The World We Have

The lakes and the rivers have begun to dry up. The forests are fast disappearing, the desert is growing, and yet we continue to consume. In Thich Nhat Hanh's most exciting and provocative book in years, he offers a dramatic vision of the future of our planet, a world overheated by the fossil fuels that we are rapidly depleting, a world suffering from its inhabitants violent and ignorant ways of consuming, and a planet with more than 10 times as many people to support as before the fossil-fuel era began. Thich Nhat Hanh links his contemplation of environmental destruction in the world around us, to the Buddhist teachings of the impermanence of all things. Rather than seeing the nature of impermanence as reason to passively accept environmental destruction, he demonstrates how this teaching can offer inner peace and the possibility of using our collective wisdom and technology to help restore the Earth's balance. Buddhism's teaching of the interrelatedness of all life forms may be critical to the recovery of humanity's balance with nature. Thich Nhat Hanh cites examples of projects his own monastic community has undertaken that can serve as models for any community. His " No Car Day" observed once a week, and the "Earth Peace Treaty Commitment Sheet" both can impact our ecological footprint on the Earth. While cautionary in telling about the fate of earlier societies who outran the potential for their environment, and taking the long view of the human species, The World We Have remains a hopeful book. Thich Nhat Hanh not only shares what he sees ahead of us, but also gives us hope and a path to go on, and the conviction and courage that enable us to stay on that path. Includes Thich Nhat Hanh's speech at UNESCO from October 2006 introducing his proposal for a global "No Car Day."

Thich Nhat Hanh is one of the most revered Zen teachers in the world today. His best-selling books include Happiness and Peace Is Every Step. He lives in Plum Village in southwest France,his meditation and retreat center in France, where he teaches the art of mindful living.

Alan Weisman is the author of five books, including The World Without Us, an international bestseller translated into more than thirty languages, and Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World. His reports from around the world have appeared in Harper's, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, Orion, Wilson Quarterly, Mother Jones, Discover; and on National Public Radio and in Best American Science Writing. He is a senior radio producer for Homelands Productions, and leads an annual field program in international journalism at the University of Arizona, where he is Laureate Professor in Journalism and Latin American Studies. He and his wife, sculptor Beckie Kravetz, live in western Massachusetts.