Product Description

It would be a perfect world if everyone could quit their jobs and devote themselves fully to the causes they believed in. Instead, The Better World Handbook shows caring, but busy people how to live out their progressive values and have a life! The principle behind this engaging guide is to incorporate everyday activism into even the most mundane areas of our lives - like grocery shopping, banking, eating, reading the newspaper, and working.

The book begins with a concise summary of our society's most pressing problems that lead directly to seven foundations necessary for building a better world: economic fairness, comprehensive peace, ecological sustainability, deep democracy, social justice, a culture of simplicity, and revitalized community. Subsequent chapters are organized around intuitive topics such as Food, Money, Transportation, Work, and Media, focusing on activities that support the seven foundations for a better world. A purchase can allow a locally owned business to thrive; money invested in the right bank can create opportunities for poor communities; a vacation can contribute to preserving wilderness areas; tuning-in to public and alternative media can put readers back in control of their thoughts, feelings and values that mainstream media marginalize.

Practical and extremely well researched by four university instructors who have synthesized knowledge from a wide variety of sources, The Better World Handbook provides readers with the essential information they need to take effective actions that will make a difference across the entire spectrum of the world's problems.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #309696 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 300 pages

From the Publisher
It would be a perfect world if everyone could quit their jobs and devote themselves fully to the causes they believed in. The Better World Handbook shows ordinary, caring people how to live out their values and have a life as well! The principle behind this informative and user-friendly guide is to incorporate everyday activism into even the most mundane areas of our busy lives-like grocery shopping, banking, eating, reading the newspaper, and working.

From the Author
We have written The Better World Handbook as the definitive guide for the average person wanting to make a real difference in the world. Our book is specifically written for well-intentioned people who may be too busy to be actively involved in social change organizations. Our intention is to reach people who normally would not consider themselves activists, people who care about creating a more just and socially responsible world for everyone but don't know where to begin.

Our book answers 3 basic questions: 1. What stops people from getting involved in making a difference in the world?, 2. What are the major challenges facing our world?, and finally 3. What can the average person do in their everyday life to make the world better? This final question is what makes up the core of the book.

6 Things That Set This Book Apart From Others:

1. Action Oriented

The real strength of The Better World Handbook lies in its simple, concrete actions. Too many books discuss the world's problems without offering actions that the average person can take to make a difference. Our book is completely action oriented. We give you all the necessary information, making each action as simple as possible. We also encourage you to interact with the book by writing notes and checking off the actions you complete.

2. Intuitive Organization

We have organized The Better World Handbook in the most intuitive way possible. Chapters in most books about social change relate to general topics rather than concrete areas of life. People are not accustomed to thinking about their lives in this way. We organize The Better World Handbook intuitively, according to areas of people's everyday lives. People are more likely to take actions related to concrete areas of their own lives such as Shopping, Food, and Travel rather than general problems like 'Saving the Environment,' 'Bringing Peace to the World,' or 'Working for Social Justice.' You will find actions in every part of your life that can make a positive difference in the world.

3. Written For The Average Person We have written The Better World Handbook for the average person. Too often, books on social change are oriented towards academics or activists already in social change networks. While our book may appeal to those audiences, we wish to reach average well-intentioned people who care about the world but have little time, interest, or resources to engage in 'traditional' activism. To this end, we keep the overall tone of the book positive and solution focused so as not to weigh down the reader with the world's problems.

4. Everyday Activism The Better World Handbook offers actions that most people can take NOW. Many books propose grand solutions to social problems but fail to offer immediate, everyday actions for the reader to take. For example, most people will not picket a corporation's headquarters, but they may boycott a corporation's products if they use sweatshop labor. Whenever possible, we suggest actions connected to everyday life.

5. Comprehensive Approach The Better World Handbook covers a range of values and social problems, integrating corresponding actions into every area of the reader's life. Many books are 'single issue' oriented; they focus exclusively on the environment, political activism, or social justice. Our book is much more comprehensive, guiding you towards the possibility of living out your values in every aspect of your life. We also thoroughly research a variety of global problems, offering a creative, comprehensive vision for a better world.

6. Engaging Format We have written and designed The Better World Handbook in the most engaging way possible. Believing that we must engage you, the reader, before you will ever consider our actions, we include icons, text boxes, cartoons, graphs, checklists, tables, resources and imagery. We keep the tone positive, inspiring the reader by demonstrating the difference she or he can make in the world through simple lifestyle changes.

From the Back Cover
You don’t have to be an activist to make a difference in the world!

The Better World Handbook is the essential guide for busy people who care about making the world a better place but don’t know where to begin. We provide you with a wide range of simple, effective actions and let you choose which ones best suit your life. We’ll show you how you can easily contribute to a better world while you eat, read, shop, walk, bank, travel, work, and even sleep!

ECONOMIC FAIRNESS

COMPREHENSIVE PEACE

ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY

DEEP DEMOCRACY

SOCIAL JUSTICE

CULTURE OF SIMPLICITY

REVITALIZED COMMUNITY

Customer Reviews

Simple changes in our lives can make a big difference.
The Better World Handbook is an amazing guide to healthy everyday living. It has information on how to better ourselves individually and how we can include ourselves in the community to make it a better place for everyone. It has a great shopping guide to choose the best stores, who are the most environmentally and socially friendly, to shop at. Brett Johnson is an excellent sociologist and writer. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to make a positive change, without having to live in a tree.

My Personal Bible
Hands down, the most practical and informative resource available for those interested in living an ethical life. Most of us want to do what is right but lack the proper information to realize our deepest values in action. We want to save the rainforest; we want to purchase products that are ecologically sound; we want to end war, famine, and every other ill that plagues humanity, but we have very little understanding of how our everyday actions add up. This book will help you rediscover your relationship with the rest of the globe, understand your power to make the world better, and help turn your values into effective actions.

What does the book cover? The first 50 pages of the book are the most concise and profound outline of contemporary problems I have ever encountered. What are those problems we all face? The "challenges" this book outlines and tackles include:: economic inequality, Third World debt, corporate sweatshops, war, militarization, the death penalty, media violence, natural resource depletion, air pollution and climate change, ecosystem destruction, overpopulation, lack of democracy, money in politics, media monopoly, inequality of women, racism, heterosexism, inadequate hHealth care, prisons, advertising overload, commercialization of childhood, materialism and overconsumption, fragmented communities, and finally a certain loss of our humanity.

Not to worry, though, there is no reason for cynicism. The authors are young and vibrant, and their passion for social change bleeds off the page. The first section of the book also deals with the "the cycle of cynicism" and its alternative philosophy, "the cycle of hope." In other words, this book will not make you feel apathetic or miserable about the aforementioned social and ecological problems that affect us all. The first ten pages will attune you to the many thought traps that stop us from making a difference in the world. Some common thought traps include:

"That's just the way the world works;" "It's not my responsibility;" "One person can't make a difference;" "It seems overwhelming;" "I don't know enough about the issues;" "I don't know where to begin," -- to name a few.

Although these modes of thinking can be very seductive, the authors provide many cogent reasons and examples stating why they simply do not work. After reading the section, I was thoroughly convinced that all the challenges outlined above are soluble through the combined efforts of solitary individuals like myself. A very motivating section.

After listing the problems and the thought traps that keep us from overcoming them, the authors then outline hundreds of actions we can all implement in our everyday life. The spheres of action they cover include:: banking and investing, shopping, food, personal lifestyle choices, friends and family, community, home, work, media, politics, travel, and involvement with organizations.

The variety and quality of these actions show an extreme breadth of research and awareness on the part of the authors. You find tons of references that lead back to the outside world:: including organizations and their websites, further reading suggestions, alternative media venues, along with action allert email lists and alternative newsgroups. The authors have clearly done their homework, which makes sense being that they are all teachers.

"The Better World Handbook" is nothing short of a bible for the new millennium. It is the book I have always wanted to find in the bookstore but which never existed until now. Do whatever it takes to get a copy in your hands, and start living your values. You might also want to check out The Better World Handbook website, which any search should locate. Best of luck!

Be the change you're hoping for.
Mahatma Gandhi said that we must be the change we wish to see in the world (p. 1). This is also the premise of THE BETTER WORLD HANDBOOK, which demonstrates that you don't have to be a Ghandhi, Mother Teresa, Cesar Chavez, or Martin Luther King, Jr. to make a positive difference in the world. By turning our good intentions into everyday actions, even ordinary people can make a profound impact on our local and global communities.

The authors of this definitive, 291-page handbook are college instructors and Ph.D candidates at the University of Colorado, Boulder. (Okay, so some Boulder residents believe that the rest of the planet rotates around our city. But when it comes to serious issues of land development, diversity, endangered species, public smoking, chain stores and restaurants, shopping malls, alternatives to SUVs, and recycling, there is indeed much for the rest of our country to learn from this very special community.) THE BETTER WORLD HANDBOOK first identifies the problems facing our planet. For instance, while "we have become a nation of sleepwalkers" (p. 1), the wealthiest 20 percent of the world's population earns 30 times as much income as the poorest 20 percent (p. 13). The average American CEO makes 475 times as much as the average worker (p. 13). The richest 1 percent of Americans own almost as much wealth as the bottom 95 percent of the U. S. population (p. 14). The average American consumes as much energy as two Germans, six Mexicans, twelve Chinese, twenty-nine Indians, or 117 Bangladeshi (p. 25). Air pollution kills nearly 70,000 Americans every year (p. 25). Development results in the extinction of 137 species each day, while the world's population grows by 212,000 people a day (p. 26). Our children watch 20,000 to 40,000 commercials on television every year (p. 42).

After confronting these alarming statistics, in an easy-to-read format, the HANDBOOK then reveals how we can make the world a better place through our actions involving money, shopping, food, friends and family, community, work, transportation, and travel. For example, the authors encourage us to vote, invest in socially responsible companies, take a daily walk, get to know our neighbors, ride a bike to work or take the bus, work less, shop locally and buy less stuff, eat organic foods and less meat, watch less tv, volunteer, recycle, and appreciate others. They even go so far as to offer suggestions for our personal transformation, cultivating emotional and spiritual well-being, maintaining physical health, and taking time for reflection in our lives. Offering us words to live by, THE BETTER WORLD HANDBOOK is sure to become a trusted resource for anyone hoping to change the world through the power of one.

G. Merritt