A book by George Monbiot

Published by Allen Lane, May 2013

The book introduces a radical new type of ‘hands-off’ nature conservation called Rewilding, and takes the reader on George’s own journey to re-connect with the natural world.

Discussing his fiercely positive vision for a grand-scale restoration of Earth’s ecosystems, George will advocate for the need to let nature take control of its own regeneration, drawing on breakthroughs in ecological science, Gaia theory and a wealth of his own research, to supports his arguments. Recognising that we as humans are embedded within our ecosystems, he will also demonstrate how rewilding can offer humanity a new and positive form of environmentalism at a time when we desperately need one, proving that a hopeful future for our planet, and ourselves, is possible. George Monbiot is a journalist, environmentalist and author well known for his environmental and political activism. He has written a number of bestselling books of which ‘Feral: Searching for Enchantment on the ­Frontiers of Rewilding‘ is his latest. George is also the founder of The Land is Ours– a peaceful campaign for the public right of access to the countryside in the UK.

*****

Press Reviews

Philip Hoare in The Sunday Telegraph:
“The book justifies its subtitle with rhapsodic descriptions of forays into the natural world. Whether kayaking off the British coast or walking the Kenyan bush, Monbiot – who studied zoology at Oxford – focuses our minds on what we have lost, and what we stand to gain. … as a passionate polemic, it could not be more rigorously researched, more elegantly delivered, or more timely. We need such big thinking for our own sakes and those of our children. Bring on the wolves and whales, I say, and, in the words of Maurice Sendak, let the wild rumpus start.”

For years the antinuclear movement has been saying to the general
public: pay attention to this information because this bad thing is
going to happen. And now, the really bad thing has happened. What have
we to say to the world now?

I think the current situation calls for a kind of tragic heroism, of the
sort expressed by Winston Churchill when it looked like Britain was
losing World War II. He gave a famous speech in which he said that the
British would never surrender. They would fight in the fields, they
would fight in the hedges, they would fight on the river banks, they
would fight to the last man, but they would never surrender.

Applied to the radioactive poisoning of the Pacific Ocean, I think our
attitude needs to be something like, “save as many species as you can,
you are not going to save them all. Protect as many people as you can,
you are not going to be able to protect them all, but never stop.”

In my mind I hear myself rewriting Churchill speech for the
post-Fukushima era. “We will never stop caring about life, no matter how
bad things get. We will never stop believing in life, no matter how much
of life is destroyed. We will never stop reaching out to care for other
people, and protect them as much as we can, even if we glow in the dark
from radiation, and keel over from leukemia. We will never give up.”

From: nonukes.org/
 

Prosperity consists in our ability to flourish as human beings – within the ecological limits of a finite planet. The challenge for our society is to create the conditions under which this is possible. It is the most urgent task of our times.

– Tim Jackson from Prosperity Without Growth

The entire book is available to read at https://www.sd-commission.org.uk/publications.php?id=914 as of this blog post.

Or buy it from the publisher: www.routledge.com/books/details/9781844078943/

A Guardian (UK) book review (2010):

www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jan/23/properity-without-growth-tim-jackson

A Sierra Club review (no date):

www.sierraclub.org/sustainable_consumption/prosperity.asp