‘The New Village Green’
Documents New Reality

The traditional village green is connected by geography. Ideas, values, and electrons, however, connect the "new" village green. This is the premise behind a new book "The New Village Green" (New Society Publishers) by the editors of "Green Living Journal," a publication founded in Vermont in 1990.

Lead editor is Stephen Morris of Bethel Gilead.

"With all the recent celebration of all things local," says publisher Chris Plant, "it’s easy to forget that there are people everywhere who share common values. The two village greens do no compete, but rather nourish each other."

The book was created in a manner consistent with that statement. Prominent environmentalists were solicited to nominate the key ideas and people that have influenced our contemporary environmental perception. Articles, quotes, reviews, and profiles were then collected to portray the "new village green."

Filled with contributions ranging from prominent national authors (Bill McKibben) to seventh generation farmers (Burr Morse of Morse Farm in East Montpelier), by editors located in Vermont, California, and Oregon, then published by a company located on Gabriola Island, British Columbia this book is, at once, a celebration of technology and a handbook on how to live compatibly (and ecologically) with it.

The organizing principle for the book borrows openly from the seminal ideas that have shaped our environmental worldview. Chapters are named in testament: "Silent Spring," "Small is Beautiful," One Straw Revolution," and "The Gaia Hypothesis," among others.

"The stars of the show are the contributors who demonstrate how these classic ideas are more relevant than ever to contemporary life," say Morris, who has logged professional service with environmental organizations such as Vermont Castings, Real Goods, Chelsea Green Publishing, and The Intervale Foundation.

Not surprisingly, Vermont connections are evident throughout the book. In addition to McKibben and Morse, other contributors include ex-director of Vermont Business for Social Responsibility Spence Putnam, Vermont Natural Resources Council’s Elizabeth Courtney, and Jefrey Hollender, founder of Seventh Generation. Chapter titles pay homage to the late Donella Meadows ("Beyond the Limits"), homesteaders Scott and Helen Nearing ("The Good Life"), and Middlebury’s McKibben ("The End of Nature").

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