Corporate capitalism has ravaged the planet the same way HIV ravages the human body, triggering a critical mass of cascading environmental, economic, social, and political crises. Economic and climate instability, collapsing ecosystems, peak fossil fuels, and devastating resource wars—if the Earth were a patient, her condition would be critical. Life Rules offers a comprehensive analysis of our present circumstances, combined with a holistic treatment protocol for restoring health to vulnerable human and natural communities.

Predicting that Life will last, but if we don't make some fundamental changes, life as we know it—and a lot of us—won't, Life Rules identifies natural laws that have allowed non-human communities to thrive and prosper for several billion years, including:

• Local self-reliance
• Mutual interdependence
• Reliance on non-fossil sources of energy
• Resource conservation, sharing, and recycling
• Radically democratic self-organization and governance

This sobering yet essentially optimistic manifesto is required reading for anyone concerned about our ability to live within Earth's means. A powerful tool for community transition and cultural transformation, Life Rules offers a solution to our global challenges that is at once authentically hopeful, deeply inspiring, and profoundly liberating.

Ellen LaConte is acting director of the EarthWalk Alliance, a contributing editor to Green Horizon Magazine and The Ecozoic, a frequent talk show guest, and publisher of the Starting Point online newsletter. She has written two books about Helen and Scott Nearing, homesteaders and best-selling authors of Living the Good Life, and she is the author of the upcoming environmental novel Afton.