"We borrow from the earth's bank of resources something like $32 billion a year, and we don't seem the least bit interested in paying it back," notes 86-year-old David Brower, who was executive director of the Sierra Club for 17 years. The founder of Friends of the Earth talks about his lifelong interest in the marvels of the natural world. He shares his experiences of trying to keep dams out of Dinosaur National Monument and the Grand Canyon. He salutes the few corporations that have demonstrated an ecological conscience.
In the future, he asserts, we will have to redefine progress so that it honors the preciousness of nature. Subduing the earth is a concept that must be banished from our thinking. Brower's philosophy of conservation, preservation, and restoration makes much more sense.