Choices for Sustainable Living Workshop

Overview of Sessions

Session Theme	Description	Readings*
Session 1 A Call to Sustainability	In this session, participants consider ways of grasping the meaning and vision of sustainability, our roles in creating a sustainable world, and the tools that can help us in this endeavor.	You Are Brilliant, and the Earth is Hiring by Paul Hawken Our Home on Earth by Winona LaDuke Systems Thinking: A Necessary Perspective in our Changing World by the Worldwatch Institute A Systems Thinking Model: The Iceberg
Session 2 Ecological Principles	Ecological principles are a core component of sustainability. In this session, participants explore ecological principles and how to apply them to address some of the big, complex issues we currently face.	You Can’t Do Just One Thing: A Conversation with Richard Heinberg by Michael K. Stone The Refugee Crisis is a Sign of a Planet in Trouble by David Korten The Earth Is Full by Paul Gilding Too Many People, Too Much Consumption by Paul Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich
Session 3 Food	Eating is an essential natural process for all living organisms, yet many of us have limited awareness of how our eating habits impact the natural world. In this session, participants look at some of the complex issues we currently face in our food systems, as well as various practical steps to take toward producing and eating food sustainably.	What’s Eating America by Michael Pollan Stalking the Vegetannual by Barbara Kingsolver From Food Security to Food Sovereignty by Antonio Roman-Alcalá Beyond ‘Free’ or ‘Fair’ Trade: Mexican Farmers Go Local by Mike Wold We Can Feed the World with the Food We Waste by Joanne Will
Session 4 Water	Water is essential to our survival, and yet all too often we take this precious, limited resource for granted. In this session, participants consider their own water consumption and the ways in which humans affect water resources both locally and globally.	Water is Life by Osprey Orielle Lake How Your Diet Contributes to Water Pollution by Paul Greenberg The Oceans are Drowning in Plastic… by Dominique Mosbergen The Race to Save Florida’s Devastated Coral Reef from Global Warming by Chris Mooney
Session 5 Community	In their local communities, individuals can often see the power of their collective actions more clearly. How can we build supportive, interdependent relationships that help move communities to a more sustainable way of living?	Six Foundations for Building Community Resilience by Daniel Lerch Connecting the Lots by Diana Budds What it Looks Like When Communities Make Racial Justice a Priority by Zeobia Jeffries and Araz Hachadourian
Session 6 Transportation	This session looks at some of the transportation related problems we face and how some places are redesigning their communities for the benefit of people instead of cars.	Reimagining Our Streets as Places… by Annah MacKenzie The Environmental Cost of Free 2-Day Shipping by Andy Murdock America’s ‘Worst Walking City’ Gets Back on Its Feet by Jay Walljasper Millennials in Transit by Derek Prall Retrofitting Suburbia: Communities Innovate Their Way Out of Sprawl by Erin Sagen
Session 7 Consumption & Economy	For decades, increasing material consumption has been heralded as the key to economic progress and an indication of “the good life.” In this session, we challenge the ethos of consumer culture and offer suggestions for living more simply and justly on Earth.	What Isn’t for Sale? by Michael J. Sandel Bringing People Back Into the Economy by Vandana Shiva Beyond Consumerism by New Dream
Session 8 Visions of Sustainability	In this session, participants examine the underlying assumptions and beliefs that have created our current systems. How can we envision a sustainable world, and how can we start creating it right now?	Neoliberalism Has Conned Us Into Fighting Climate Change as Individuals by Martin Lukacs Hope is What We Become in Action by Fritjof Cabra and Frances Moore Lappé Why Social Movements Need the Radical Imagination by Alex Hhasnabish and Max Haiven Envisioning A Sustainable World by Donella H. Meadows

*Note: Readings and videos are not long. The maximum time spent per session will be 2-3 hours every two weeks.