Sustainability by Design: A Subversive Strategy for Transforming Our Consumer Culture [Hardcover]

John R. Ehrenfeld (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 23, 2008

The developed world, increasingly aware of “inconvenient truths” about global warming and sustainability, is turning its attention to possible remedies—eco-efficiency, sustainable development, and corporate social responsibility, among others. But such measures are mere Band-Aids, and they may actually do more harm than good, says John Ehrenfeld, a pioneer in the field of industrial ecology. In this deeply considered book, Ehrenfeld challenges conventional understandings of “solving” environmental problems and offers a radically new set of strategies to attain sustainability.

 

The book is founded upon this new definition: sustainability is the possibility that humans and other life will flourish on Earth forever. There are obstacles to this hopeful vision, however, and overcoming them will require us to transform our behavior, both individually and collectively. Ehrenfeld identifies problematic cultural attributes—such as the unending consumption that characterizes modern life—and outlines practical steps toward developing sustainability as a mindset. By focusing on the “being” mode of human existence rather than on the unsustainable “having” mode we cling to now, he asserts, a sustainable world is within our reach.

(20080930)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Ehrenfeld presents a unique perspective on the subject of sustainability that needs to be taken seriously by anyone who claims to talk about the subject.”—H. Thomas Johnson, Portland State University

(H. Thomas Johnson 20090401)

"The author''s argument is astute and insightful, eloquent and convincing."—David Orr, Oberlin College

(David Orr 20090409)

“In Sustainability by Design, John Ehrenfeld eloquently challenges us to confront the scale of change required to achieve a sustainable world and efficient society.”—Jonathan Lash, President, World Resources Institute

(Jonathan Lash )

“John Ehrenfeld has written a thought-provoking and fundamentally optimistic book about the interaction of culture, economics and technology in producing our current environmental degeneration. Unlike other writers who lay out only scenarios of doom he lays out a plan for incremental social and technological change which could put us back on a path to a sustainable future. The book is vast in scope, ranging across many disciplines, but the reader who arrives at the closing chapters will find the journey deeply rewarding.”—Jill Ker Conway, President Emerita, Smith College

(Jill Ker Conway )

“Drawing from the works of other giants, and adding his own deep insights, John Ehrenfeld has lit the path that can lead humankind away from the yawning abyss that lies so close before us, toward a wholly appealing goal:  an ethical human relationship with Nature and technology.”—Ray Anderson, Founder and Chairman, Interface, Inc.

(Ray Anderson )

"Ehrenfeld takes a systems look at a systemic issue. He looks at mindset . . . and that''s what is so attractive."—Matthew May, On Sustainability, Part 3

(Matthew May On Sustainability, Part 3 )

"Sustainability by Design, authored by John Ehrenfeld, may be and certainly should be one of the most important books of the 21st century."—Janice Pryor, Host of WUMB’s, The Commonwealth Journal

(Janice Pryor )

"Suggests new, holistic approaches to sustainable design that won''t act, as others have in the past, as Band-Aids. Instead, Ehrenfeld focuses on the routes we should take to ensure success."—CEO-READ

(800-CEO-READ )

"John Ehrenfeld''s Sustainability by Design is the most intellectually rigorous treatment of sustainability that I have ever come across. . . .this work provides a context and springboard for the next generation of sustainable solutions."—Gareth Kane, terrainfirma

(Gareth Kane terrainfirma )

"Challenges conventional understandings of ''solving'' environmental problems and offers a radically different set of strategies to attain sustainability."—Long Range Planning

(Long Range Planning )

"[Ehrenfeld] looks at mindset . . . and that''s what is so attractive. . . . John''s been thinking about this for a long time, and it shows in how he approaches the challenge of sustainability. . . . " —Matthew May, On Sustainability, Part 3

(Matthew May On Sustainability, Part 3 )

"A daring, well-researched, and convincing case that the sustainability agenda cannot focus on the material part of the equation alone but must encompass the wider questions about what is the purpose of life."--Arnold Tukker, Journal of Industrial Ecology

(Arnold Tukker Journal of Industrial Ecology )

"Ehrenfeld''s intellectually rigorous examination of sustainability engages an approach that is interdisciplinary and holistic."--Carol L. Anderson, Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences

(Carol L. Anderson Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences )

About the Author

John R. Ehrenfeld, who before his retirement was affiliated with the MIT Center for Technology, Policy, and Industrial Development and the Departments of Chemical Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering, now serves as executive director of the International Society for Industrial Ecology and is senior research scholar at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. In 1999 he became the first recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Resources Institute. He lives in Lexington, MA.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (September 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300137494
• ISBN-13: 978-0300137491
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #195,002 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Science & Math > Environment > Environmentalism

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thinking for a Change, October 12, 2008

By 

Matthew E. May "Matthew E. May" (Westlake Village, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sustainability by Design: A Subversive Strategy for Transforming Our Consumer Culture (Hardcover)

Mr. Ehrenfeld offers a broadly appealing and immediately accessible definition of sustainability: "sustainability is the possibility that humans and other life will flourish on the Earth forever."

Now isn't that what we really want? And to address this higher view of things, don't you necessarily need to think more deeply about the issue than simply neutralizing a negative situation--which is what virtually every other book in this genre attempts to do?

That's what I like about this book, that Ehrenfeld takes a systems look at a systemic issue. He looks at mindset -- the subtitle is "A Subversive Strategy for transforming Our Consumer Culture" -- and that's what is so attractive.

Ehrenfeld, formerly of MIT (a noted breeding ground for systems thinkers), is executive director of the International Society for Industrial Ecology and senior research scholar at Yale's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and you can tell he's been thinking about this for a long tim. It shows in how he approaches the challenge of sustainability. For example, he uses words and phrases that resonate will resonate with anyone who is interested in a more mindful approach to a complex issue. "Reflection" is the first threshold to cross, he says. And he talks about "structures," which appeals to my sense of the importance in properly framing problems. And he talks about "nurturing possibility."

You see, we too often incorrectly ask the question "What are the alternatives" before we ask "What is possible?"

If you're a fan of Peter Senge (who writes the Foreword) and The Fifth Discipline like I am, you'll enjoy the author's foray into single and double loop thinking. From there, he looks at root cause, that being an addiction to resources (a phrase I often use!) linked to the cultures of consumption in the modern, industrialized world. And then he offers his definition of sustainability, and the whole construct hangs together quite nicely.

Woven throughout the book is a subtext of respect, of simply caring about others and the world we live in enough to wrap our designs around that thought in a very purposeful way. If only we could hold that core value tightly enough, hold on to the tension created between where we are and where we need to be, our designs -- our innovation processes and innovative outcomes -- would go far in moving the planet toward a sustainable vision of the future.

And that future, the author says, does not have "a revolution waiting in the wings," because he does not believe "that such a revolution would necessarily be the best change mechanism."

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, provocative work., April 25, 2009

By 

Nicholas A. Russell (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sustainability by Design: A Subversive Strategy for Transforming Our Consumer Culture (Hardcover)

Bought this book for my Energy and Society class. It is the last of four books we read this semester, and was an excellent conclusion to the course. The author addresses the root causes of energy scarcity and provides a basic framework for sustainability in which the human race can ultimately thrive.

5/5 Stars

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hippy days, November 8, 2010

By 

Hiimpen - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sustainability by Design: A Subversive Strategy for Transforming Our Consumer Culture (Paperback)

I have found that this book is more than helpful in defining the sources of scarcity of natural resources and it defines how with sustainabilty we can thrive. Also the author looks at the possibilities and what can "become". The book also seems that it is more or less a culture change of the world and how they want everyone to just be less noisy and gaudy. Many things will need to change but the culture of the world is a big task.