The Road to Sustainability

The deep recession now underway will probably last another year at least, but could spiral down to a second Great Depression. Political leaders worldwide are under pressure to use a variety of economic stimulus tools to restore normalcy. This will likely lead to some progress toward renewable sources of energy and energy conservation, especially in the U.S., now under the competent leadership of President Obama. But these welcome changes are only first steps toward meeting long-term sustainability challenges. The four books reviewed here illustrate contrasting approaches to the big changes that are needed, perhaps best appreciated as four points of the compass: north (global action) vs. south (local action), and east (reforming capitalism) vs. west (U.S. government policy reform).


Global reform is emphasized by Jeffrey Sachs, director of Columbia University