Book #8: The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability - by James Gustave Speth

Trevor Jones 
9/29/15

• File Size: 2545 KB
• Print Length: 320 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; 1st edition (March 28, 2008)
• Publication Date: March 28, 2008
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B001B1HQI6

Professional Review: 
"An extremely important book both for what it says and for who is saying it. The steady transformation of a solid, pragmatic, progressive negotiator into a 'radical and unrealistic' oracle concerned with the fundamental nature of modern economies is an important event."
—Richard Norgaard, University of California, Berkeley

Customer Review: 
"As do other current writers such as Thomas Homer-Dixon and David Korten, James Speth sees us heading for catastrophe in the way we're over-using and over-polluting the earth, but holds out hope that we may yet turn back from the brink of destruction. He attributes our predicament to an economic system based on little more than constant growth, which in turns requires ever more extraction from the earth; weak or nonexistent government leadership; and an environmental movement that has been less "movement" and more an insider operation that down deep believes a) the government can and will eventually do the right thing and b) there won't be need for drastic redirection of our economic and political systems or serious change in our way of living.
Speth calls for a rediscovery of the true meaning of life (relationships, service, enjoyment of leisure, etc.)--and orienting our economic pursuits around this; a new form of participatory democracy that takes back our country from the corporate-led government we currently "enjoy"; ending over $850 billion in annual global subsidies for "perverse" practices such as overfishing the seas; developing an economic model that incorporates environmental care, human rights and worker well-being at its core; and international treaties with "teeth" to enforce environmental protection of critical habitats and endangered species and ecosystems.
This is a depressing book in that it clearly lays out the challenges facing us; it is hopeful in that it does provide a "bridge" to get us from this world to the next. It's up to us to build it and then be ready to walk over it."

Why I chose this book:
I chose this book because it accurately describes how we will lead the world to its doom: by doing exactly what we are now. This book teaches the reader exactly how human activities are taking a toll on the environment and how they are driving us to the end of the world we know today.