A Happiness Economy?

Last week on National Public Radio’s The Diane Rhem Show, Ms. Rehm dedicated half of Tuesday’s show to how humans will (or won’t!) adapt to climate change. Among the three guests she had on her show, perhaps the most interesting was Paul Gilding, author of the book The Great Disruption: Why the Climate Crisis Will Bring On the End of Shopping and the Birth of a New World . Gilding is certain the climate crisis will get much, much worse, but is also confidant that once we are faced with no other choice, humankind will rise to the occasion and figure out new ways of living that are more compatible with sustainability and conservation. In fact, Gilding surmises that rather than an economy focused on material wealth, we will create one based on attaining happiness, not goods.

View more details of glaciers and the effects of climate change.