Do you suffer from awareness that there is so much to do and so little time to do it? Where do any of us begin? Jeffrey Hollender, president and CEO of Seventh Generation and a member of the Board of Advisors of Earth Day 2000, helps with this encouraging advice:
"Grassroots action takes many forms. You may choose to be a vocal dissenter at public hearings on a proposed incinerator or a quiet consumer, using your buying power to support environmental action and social justice. … Have fun with the actions; choose the ones that really appeal to you. Do what you love and watch the world change!"
Hollender follows this inspiration with a sobering reminder that U.S. citizens could lose their independence through the carelessness of not taking initiative nor building community spirit. "When we contemplate the future of this country," he observes, it is our own apathy we should fear, not the magnitude of the problems we face." The problems, after all, can be addressed by our concern and responsible participation.
He and co-author Linda Catling next offer a wide-ranging and substantive section on building community. Suggested actions include creating community gardens, bartering, marching for parks, saving our schools, getting to know neighborhood kids, and coping with toys of war and destruction. Each suggestion provides specific tips and ways to be in touch with others already involved, a pattern which continues through chapters on raising the next generation, computer activism, the responsible consumer, and more.
In this updated and expanded edition, the authors pay special attention to the courage, persistence, and energy needed to tackle major problems which require action. You will find help whether you are concerned about protecting the environment; food, hunger, and agriculture; socially responsible banking and investing; being a responsible consumer; or working for pace, justice, and social change.
