Press Release - June 2005

For Immediate Release

A comprehensive primer on the history, evolution and future of the movement toward sustainability...

The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift
by Andrés R. Edwards

"No need to reinvent the sustainability wheel! In The Sustainability Revolution, Andrés Edwards collects a comprehensive set of sustainability principles into the definitive desk reference. The principles are complemented with an excellent overview of social movements and the evolution from environmentalism to sustainability. This book is a fundamental tool for those building a better world -- a must for your library!"

-- Randy Hayes, founder of Rainforest Action Network,
Director of Sustainability for the City of Oakland

"In The Sustainability Revolution, Andrés Edwards has written a compelling, practical guide to the rapidly evolving field of sustainability. Whether you're a business person, journalist, educator or citizen activist, this book illustrates dozens of ways the environment can be restored while at the same time opening up new economic opportunities."

Sustainability has become a buzzword in the last decade, but its full meaning is complex, emerging from a range of different sectors. In practice, it has become the springboard for millions of individuals throughout the world who are forging the fastest and most profound social transformation of our time — the Sustainability Revolution.

The Sustainability Revolution paints a picture of this largely unrecognized phenomenon from the point of view of five major sectors of society:

• Community (government and international institutions)
• Commerce (business)
• Natural Resources (forestry, farming, fisheries, etc.)
• Ecological Design (architecture, technology)
• Biosphere (conservation, biodiversity, etc.).

The book analyses sustainability as defined by each of these sectors in terms of the principles, declarations and intentions that have emerged from conferences and publications, and which serve as guidelines for policy decisions and future activities. Common themes are then explored, including:

• an emphasis on stewardship
• the need for economic restructuring promoting no waste and equitable distribution
• an understanding and respect for the principles of nature
• the restoration of life forms, and
• an intergenerational perspective on solutions.

Concluding that these themes in turn represent a new set of values that define this paradigm shift, The Sustainability Revolution describes innovative sustainable projects and policies in Colombia, Brazil, India and the Netherlands and examines future trends. Complete with a useful resources list, this is the first book of its kind and will appeal to business and government policy makers, academics, and all interested in sustainability.

About the Author

Andrés R. Edwards is an educator, author, media designer and environmental systems consultant who has specialized in sustainability topics for the past 15 years. The founder and president of EduTracks, an exhibit design and fabrication firm specializing in green building and sustainability education programs for parks, towns and companies, he lives in Northern California.

For more information about Andrés and his work, please visit: www.sustainabilityrevolution.com

For more information about New Society Publishers or to order additional copies, please visit: www.newsociety.com

224 pages 6" x 9"
Environmental Studies / Business & Economics
Pb ISBN 0-86571-531-9
US$16.95 / Can$22.95

Media Contact

Beth Anne Sobieszczyk
Email: BethAnne@newsociety.com
Ph: 250-383-5863