Summary

Society needs a new green revolution. The first ‘green revolution’ began in the mid twentieth century. It involved the application of fossil fuel based energy, machinery, and agricultural chemicals to dramatically increase food production. This fueled economic growth, that led for the most part to increased material wealth, which was equated with social wellbeing. The substantial negative environmental and social impacts of the first green revolution have become unacceptable. We need a second ‘green revolution’ driven at a grassroots level by local communities, supported and maintained at an institutional level by business, government and non-governmental organisations. This new ‘green revolution’ is not only possible – it is essential.