Technology & Sustainability (303 DEN)

Denton, Peter

The developed world is increasingly obsessed with two things: electronic gadgets and our changing climate. We stand in open-mouthed awe at our technological achievements while dejectedly shrugging our shoulders at the state of the planet on which we live. Our choice is clear: we need to reimagine the way in which we engage with the technology we create.

Peter Denton's first RMB manifesto, Gift Ecology: Reimagining a Sustainable World, focused on interpersonal relationships as the foundation for a vibrant and ecologically sustainable society. In his second thought-provoking book in the series, the author challenges readers to use our cherished technologies in new ways. We need to think of our devices not merely as better rocks and sharper spears, but as profound extensions of our hearts and minds that we can use to change the world.

Gift Ecology: Reimagining a Sustainable World  (338 DEN)

Denton, Peter

Global sustainability in the 21st century seems to be an elusive goal. There are too many issues, too many problems—and, increasingly, too many people—to make the major changes required in the time various experts tell us we have left before it’s too late. 

To create a sustainable future, we need to change the game itself. We cannot simply try to solve our problems one at a time. Instead, we need to reimagine sustainability in all its dimensions—social, cultural, environmental and economic—to create a global system that reflects how we should be living together, one that generates both hope and possibility. 

In this thought-provoking work, Peter Denton argues that the attitudes and values associated with the economics of exchange are in part to blame for our current situation. We need to rediscover what it means to live in a universe of relations, not merely in one that can be counted and measured. The more we are able to replace an economy based on transactions with an ecology based on gifts, the more likely a sustainable future becomes for all of Earth’s children.

The Fred Victor Mission Story: From Charity to Social Justice (362 FAG)

Fagan, Cary 

Fred Victor Mission has stood at the city's heart, committed to helping Toronto become a truly world-class community where everyone who lives can be at home. 

 

When Grace Showed Up: One Couple’s Story of Hope and Healing Among the Poor (362 SMI)

Smith, Tich and Joan Smith

Tich was a South African sports star who lost it all to alcohol. Joan had recently lost her husband. Their lives were at rock bottom when grace showed up and inspired these two middle class South Africans to move past the racial prejudices of the Apartheid era and launch a ministry together.

The result was Lungisisa Indlela village (LIV), the legendary residential facility that rescues children, restores lives, and raises young leaders in South Africa. This is the story of transformed lives—both theirs and the orphans—as a country begins to embrace grace and love others as Christ loves the church.