New Frontiers: From Consumerism to Sustainability

FROM CONSUMERISM TO SUSTAINABILITY

NEW FRONTIERS – FOUR

Resource depletion, mounting waste and climate change – more and more people are coming to realize that unfettered consumerism is neither sustainable nor a pathway to joy and meaning in life. From de-cluttering closets to imagining alternative models of running an economy, there is a wealth of interesting ideas out there on how to modify our unsustainable consumerist habits.

FEATURE

Longread

This 7 min. read saves you up to 36 hours

For your knowledge advantage, we put together the most actionable insights from 8 getAbstract summaries (7 books with a total of 1785 pages and one article) on this topic. If you did this work yourself, you would be busy for at least 2135 minutes (about 36 hours). Learn more.

Saving the World Through Business

Patagonia’s founder Yvon Chouinard led his company down the road less traveled and became a model for businesses to do well while doing good.

IN CONVERSATION

“The Focus is ‘Enough’ Rather Than ‘More’”

This 10 min. read saves you up to 5 hours

For your knowledge advantage, we put together the most actionable insights from one getAbstract summary (one book with a total of 240 pages) on this topic. If you did this work yourself, you would be busy for at least 278 minutes (about 5 hours). Learn more.

“The Focus is ‘Enough’ Rather Than ‘More’”

The mainstream economics notion that unfettered growth accompanied by greater consumption and productivity benefits society is false, argues Rob Dietz, Program Director at the Post Carbon Institute.

This 18 min. read saves you up to 13 hours

For your knowledge advantage, we put together the most actionable insights from 2 getAbstract summaries (2 books with a total of 624 pages) on this topic. If you did this work yourself, you would be busy for at least 731 minutes (about 13 hours). Learn more.

“Lack of Competition Generates Hubris…”

…and unfortunately, this also applies to the economic system the world largely adopted and is now relying on: capitalism. The world’s leading inequality scholar, Branko Milanović talks about global income disparities, resurgent ideologies and the most promising strategies for dealing with both.

FEATURED SUMMARIES

John Cassidy

Can We Have Prosperity Without Growth?

Slowing down without falling over...can it be done?

The New Yorker

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Branko Milanović

Capitalism, Alone

Global convergence has now made it a capitalist’s world, but political approaches differ.

Belknap Press

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William McDonough and Michael Braungart

The Upcycle

Thoughtful innovation can fuel a quantum leap in environmental solutions.

North Point Press

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Klaus Schwab

Davos Manifesto 2020

It’s high time for companies to adopt a stakeholder-centric business model.

World Economic Forum

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Tatiana Schlossberg

Inconspicuous Consumption

Your choices as an informed consumer and voter can make a difference and help restore the environment.

Grand Central

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David Biello

The Unnatural World

How can humanity best thrive in a world it has permanently changed?

Scribner

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FEATURES

SUPPLY CHAINS

It’s not just about toilet paper anymore. Perhaps you can’t get your prescription filled. Or you may wonder why your garage extension project ended up being so expensive. What’s going on?

POLLINATORS

This 7 min. read saves you up to 17 hours

For your knowledge advantage, we put together the most actionable insights from 6 getAbstract summaries (3 books with a total of 816 pages and 3 articles) on this topic. If you did this work yourself, you would be busy for at least 973 minutes (about 17 hours). Learn more.

The Buzz On Bees

Bees and other pollinators are vital to the food chain.

SCIENCE

This 13 min. read saves you up to 32 hours

For your knowledge advantage, we put together the most actionable insights from 3 getAbstract summaries (3 books with a total of 1599 pages) on this topic. If you did this work yourself, you would be busy for at least 1906 minutes (about 32 hours). Learn more.

“We Lead the World in Science, and We Also Lead the World in Opposition to Science”

Jared Diamond, world-famous historian of societal crises and collapses, on why “denial” was and is one of America’s society’s biggest problems.

FUTURE LIFE

This 14 min. read saves you up to 26 hours

For your knowledge advantage, we put together the most actionable insights from 11 getAbstract summaries (4 books with a total of 1274 pages, 5 articles and one video) on this topic. If you did this work yourself, you would be busy for at least 1515 minutes (about 26 hours). Learn more.

Smart and Smarter Cities

What Makes a Place Smart? It’s All About Infrastructure

CLIMATE

This 7 min. read saves you up to 17 hours

For your knowledge advantage, we put together the most actionable insights from 8 getAbstract summaries (3 books with a total of 822 pages, 4 articles and one video) on this topic. If you did this work yourself, you would be busy for at least 980 minutes (about 17 hours). Learn more.

Climate Change Solutions Gone Wild

Rewilding – a low-tech solution to reducing carbon emissions – revitalizes ecosystems and protects biodiversity.

TRANSFORMATION

What is the Fourth Industrial Revolution?

This 2 min. read saves you up to 57 hours

For your knowledge advantage, we put together the most actionable insights from 27 getAbstract summaries (9 books with a total of 2832 pages, 12 articles and 2 videos) on this topic. If you did this work yourself, you would be busy for at least 3397 minutes (about 57 hours). Learn more.

What is the Fourth Industrial Revolution?

A convergence of technologies is swiftly transforming the world. Are you ready for its perils and opportunities?

REVIEW

Stop Burning Coal and Start Pricing Carbon

Nobel Prize winner William D. Nordhaus details the complexity of the political and economic responses to climate change.

POLITICS

How to Deal with Political Discussions in the Workplace

This 6 min. read saves you up to 116 hours

For your knowledge advantage, we put together the most actionable insights from 23 getAbstract summaries (21 books with a total of 5761 pages and 2 articles) on this topic. If you did this work yourself, you would be busy for at least 6908 minutes (about 116 hours). Learn more.

How to Deal with Political Discussions in the Workplace

In functional democracies, political discussions among citizens are a regular part of interpersonal exchange. That this causes problems in the workplace is a topic as old as democracy itself. But how about solutions?

FOCUS

This 11 min. read saves you up to 21 hours

For your knowledge advantage, we put together the most actionable insights from 6 getAbstract summaries (3 books with a total of 1019 pages and 2 articles) on this topic. If you did this work yourself, you would be busy for at least 1212 minutes (about 21 hours). Learn more.

FOCUS: Climate Change

Perhaps this year, after all the attention garnered by climate strikes in 2019, will be the year of practicable proposals for climate solutions. The effects of lockdowns, such as hugely improved air quality in many…

RESILIENCE

“Burnout Is Insidious: It Sneaks Up on You, Gradually Gnawing Away at You Over Time.”

This 18 min. read saves you up to 6 hours

For your knowledge advantage, we put together the most actionable insights from one getAbstract summary (one book with a total of 304 pages) on this topic. If you did this work yourself, you would be busy for at least 347 minutes (about 6 hours). Learn more.

“Burnout Is Insidious: It Sneaks Up on You, Gradually Gnawing Away at You Over Time.”

Jacinta Jiménez, author of The Burnout Fix, on prevention, treatment and reintegration in case of burnout – a topic that still too few people talk about or act on.

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