ABSTRACT

After centuries of economic activity based on extraction, exploitation, and depletion, we now face undeniable environmental threats. New business models that save or restore natural resources are critical. But how can we translate that insight into more sustainable practices?
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<br><i>Building the Green Economy</> shows how community groups, families, and individual citizens have taken action to protect their food and water, clean up their neighborhoods, and strengthen their local economies. Their unlikely victories—over polluters, unresponsive bureaucracies, and unexamined routines—dramatize the opportunities and challenges facing the local green economy movement.
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<br>Drawing on their extensive experience at Global Exchange and elsewhere, the authors also:
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<br>Lay out strategies for a more successful green movement
<br>Describe how communities have protected their victories from legal and political challenges
<br>Provide key resources for local activists
<br>Include conversations with Rocky Anderson, Lois Gibbs, Anuradha Mittal, David Morris, Michael Shuman, and other activists and leaders.
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chapter |14 pages

Sick and Tired of Living Next to (S)hell

Residents Force an Oil Giant to Pay for Toxic Terror

chapter |4 pages

Conversation

chapter |12 pages

Sludge Busters

Porter, Pennsylvania Sets New Rules for Corporations

chapter |4 pages

Conversation

chapter |2 pages

What You Can Do

Neither Paper Nor Plastic

chapter |11 pages

Green Acres in the Windy City

Urban Farming Grows Food Justice in Chicago

chapter |4 pages

Conversation

chapter |14 pages

Seeds of Change

Dakota Farmers Give Monsanto the Boot

chapter |5 pages

Conversation

chapter |10 pages

Loggers & Lizards Find Common Ground

Saving an Oregon Watershed

chapter |7 pages

Green Revolution

Urban Organic Agriculture in Cuba

chapter |4 pages

Street Beets

Urban Farmers Get Hip to Growing

chapter |1 pages

What You Can Do

Get It Fresh From the Farm

chapter |15 pages

Breaking the Chains

Parents and Locals Transform a Juvenile Prison

chapter |4 pages

Conversation

chapter |10 pages

Culture Shift in the Land of the Giants

A California County Redefines Corporate Rights

chapter |5 pages

Conversation

chapter |6 pages

Patriot Actions

Citizens Organize to Defend the Constitution

chapter |3 pages

What You Can Do

Take Over City Hall

chapter |8 pages

Give Me an “E”

Rival Colleges Compete for Sustainability

chapter |4 pages

Conversation

chapter |8 pages

Beyond Hot Air

Cities Lead the U.S. on Tackling Climate Change

chapter |3 pages

Conversation

chapter |2 pages

Crude Awakening

The Peak Oil Challenge

chapter |10 pages

Harnessing the Saudi Arabia of Wind

The Rosebud Sioux Bring Renewable Energy to the Dakotas

chapter |2 pages

What You Can Do

Plug Into the Movement

chapter |13 pages

Putting Mom and Pop First

Utah Promotes Local Business and Town Character

chapter |6 pages

Conversation

chapter |7 pages

Green Grapes

Fetzer Winery Cultivates a Triple Bottom Line

chapter |7 pages

No Boss

Worker-Owned Co-ops Redefine Office Politics

chapter |4 pages

Conversation

chapter |4 pages

Conversation

chapter |2 pages

What You Can Do

Buy Close By

chapter |11 pages

Conclusion

Building the Movement