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Dangerous Years

Climate Change, the Long Emergency, and the Way Forward

David W Orr author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Yale University Press

Published:29th May '18

Should be back in stock very soon

Dangerous Years cover

This thought-provoking book explores the future of our planet and the critical steps needed for sustainability. Dangerous Years offers hope amid challenges.

In Dangerous Years, a prominent environmental thinker examines the significant challenges and opportunities that lie ahead on the path to sustainability. This compelling and insightful work delves into the future of civilization through the lens of climate change and its associated threats. David Orr, an esteemed leader in sustainability and environmental education, candidly addresses the harsh realities we face. Despite the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, Orr warns that Earth's ecosystems will take centuries to stabilize. He paints a stark picture of a planet that is becoming increasingly fragile, with diminishing biodiversity, rising ocean acidity, and an unpredictable climate.

However, Dangerous Years is not merely a lamentation of our predicament. Orr offers hope by envisioning sustainability as a journey that requires the development of strong democratic and economic institutions, along with a transformation in our values and perspectives. He emphasizes that we are not doomed to ruin our planet; rather, we can embark on a meaningful transition. This shift is already taking root at the grassroots level, where communities and neighborhoods are beginning to embrace sustainable practices.

Throughout the book, Orr provides actionable principles and priorities that can guide us toward achieving a lasting balance between human activities and the natural world. By fostering a collective commitment to sustainability, we can work towards a healthier planet for future generations.

". . . sets out a way to reform society from bottom up by radically changing our economics, our education system—even our evolutionary traits."—Louise Gray, BBC Wildlife

"The seminal work on the threats of climate change to the planet and society. . . . Orr’s book is full of philosophical wisdom, founded on environmental evidence, which will help us to generate a more sustainable planet."—Jim Lynch, Biologist

Winner of the Green Prize, given to authors, illustrators, and publishers who produce quality books for adults and young people that make significant contributions to, support the ideas of, and broaden public awareness of sustainability.

“A valuable addition to environmental and philosophical wisdom.”—Edward O. Wilson, Harvard University

"No one knows more about the hole we're in, and no one has worked any harder to get us out of it—David Orr is a necessary guide to the great climate crisis we find ourselves in, and this is a vital book."—Bill McKibben, author Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet

"David Orr has written a perfectly marvelous book, a deep and wide-ranging reflection on the human condition. It's a winner, and a rare one at that."—James Gustave Speth, author of Red Sky at Morning, The Bridge at the End of the World, and America the Possible

"David Orr has for many years provided a broad view of our ecological challenges. Now he provides a long view, sounding the alarm about the future we are heedlessly creating today. Like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, we have put in motion a process of fossil-fueled growth that has gone out of control. In the absence of a wizard to right the situation magically, Orr calls for human intervention before it is too late—not just in our power plants and motor vehicles, but in the way we live our lives and organize society. To do so, he once wrote, 'hope is an imperative.'"—Timothy E. Wirth, former U.S. Senator (Colorado) and President Emeritus, The United Nations Foundation

"An extremely valuable look at humanity's horizon, the challenging millennium ahead and how we might—indeed must—transition to sustainability. The distillation of a lifetime of constructive consideration of the environmental challenges we have brought upon ourselves, Dangerous Years will help us chart the way through the inchoate wilderness of our own making. Destined to become one of the great environmental classics."—Thomas E. Lovejoy, George Washington University

ISBN: 9780300234602

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 363g

320 pages