Lester W. Milbrath is the Director of the Research Program in Environment and Society and Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Sociology at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is the author of many books, including Envisioning a Sustainable Society: Learning Our Way Out and Environmentalists: Vanguard for a New Society, both published by SUNY Press.

• List of Figures Foreword Preface Acknowledgments 1. Introduction 2. Beliefs Empower and Deceive Us 3. The Hidden Danger in Doubling Times 4. Learning to Think Systemically 5. Matter and Energy Cannot Be Destroyed 6. Driving a Car Has Multiple Consequences 7. The Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming 8. Scattering Matter and Energy 9. Dynamic Natural Systems Stabilized by Diversity 10. Limits to the Earth's Capacity to Support People 11. The Tragedy of the Commons 12. The Earth: Both Source and Sink 13. Distinguishing Development from Growth 14. Distinguishing Sustainability from Sustainable Development 15. Choosing Wise Policies 16. Theories of Social Change 17. Next Steps Recommended Further Reading Index of Key Concepts

"Milbrath's book is deceptively modest. It confronts inescapable facts of limits and our place as animals within the global biosphere. For all who care about what we are leaving for our children and grandchildren, this is an important contribution." — David T. Suzuki, from the Foreword