permaculture

[Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network <lakinroe@silcom.com>]

        California/Oregon/Colorado Book Tour for “Simple Prosperity”
                                              February 3-23, 2008

LIST OF DATES FOLLOW PR


Simple Prosperity , Finding Real Wealth in Sustainable Livestyle

Slide Show & Booksigning with
Dave Wannn

Best selling author David Wann presents 17 forms 
of “real wealth” that can eradicate affluenza, a 
pandemic he helped diagnose in the book, 
Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic. “When we 
change a few key priorities and values, such as 
what we mean by the word “success,” many of our 
material wants will cease to be obsessions,” says 
Wann. “Instead of fidgety, addictive consumption, 
our lives can be filled with the real wealth of 
sanity, health, hope, caring, connection, participation, and purpose.”


Sounds too good to be true? Wann’s new book, 
Simple Prosperity , Finding Real Wealth in a 
Sustainable Lifestyle www.davewann .com , draws 
on the latest research to document how social 
connections, good health, contact with nature, 
stimulating work, leisure time, great 
neighborhoods, and other forms of real wealth can 
build up our immunity to affluenza. “As a result, 
we become less vulnerable to the borrow-and-spend 
mentality that’s backed the U.S. economy into a 
corner,” says Wann. “By reevaluating many aspects 
of daily life, including what we eat, where we 
live, and what we buy, we’re starting to imagine 
what a joyfully moderate, efficient, 
compassionate lifestyle will look like. The good 
news is that curing the pandemic of 
over-consumption at both the personal and 
cultural scale is not about giving up the good life but getting it back.”


Simple Prosperity offers many concrete examples 
of how we can have twice the satisfaction for 
half the resources (such as water, energy, and 
materials.) By rethinking our reliance on energy 
hogs like aluminum cans (which require 3% of the 
world’s electricity to manufacture), bottled 
water (which annually consumes power equivalent 
to the gasoline used in three million cars), 
monster houses, excessive airplane travel, 
feedlot meat, and suburbs-without-stores, we can 
also reduce our “ecological footprint,” a 
measurement of how much land is required to 
support a given standard of living. In the U.S., 
the average person requires about 30 acres, twice 
the footprint of an average Italian or German.



Wann points to the transition Japan made in the 
18th century as a model for what America can 
become. “Land was in short supply, forest 
resources were being depleted, and minerals such 
as gold and copper were suddenly scarce as well. 
Japan went from being resource-rich to 
resource-poor, but its culture adapted by 
developing a national ethic that centered on 
moderation and efficiency. An attachment to the 
material things in life was seen as demeaning, 
while the advancement of crafts and human 
knowledge were seen as lofty goals. Ritualistic 
disciplines like fencing, martial arts, the tea 
ceremony, flower arranging, literature, art, and 
skillful use of the abacus all fluorished. Most 
people had access to basic education and health 
care, and the three largest cities in Japan had 
1500 bookstores among them. “We can make that 
kind of transition in America,” says Wann.


David Wann is president of the non-profit 
Sustainable Futures Society, a board member of 
the Cohousing Association of the U.S., and a 
fellow of the Simplicity Forum, an association of 
writers and thinkers on the topic of sensible, 
sustainable lifestyles. Wann has received various 
lifetime achievement awards for his work on 
sustainability. He’s been an passionate gardener 
for 25 years and coordinates the community garden 
in the neighborhood he helped design – Harmony 
Village in Golden, Colorado. He’s written nine 
books and produced many award-winning TV programs 
and videos on sustainable design and sustainable lifestyles.

        California/Oregon/Colorado Book Tour for “Simple Prosperity”
                                              February 3-23, 2008

February 3, San Diego: Shakti Rising, 829 F St., 
San Diego, CA 92102, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., admission 
free contact: Marc Bailey, 858-442-9307 playtoe1@yahoo.com

February 4, Los Angeles: Community Hall of Holy 
Nativity Church, 6700 W. 83rd, Westchester/LA 
90045.  Admission free and open to all.  Mon 7:30-9:00 pm
Sposnsored by Environmental Change-Makers, 
Contact: Joanne Poyourow310-670-4777LegacyLA@gmail.com

February 5, Ojai: Oak Grove School, Student 
Center, 220 W. Lomita Ave, Ojai. 7:00 p.m. 
Sponsored by Oak Grove School & the Ojai Valley 
Green Coalition, admission free Contact: Sara 
Benjamin, 805.895.1241 benjamin_sara@yahoo.com

February 6, Santa Ynez: Roasted Bean Coffee House, Santa Ynez, Wednesday,
6:45 p.m, admission free. Trish Hernandez crazymiles@earthlink.net

February 7, Ventura: Artbarn: 856 East Thompson 
Blvd. (between Ash and Kalorama, behind Kids and 
Families Together), 7:00 p.m. Ventura, 93001. 
Contact Lynne Okun,: 805-338-2576 lbokun@earthlink.net

February 8:  KSCB 91.9 FM Sustainable World Radio 
, 9:00 to 10 a.m., Santa Barbara. www.kcsb.org streamimg live

February 8, Santa Barbara: Santa Barbara Public 
Library, Faulkner Gallery, 40 East Anapamu St, in 
downtown Santa Barbara, 7:00 pm,  contact Wes 805-962-2571 lakinroe@silcom.com
Donation $5

February 9, San Luis Obispo: San Luis Obispo 
City/County Library 995 Palm St, San Luis Obispo, 
CA, 7 to 8:30 p.m.  Contact: Bob Banner, 805.544.9663 info@hopedance.org

February 10, Monterey: East Village Coffee House, 
498 Washington St.,Monterey, Ca 93940. Contact: 
Mika Gilmer, 831-236-0204, 6:30 p.m. mikagilmer@yahoo.com

February 12, Ukiah: The Saturday Afternoon Club, 
107 S. Oak Street, Ukiah, CA 95482, 7:00 to 9:00 
p.m. Sponsored by the Greater Ukiah Localization Project (GULP)
www.cloudforest.org/GULP, Contact: Cliff Paulin, (707) 463-0413,
cliffpaulin@hotmail.com.

February 15, San Francisco: Book signing at 
Books, Inc., 7:00 p.m. 2551 Chestnut Street, San 
Francisco, CA Contact: Rob Garcelon at 415-931-3633

February 20: Borders Bookstore, 2605 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton, 7 p.m.
Contact: Lillian Knutsen at 503-644-6164

February 21: Catlin Gabel School, Cabell Center, 
8825 SW Barnes Rd., Portland, OR 97225, 7:00 to 
8:30 Contact Marie Godbey, mlgodbey@mac.com

February 23, First Congregational United Church 
of Christ, 1500 Ninth Ave., Longmont, 
CO  80501  7 p.m. www.ucclongmont.org 
303-776-4940 Contact: Marian Parsons, kayakers@frii.com