The Conserver Society: Alternatives for SustainabilityWhat would a ecologically sustainable way of life actually look like in a rich country such as Britain?This book shows that practical and attractive alternatives do exist. It argues that although thetransition must involve huge changes and materially more simple living standards, it could yield ahigher quality of life for most people in both North or South. Ted Trainer discusses actual examplesof alternative communities and self-sufficient local economies, outlining their solutions in housing, foodproduction, energy, the design of settlements, the development of a new economy and the shift to newvalues. His book offers a practical strategy for people to begin moving their own localities in thesedirections. |
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Contents
Third World development | 154 |
Peace and security | 162 |
Inequality | 178 |
Government | 187 |
Illustrations from existing alternative communities | 194 |
The transition is under way | 215 |
Lets get going | 224 |
Bibliography | 233 |
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Common terms and phrases
achieve affluent alternative amount Australia average bank become build capital cent centre Chapter co-housing competitive consumer society consumption cooperative corporations cost ecological edible landscape educational efficiency electricity enable energy environmental export factories farms firms forest gardens forests fuel functions global economy governments greenhouse groups grow growth hectare highly self-sufficient honey locust important income increase industries interest involve kibbutz labour land leisure-rich lifestyles limits to growth Maleny market gardens material living standards methane million organise participatory democracy Permaculture Pigface plant ponds possible poverty line power station present problems produce radical conserver society recycling reduce regions renewable energy rich countries rich-world sector settlements social soil solar sources square metre suburb sumer sustainable things Third World tonnes town transport trees village wealth windmills woodlots
Popular passages
Page 28 - With trees, at least three quarters of the earth could supply human needs, not only of food but of clothing, fuel, shelter and other basic products.
Page 28 - First and foremost, trees offer the possibility of far higher food yields per acre. Whereas livestock rearing in temperate regions produces an average of about two hundredweight of meat per acre and cereal growing an average of about one and a half tons per acre, apple trees can yield at least seven tons per acre, while leguminous, bean-bearing trees, such as the honey locust, can provide fifteen to twenty tons of cereal-equivalent.
Page 27 - tool' with the greatest potential for feeding people and animals, for regenerating the soil, for restoring water-systems, for controlling floods and droughts, for creating more benevolent micro-climates and more comfortable and stimulating living conditions for humanity, is the tree.
Page 190 - ... voluntarily, and when the community perceives that the blood is to be used for its own needs, there is a surplus. This is not magic altruism, the byproduct of Utopia — this is perceived self-interest, community-interest, made possible (capable of being perceived by the individual) only at the human scale. Indeed, there is not one public service, not one, that could not be better supplied at the local level, where the problem is understood best and quickest, the solutions are most accessible,...
Page 84 - In other words, a different model of economic security is proposed, one where wealth is not derived from specialising in export for distant markets, and sending the earned money to distant producers in order to import a large percentage of food, energy, materials, insurance, health care, but rather from reducing people's involvement in the national and international economy and providing more locally. In the long run, what we might call a marketenhanced self-reliant economy should enable people to...
Page 28 - ... scientific process of photosynthesis, is far more efficient than any system devised by man. Another outstanding advantage enjoyed by trees is that they can tolerate conditions in which every other form of food production would be impossible, such as steep, rocky mountainsides. Both olives and carobs, for example, can be planted in the clefts of rocks where no soil at all is apparent; their roots will penetrate deep into the heart of a hillside until they find the nutritional elements they require.
Page 39 - Each of these schools offers amateurs the opportunity to combine theory and hands-on experience in a series of weekend and extended courses. Their goal is to help nonprofessionals overcome their ignorance and fear of what was once a most common endeavor. The courses are intensive and nurturing; no one is expected to know very much upon enrolling, and instruction is patient, personal, and comprehensive (Corbett 1981: 61).
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Conserver Society: Alternatives for Sustainability |
| Author | F. E. Trainer |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Zed Books, 1995 |
| ISBN | 1856492761, 9781856492768 |
| Length | 246 pages |
| Subjects | › › Business & Economics / Economics / General |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |