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Tue Mar 4 16:45:48 EST 2008


Secret Lives of Everyday Things takes you to the places and people you
touch
every day-when you sip your coffee, tie your shoes, click your mouse,
or step on
the gas. Once you follow a day in the life of an average North
American and see
the secret lives of your food, your clothes, and your toys, your world
will
never look the same.  
About the Author : Alan Thein Durning is founder and executive
director of
Northwest Environment Watch and author of award-winning books such as
This Place
on Earth and How Much Is Enough? Formerly senior researcher at
Worldwatch
Institute, he lectures widely and drinks more coffee than he cares to
admit.

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How Much Is Enough? : The Consumer Society and the Future of the Earth
(The
Worldwatch Environmental Alert Series)
 by Alan B. Durning Our Price: $7.96 You Save: $1.99 (20%) Usually
ships in 24
hours Paperback - (June 1992) 200 pages  
Reviews :  Synopsis  Consuming goods and services has become a central
goal of
life in industrial lands the world over. In this book, Alan Durning of
the
Worldwatch Institute explores the roots of the consumer society,
exposes the
toll that our appetites have taken on the earth's natural systems, and
suggests
that there are other paths to fulfillment.
Customer Comments : A reader from Boston, MA , September 10, 1998
Good but
something was missing.  I read the book. I agreed with all the points.
I was
properly impressed with his statistics and anecdotes. But overall I
felt
something was missing, although I can't put my finger on it. After
reading this
book, rather than feeling charged up to go and do something about it I
felt
rather ho-hum instead. I don't think the book is polemical enough. It
doesn't
offer clear cut guides on what needs to change. The threat is always
vague, "We
can't keep this up or someday we'll run out." His discussion of the
necessity of
growth left me unconvinced, even though I desperately wanted to be
convinced.
The book is an interesting read, but it was just lacking something
that kept it
from being amazing.   sue at kepler.lsmsa.edu from louisiana , July 5,
1998  
Brilliant and informative evaluation of the consumer society  Has it
ever
occurred to you that Americans go to shopping malls more often than
they attend
church or synagogue? Did you know that, directly or indirectly, we
consume our
own weight in basic resources EVERY DAY? Half a billion people--those
who belong
to the consumer society--use up almost all of the world's resources
and create
most of the pollution. This is one of those books that leaves a
lasting
impression upon the way you perceive the society you live in. This
book is not
only a smooth read, but is PACKED with carefully researched
information in a
most wonderful way. Durning backs up all his statements with solid
facts. What
else would you expect from a senior researcher at the Worldwatch
Institute? And
aside from the conscientious fact-checking, Durning has another
Worldwatch
habit: he not only presents complex problems in understandable ways,
but also
presents multi-pronged, workable solutions. Overall, a concise book
chock full
of careful thinking.

***************************************************

This Place on Earth : Home and the Practice of Permanence
by Alan Thein Durning Our Price: $11.96 You Save: $2.99 (20%) Usually
ships in
2-3 days Paperback - (September 1997) 336 pages  
Reviews : Nature and Ecology Editor's Recommended Book.  Alan Durning
spent
several years traveling the world as an environmental policy analyst.
When a
Filipino tribeswoman asked him to describe his home, he found that he
could not,
answering weakly, "In America, we have careers, not places."
Determined to
change all that, he brought his family to his native Northwest to make
a
home--by which Durning means learning the geology and ecology of a
place, as
well as its human present and past. Durning looks into matters such as
recycling, urban planning, and community building, and he proposes
ways in which
we can all tread a little more lightly on the earth, especially by
sharing goods
and knowledge with our neighbors. This is a lively, hopeful addition
to the
literature of place. --This text refers to the hardcover edition of
this title  


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