The Biosphere and the Bioregion

"Peter Berg set in motion an entirely new realm of environmental thinking and social action by establishing the bioregionas the best location and scale for sustaining human and non-human life. His pioneering work needs to be broadcast widely, and this book accomplishes that task."

–Robert Thayer, University of California, Davis, USA

"With global initiatives providing only tepid solutions to the problems of environmental destruction and economic insecurity, Berg's empowering vision of how people can live fulfilling lives in the context of local, sustainable communities is more relevant than ever."

–Richard Evanoff, Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan

"Berg’s Pacific-rim vision of reinhabitation is articulated with poetry, verve, and wit. An explorer and advocate of complexity, he speaks alike to ‘densely-creatured food chains’ and to the cultural ecologies of expanding cities. In this guide to one of the best ideas of the past forty years, one also finds a manual for the decades ahead."

–Jonathan Skinner, Warwick University, UK

"The Biosphere and the Bioregion is a captivating, stimulating collection of essays drawn from the work of Peter Berg, internationally known bioregional thinker and activist and founder of Planet Drum Foundation. This brilliant selection, interlaced with original tributes from prominent writers and thinkers, brings to the student or general reader many of the most urgent and pressing issues of our time."

–Ann Fisher-Wirth, University of Mississippi, USA

"Peter Berg was a true visionary—a foundational thinker in the fields of bioregionalism and sustainability. Cheryll Glotfelty and Eve Quesnel have produced a careful and engaging introduction to Berg’s important work. This book shows how Berg offers a vivid counterpoint to sanguine representations of the global tilt of contemporary society."

–Scott Slovic, University of Idaho, USA

"Peter Berg reads the land through the soles of his feet, reads watersheds with his heart--yet guides us to re-inhabiting with sensitive practicality. We are now fortunate to have his work gathered in this impressive guidebook."

–Laurie Ricou, The University of British Columbia, Canada

"Peter Berg took a stand as an activist, and these essays reflect his unique position in life as one of the first bioregional poets and practitioners for a new millennium. To take a stand for resilience requires that we know when to draw the line in terms of our unsustainable behaviour, join with others to adapt and sustain the cultural values inherent to home place, and forge a new economy that can restore the self-generating capacity of a living community and bioregion."

–Michael Vincent McGinnis, Monterey Institute of International Studies, USA

"Want to make the world a better place? These lively short essays will get you thinking, talking, imagining, and acting to that end."

–SueEllen Campbell, Colorado State University, USA