Sustainability: Health and Well being

How ecosystems work -- Maintaining a green equilibrium -- Stewardship and its perils -- The challenge of restoration ecology -- Catastrophes of the past -- A blending of genetic equilibria -- Ex-Africa semper aliquid novi -- Blending and balance in our gene pool -- The intertwined histories of humans and their ecosystems -- Learning from our history -- Green equilibria and the origin of our pretty good brains -- Green equilibrium is more than a metaphor -- L'Envoi.

Mozambique -- The mosquito's bite -- Sobering predictions -- Every breath you take -- Harvest of trouble -- Sea change -- Forests in trouble -- Storms and sickness -- The ailing Earth -- Gaining green by going green -- Healthy solutions -- Of rice and tractors -- Rewriting the rules.

Introduction: Nature-deficit disorder for adults -- Pt. 1: Nature neurons: intelligence, creativity, and the hybrid mind. Singing for bears ; The hybrid mind -- Pt. 2: Vitamin N: tapping the power of the natural world for our physical, emotional, and family fitness. The garden ; Fountains of life ; Re-naturing the psyche ; The deep green high ; The nature prescription -- Pt. 3: Near is the new far: knowing who you are by knowing where you are. Searching for your one true place ; The incredible experience of being where you are ; Welcome to the neighborhood ; The purposeful place ; The bonding

Introduction -- What is a green career and where are the green jobs? -- pt. I. Green career profiles -- Engineering group -- Chemical engineers, including green chemical engineers -- Civil engineering technicians -- Civil engineers, including green building, irrigation/reservoir and waste management engineers -- Conservation, biological and agricultural engineers -- Electrical engineering technicians, including photovoltaic, wind and biomass energy technicians -- Electrical engineers, including recycling, solar/photovoltaic, wind and biomass engineers -- Environmental engineering and pollution control technicians

Beginnings -- The wounds -- Changing perspectives -- The power of the tree -- Sacred groves, sacred no more -- Gratitude and respect -- Self-empowerment -- Self-knowledge -- The commitment to service -- Spirituality meets activism -- Responding to the call to serve

What's in a tree? -- Enchanted nature, animism -- The original spiritual ecologists, indigenous peoples -- Ecologically noble or ignoble? -- Natural wisdom and action, the Buddha -- Medieval radical, Saint Francis of Assisi -- The spirit of Walden, Henry David Thoreau -- Wilderness disciple, John Muir -- Spiritual science, Rudolf Steiner -- Nature as Thou, Martin Buber -- Challenging Christians, Lynn White, Jr. -- Supernovas -- Can a poet save nature? W.S. Merwin -- Reconnecting, Joanna Macy -- Green patriarch, Bartholomew I -- To plant a tree, Wangari Maathai -- Desert spirituality, Burning Man -- Avatar, opening Pandora's box, James Cameron -- Atheist spiritual ecology, Donald A. Crosby -- Natural theology, Alister E. McGrath -- Secularization of the sacred, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.

Environmental issues continue to divide opinion, sometimes in extreme ways. Almost everyone agrees that education has a role to play in ensuring the future of humanity on Earth. Some think we should all learn to leave a minimal environmental footprint; others argue that education should promote economic growth, because only growth can generate the capital needed to develop solutions to environmental problems. Advocates on each side often find the views of their opponents simply incredible, giving rise to accusations of bad faith or poor science. This book explores the foundations of the debate by examining human interrelations with Nature.