the World	p. 143
Creative Destruction on Steroids-Out with the Old, In with the New	p. 157
Shifting Sands-From Middle Eastern Oil to Chinese Sun	p. 175
The Elephant in the Room-Growth Doesn't Work	p. 184
The Happiness Economy	p. 194
Yes, There Is Life After Shopping	p. 203
No, the Poor Will Not Always Be with Us	p. 214
Ineffective Inequality	p. 223
The Future Is Here, It's Just Not Widely Distributed Yet	p. 236
Guess Who's in Charge?	p. 256
Acknowledgments	p. 265
Notes	p. 269
Further Reading	p. 279
Index	p. 281
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