Interview: David Orr on Reining in a Culture of Consumption

David W. Orr, professor of environmental studies at Oberlin College, says the easy part of helping the United States live within its ecological limits may be passing laws, such as one that puts a price on carbon. The hard part, he maintains, is reining in a culture of consumption that causes extensive environmental damage — and unhappiness. Author of books such as Ecological Literacy and Down to the Wire, Orr has been a leader in environmental education and has been a vocal proponent of sustainable design on the country’s college campuses. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, Orr discusses President Obama’s missed opportunity to use his “bully pulpit” to educate the public about global warming and says that for America and the industrialized world to move onto a truly sustainable footing, society must awaken to what he calls the “profoundly disquieting” effects of the “frantic search for more money and more stuff.”

Read the interview