Flipping the script on climate change, Eisenstein makes a case for a wholesale reimagining of the framing, tactics, and goals we employ in our journey to heal from ecological destruction
 
With research and insight, Charles Eisenstein details how the quantification of the natural world leads to a lack of integration and our “fight” mentality. With an entire chapter unpacking the climate change denier’s point of view, he advocates for expanding our exclusive focus on carbon emissions to see the broader picture beyond our short-sighted and incomplete approach. The rivers, forests, and creatures of the natural and material world are sacred and valuable in their own right, not simply for carbon credits or preventing the extinction of one species versus another. After all, when you ask someone why they first became an environmentalist, they’re likely to point to the river they played in, the ocean they visited, the wild animals they observed, or the trees they climbed when they were a kid. This refocusing away from impending catastrophe and our inevitable doom cultivates meaningful emotional and psychological connections and provides real, actionable steps to caring for the earth. Freeing ourselves from a war mentality and seeing the bigger picture of how everything from prison reform to saving the whales can contribute to our planetary ecological health, we resist reflexive postures of solution and blame and reach toward the deep place where commitment lives.

Continuing his path-breaking inquiries into inner and outer transformation, Eisenstein addresses the current crisis of ecological degradation and how to get out of the war mentality of "fighting" climate change.

This groundbreaking book takes on the flaw in our problem-solving strategy that lies at the heart of our current crises--ecological, medical, educational, political, and more. Freeing ourselves from a war mentality and seeing the bigger picture of how everything from prison reform to saving the whales can contribute to our planetary ecological health, Charles Eisenstein takes up the powerful themes of inner and outer transformation, the convergence of activism and spirituality, and the multiple crises we face as a society and as individuals. By recognizing the many aspects that play into the overall environmental crises, rather than looking for one cause or culprit, we are adopting a healthier and more workable strategy.

Eisenstein details with research and insight how the quantification of the natural world leads to this lack of integration and our "fight" mentality. With an entire chapter unpacking the climate change denier's point of view, Eisenstein advocates for expanding our exclusive focus on carbon emissions to see the broader picture. When we resist reflexive postures of solution and blame, we reach toward the deep place where commitment lives. We need to see nature and the material world--the rivers, forests, and creatures--as sacred and valuable in their own right, not simply for carbon credits or preventing the extinction of one species versus another. We must recognize that everything is interdependent, feel the hurts of the planet, and let the resulting grief open us to transformation and empathy.