Conservationist Manifesto () von Scott Russell Sanders

';Eloquent... a must-read for anyone committed to taking care of the natural world and passing it along to future generations' (ForeWord). As an antidote to the destructive culture of consumption dominating American life today, Scott Russell Sanders calls for a culture of conservation that allows us to savor and preserve the world, instead of devouring it. How might we shift to a more durable and responsible way of life? What changes in values and behavior will be required? Ranging from southern Indiana to the Boundary Waters Wilderness, and from billboards to the Bible, Sanders's 40-point blueprint for ecological health extends the visions of Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, and Rachel Carson to our own day. A Conservationist Manifesto shows the crucial relevance of a conservation ethic at a time of mounting concern about global climate change, depletion of natural resources, extinction of species, and the economic inequities between rich and poor nations. The important message of these ';original and intriguing' essays is that conservation is not simply a personal virtue but a public one (Publishers Weekly). ';A book to be savoredfor its language, its stories, its sense of place, and for how it reminds us of the profound relationships with nature and each other that can inspire us to change how we live on this planet.' Will Rogers, President, The Trust for Public Land

Preface
Part One: Caring for Earth
Building Arks
Common Wealth
A Few Earthy Words
Two Stones
The Warehouse and the Wilderness
Part Two: Caring for Our Home Ground
The Geography of Somewhere
Hometown
On Loan from the Sundance Sea
Big Trees, Still Water, Tall Grass
Limberlost
Part Three: Caring for Generations to Come
Wilderness as a Sabbath for the Land
Simplicity and Sanity
Stillness
A Conservationist Manifesto
For the Children
Words of Thanks
Further Reading
Notes

As an antidote to the destructive culture of consumption dominating American life today, Scott Russell Sanders calls for a culture of conservation that allows us to savor and preserve the world, instead of devouring it. How might we shift to a more durable and responsible way of life? What changes in values and behavior will be required? Ranging geographically from southern Indiana to the Boundary Waters Wilderness and culturally from the Bible to billboards, Sanders extends the visions of Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, and Rachel Carson to our own day. A Conservationist Manifesto shows the crucial relevance of a conservation ethic at a time of mounting concern about global climate change, depletion of natural resources, extinction of species, and the economic inequities between rich and poor nations. The important message of this powerful book is that conservation is not simply a personal virtue but a public one.

Scott Russell Sanders, Distinguished Professor of English at Indiana University Bloomington, is the author of 20 books of fiction and nonfiction, including Writing from the Center (IUP, 1995), Hunting for Hope, and A Private History of Awe. Sanders is winner of the Lannan Literary Award, John Burroughs Essay Award for Natural History, AWP Award in Creative Nonfiction, and the 2009 Mark Twain Award. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana.