Time
to Turn
Towards
a Sustainable Society
by Bo Lundberg
Translated into English by Clare James
Illustrated by Kerstin Abram-Nilsson
Price: 100 SKr
Order: [email protected]
Fax: 46-325-33326
About this book and its basic approach
Life on
Earth may be seen as a constantly changing whole made up of a vast number of
connections, large and small. From this viewpoint, all descriptions in words and
images appear more or less incomplete and provisional. In a variable world we
need to review our own world image continuously, using our imagination, emotions
and knowledge. What we do not experience, feel and think about for ourselves is
not true knowledge. Time to Turn should be read in this light.
Einstein claimed
that imagination is more important than knowledge. Without feeling, empathy and
a capacity to discover and innovate, our knowledge is dead. So the poetic
elements, the illustrations and the quotations in this book are important. The
ways in which we human beings observe, feel, think and evaluate our knowledge
determine how we shape our surroundings. The exterior landscape becomes a
reflection of the interior one: external environmental destruction results from
an inner "mental acidification". My absolute conviction is that the
basic cause of environ- mental problems must be sought in human beings'
perception of reality and attitude towards life. This is where essential changes
must take place. Einstein also said that "a new way of thinking is
necessary to solve the problems that the old way of thinking has created".
This prompts the question of whether our approach has been misguided and, if so,
where we have gone wrong and how we can put things right.
Another basic realisation is that each of us must take
individual responsibility for shaping our own lives. Specific, practical means
of relating to the environment vary, however, from one person to the next and in
time and space. So I think it is more important to discuss basic conditions and
connections than to give examples of practical solutions that work in one
particular situation but not in another, or only for a limited period. With
clear insight into natural conditions and well-chosen knowledge and experience,
each and every one of us can become the best expert on our own immediate
environment.
Since one main aim of Time to Turn is to provide a linguistic introduction to "environmental English", we have tried to make the language as clear and concise as possible. For anyone wishing to acquire a more detailed subject background, there is a veritable ocean of environmental facts to dip into - information on environmental issues is hardly in short supply. Presumably, too, most readers of this book already have considerable knowledge about nature and resources.
Price: 100 SKr
Order: [email protected]
Fax: 46-325-33326