The Day the World Stops Shopping: How to have a better life and greener world

We can't stop shopping but we must stop shopping - the consumer dilemma that defines our lives and our future. This ground-breaking work of reporting and thought-experiment explores what would happen if we did. We can't stop shopping but we must stop shopping - the consumer dilemma that defines our lives and our future. What would happen if we did? We are using up the planet at almost double the rate it can regenerate. To support our economies, we're told we must shop now like we've never shopped before, yet the scale of our consumption remains the biggest factor in the ruination of the world. But what would life look like if we stopped? Visiting places where economies have experienced temporary shut-downs, artisan producers, zero-consumption societies and bringing together a host of expert views, this is both a history of our relationship with consumption and a story about the future. 'Lays out a wealth of knowledge and wisdom' Ronald Wright, author of A Short History of Progress

About the Author :
J.B. MacKinnon is the author or co-author of four books including The Once and Future World, which won the U.S. Green Prize for Sustainable Literature and The 100-Mile Diet, a bestseller widely recognized as a catalyst of the local foods movement. His award-winning writing appears in publications including the New Yorker, National Geographic and Reader's Digest. MacKinnon is an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and also works in the field of interactive documentaries. He lives with his partner in Vancouver, Canada. http-//jbmackinnon.com/

Review :
Lays out a wealth of knowledge and wisdom A delight. MacKinnon has given us a powerful exploration of a riddle central to our days and lives Stands out for its curiosity, humanity and genuinely global appreciation of why we consume too much and what to do about it An exciting and truly inspiring read. I couldn't put it down A delight. MacKinnon shows us afresh the world we thought we knew through a kaleidoscopic lens of startling facts, illuminating insight and flatout-wonderful writing. (Praise for The Once and Future World) In a large pool of often simplistic manuals for simple living, this book stands out for its curiosity, humanity and genuinely global appreciation of why we consume too much and what to do about it Dissecting the dilemma at civilization's heart - the burden that reckless growth heaps upon the faltering Earth - J.B. MacKinnon lays out a wealth of knowledge and wisdom in a gripping, page-turning read. With wit, precision, and startling insights from around the world, he looks deeply into what we have done, and might do so much better. A model of clarity and grace, The Day the World Stops Shopping is one of the most important and well-written books I have read A welcome and rare mix: a strong environmental argument and a jaunty picaresque. For the former, MacKinnon makes a convincing case that we need to shop less now. Green consumerism, in MacKinnon's telling, isn't just about buying ecologically-sound stuff or recycling our rubbish. It's about buying many fewer things, leaving us so much less to recycle in the first place. You will want to buy this book and after you read it, little else A provocative thought experiment that asks us to imagine what currently seems unthinkable, this is a beautifully written and rigorously researched revelation, an extraordinary creative journey to a place we urgently need to go. Full of hope and deep thought, unassuming and devoid of preaching, it is an exciting and truly inspiring read. I couldn't put it down A delight. MacKinnon has given us a powerful exploration of a riddle central to our days and lives: how we are what we buy, and how buying less might make us so much more