Simple, sustainable living imbedded in a high-achiever, high-consumption culture presents monumental challenges and opportunities. Jim Merkel, author of Radical Simplicity, will explore practical ways to make monumental reductions in our spending and ecological footprints, while aligning with our greater purpose. Examples and practical suggestions will prime your creativity. In a sustainable world, success might be measured by who has the most fun while serving the greater good per acre of Earth consumed.

Imagine you are first in line at a potluck buffet. The spread includes not just food and water, but all the materials needed for shelter, clothing, healthcare, and education. How do you know how much to take? How much is enough to leave for your neighbors behind you -- not just the six and a half billion people, but the wildlife, and the as-yet-unborn?

In the face of looming ecological disaster and wars coupled with a stressful daily grind, many people feel the need to change their own lifestyles as a necessary step in transforming our unsustainable culture. Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature said about Radical Simplicity, “Jim Merkel offers a special mix of practicality and idealism: a workable mix. I defy you to read this book and not come away thinking of ways your life might change for the better.” Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States said “Jim Merkel has written the most persuasive argument I have yet seen for all of us to radically change the way we live day-to-day. Radical Simplicity joins the evidence of science to a fertile imagination. This is a profoundly important book.”

This slideshow contains inspiring images of sustainable lifestyles in Kerala, India, the Himalayas, Spain and North America. The transition to a sustainable culture needs your participation! The program includes lessons learned by the Global Living Project on living well on small footprints. Could our material abundance, education and creativity be harnessed to create an equitable, peaceful and sustainable planet?

How large of an impact or ‘footprint’ would you like to leave? What is an equitable slice of the biosphere considering other life forms the needs of our world neighbors and future generations?

Using the science of ecological footprints and listening to our own sense of fairness, it is possible to arrive at a personal measurable sustainability goal. Through this process, we will be able to set specific targets and face challenging obstacles with more clarity. This workshop will introduce the tools of Radical Simplicity that can help you chart a more direct course toward sustainability. After the Workout, you will be able to significantly sharpen sustainability discussions and face the emotional challenges more successfully.

Teaching about Global Challenges with the Ecological Footprint This workshop will introduce the tools contained in Radical Simplicity –Ecological Footprinting, Your Money or Your Life and Learning from Nature. We will demonstrate exercises and games that can create a greater global understanding and inspire commitment to social justice.

As educators or parents, our actions are more important than our words in the eyes of youth and our peers. By working through the practical difficulties of living simply in the land of plenty, you will know first hand how to assist your students.

An interactive introduction will establish a baseline of common understanding and assess how familiar participants are with the global state of affairs, ecological footprinting and voluntary simplicity.

We will explore the connections between the most critical issues facing our planet and the way we, students and educators, live. We will reflect upon the costs of consumerism and benefits of lower impact lifestyles.

A workshop based on the best seller "Your Money or Your Life" by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. This workshop examines strategies of how to get off the treadmill and chart a path toward a more fulfilling existence. By following the practical 9-step program outlined, it is possible to obtain financial freedom and live a more meaningful life knowing you are contributing toward healing the planet.

A slide-show with poems, research and adventure highlighting sustainable lifestyles in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Kerala provides inspiration and insight into human possibilities as well as a wealth of information on alternative – and often radical - approaches to achieving life quality (education, health care, replacement fertility, food distribution, democratic access to local and small-scale income producing opportunities) on a small amount of resources.

This workshop explains how, with the ecological footprint (EF), we can monitor human impact at the household, municipal, regional and national level, and how to compare it to the biosphere’s capacity to regenerate itself. Participants will learn how to compare various options to not only minimize lifecycle costs but also to minimize footprints.

Annual EF assessments are made of 150 nations. This substantial base of comparative data makes EF an ideal tool for assessing flows of materials and resources. We will demonstrate how to use EF spreadsheets to analyze the annual financial and environmental costs of products, policies, projects or programs. The seminar will be spiced with hands-on exercises and examples of how to use this tool for building a sustainable future in our lives, organizations and communities.