Because We Believe in the Future: Collected Essays on Sustainability, 1989-2009

When this book was first published, Alan AtKisson - author of the bestsellers "Believing Cassandra: How to be an Optimist in a Pessimist's World" and "Sustainability is for Everyone" - had already been traveling the world for over two decades to speak, write, and consult on sustainability. This book brings together the best of his essays, articles, speeches and blog posts, from the first twenty years of his career. AtKisson, selected into the International Sustainability Hall of Fame in 2013, has long been a leading figure in sustainable development. He has served as an advisor to governments, companies and the United Nations (he is currently a public official in Sweden). His early writing serves as a guided tour through the emergence of sustainability during that period, from a specific, personal perspective. The collection also reflects just how quickly sustainability rose to prominence during that time: in the first essay, AtKisson is reflecting on the seemingly impossible task of waking up the world to the challenge of global warming, writing from a small basement office in Seattle. By the closing piece, he is reporting on an enormous gathering of world leaders, negotiating the fate of the planet at a climate summit in Copenhagen. At times serious, at times funny or edgily ironic, AtKisson's essays are engaging windows onto the world of sustainability that are always fresh and always aim to inspire.