John Swaffield is Emeritus Professor and former head of the School of the Built Environment and its Drainage Research Group at Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh. From 1996 to 2003 he was chair of the Water Regulations Advisory Committee of the UK government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and he was President of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers for 2008--09.
David Thorpe outlines, in fastidious detail, the journey to a new life that is not only lower impact, but is also delightful and fun- and he is quite prepared to fully address the multiple bureaucratic and technical challenges and along the way. This book is an excellent and immensely practical step by step guide, illustrated with copious examples, for everyone ready to make that change. - George Marshall, founder of the Climate Outreach Information Network and author of Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change. Over the last 30 years economists have had to reassess how improvements to human welfare are measured. Unfettered growth in household demands causes local and global problems. Measures such as the ecological footprint seek to assess the `planet' consequences of our consumption activities. Practically what it means to live a `one-planet' lifestyle is rarely considered in terms of the benefits and challenges, and this book is therefore a welcome reckoning. A key theme is the fact that maximising consumption activity should not be confused with maximising human welfare. - Professor Max Munday, Director of the Welsh Economy Research Unit, Cardiff Business School. David Thorpe's new book is a timely reminder that we have only one planet to live on - and that this fact needs to be reflected how we live, and everything we do. But as well as making the irrefutable case for 'one planet living', it provides a wealth of practical detail on how to actually do it, and this is surely where the book's greatest value lies for a new generation of one planet pioneers determined to lead the way to new ways of living, that tread lightly upon the Earth and sustain her natural riches. - Oliver Tickell, editor, The Ecologist magazine and author of Kyoto2: How to Manage the Global Greenhouse.