Sustainable Seattle | The End of an Economy Based on Consumption with Paul Gilding and John de Graff

The End of an Economy Based on Consumption with Paul Gilding and John de Graff

November 12, 2011, 7pm - 9pm

“One of those who has been warning me of [a coming crisis] for a long time is Paul Gilding, the Australian environmental business expert. He has a name for this moment-when both Mother Nature and Father Greed have hit the wall at once-’The Great Disruption.’ “

- Thomas Friedman in the New York Times

Publisher's Weekly named speaker John de Graaf and Dave Batker's What's the Economy for Anyway? the top bussiness and economics book of Fall 2011 and in reference to The Great Disruption says, “Gilding’s confidence in our ability to transform disaster into a “happiness economy” may astonish readers, but the book provides a refreshing, provocative alternative to the recent spate of gloom-and-doom climate-change studies.”

Learn how The Great Disruption can lead to increased quality of life and happiness.

Join globally recognized authors Paul Gilding (The Great Disruption) and John de Graaf (Affluenza, What’s the Economy for Anyway?) as they share the ideas in their new books, discuss The Happiness Initiative, a national project based in Seattle, and answer questions your questions.

Australian Paul Gilding, former international director of Greenpeace and advocate for sustainability, will be discussing his latest work The Great Disruption (Bloomsbury), which was released worldwide earlier this year and has earned him high praise from, among others, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and 350.org founder Bill McKibben.

Seattle resident John de Graaf will discuss the ideas in his new book, What’s the Economy for, Anyway? (Bloomsbury). He will also discuss his work with Sustainable Seattle’s Happiness Initiative, a national program to measure and improve wellbeing that has drawn interest from more than 25 American cities and nearly 100 colleges and universities.