ABSTRACT
The first three chapters of Psychology for Sustainability, 5th edition, comprise the section What on Earth Are We Doing. The first two chapters familiarize readers with the ecological crisis and its origins, and this third chapter provides a vision for a sustainable future. Sustainability will require radical changes to individual lifestyles and larger systems. Individuals can innovate, initiate, and influence changes that move society toward sustainability. The chapter begins with discussion of several important ecological principles that are derived from natural sciences and are consistent with Indigenous worldviews around the globe. These ecological principles can be used as heuristics to counter the dominant social paradigm of the industrialized world, guiding sustainable and, better yet, regenerative behavior: All life is interdependent, small actions can have big consequences, life systems are circular, there are limits to growth, diversity equals resilience, and a bonus decision-making principle that upstream solutions are better than downstream solutions. Thinking ecologically is only the first of many steps needed to actually move in a sustainable direction. Knowledge must be translated into ideas, ideas into plans, plans into action. A sampling of inspirational ideas and exemplary innovations are offered to help spur individual transformation. Strategies revisit two components of the ecological footprint described in Chapter 1—food and material goods—illustrating that people are turning sustainability aspirations into reality. Examples include alternative approaches to production and consumption that can significantly reduce, and in some cases even rectify, the negative ecological impact of food, clothing, shelters, and myriad other possessions.
