Earthfuture: Stories from a Sustainable World

1999 Dauncey, Guy. Earthfuture: Stories from a Sustainable World. Gabriola Island, BC, Canada: New Society Publishers. PSt

Stories and poems, only one of which is noted as having been previously published, that depict an environmental eutopia and the means of achieving it. A couple of failures are also included. Each of the stories is followed by a note on the current situation regarding the issues raised in the story. “Donald’s Street” (22-38) is set in 2006 and described the development of neighborhood ties that create an ecovillage within a city. “Cobble Hills” (79-83) is set in 2009 and is on ecovillages. “The Economists’ Celebration” (121-125) is set in 2012 and is among the most explicitly eutopian of the stories in that it briefly shows the results of a new form of governmental budgeting in which it is recognized that all expenses are connected. The main example given is that spending money on youth a community development is much cheaper than spending money on crime and prisons, but the principle is extended to many different areas and produces a much better world. “Nurjahan’s Story” (127-140) is set in Bangladesh in 2013 and shows the long term impact of the Grameen Bank. The message of the book is: “There is no other person who is going to do it. There is only you and me and friends who share in the spirit. This is our planet. There is no one ‘out there’ who is going to put the bad things right. Only ourselves.” In addition, there are four items on current problems, one on growth, one on disease, one on pollution, and one of climate warming. Canadian author.