Based on original archival and ethnographic research, this book provides the first in-depth analysis of CAT and uses the case study to explore wider issues of sustainability and environmental communication. It situates the Centre within current environmental and political discourse and emphasises the relevance and reach of CAT’s practical solutions and creative educational programme. These practical solutions to the destruction of the environment of human activity are increasingly vital in today’s context of climate change, loss of biodiversity and rising levels of pollution. It debates the spectrum of attitudes between environmentalism and ecologism evident at CAT and in broader conversations surrounding sustainability.
Woven throughout the text, the author makes clear what we can learn from CAT’s almost 50 years of experiments and experiences, from his first-hand account of working at the site. This will be a fascinating and revealing read for academics, researchers, students and practitioners interested in all aspects of sustainability and environmental issues.
Stephen Jacobs is Senior Lecturer in Media, Religion and Culture at the University of Wolverhampton, UK. His recent publications include The Art of Living: Foundation: Spirituality and Wellbeing in the Global Context – a multisited ethnographic study of an international meditation organisation. He has had an interest in environmental issues and sustainability since working at the Centre for Alternative Technology in the 1980s. He was awarded a Leverhulme Research Fellowship for this project.