Consuming less is our best strategy for saving theplanet—but can we do it? In this thoughtful and surprisingly optimistic book,journalist J. B. MacKinnon investigates how we may achieve a world withoutshopping.We can’t stop shopping. And yet wemust. This is the consumer dilemma.Theeconomy says we must always consume more: even the slightest drop in spending leadsto widespread unemployment, bankruptcy, and home foreclosure.The planet says we consume too much: in America, weburn the earth’s resources at a rate five times faster than it can regenerate.And despite efforts to “green” our consumption—by recycling, increasing energyefficiency, or using solar power—we have yet to see a decline in global carbon emissions.Addressing this paradox head-on, acclaimed journalistJ. B. MacKinnon asks, Whatwould really happen if we simply stopped shopping? Is there away to reduce our consumption to earth-saving levels without triggeringeconomic collapse? At first this question took him around the world, seekinganswers from America’s big-box stores to the hunter-gatherer cultures ofNamibia to communities in Ecuador that consume at an exactly sustainable rate. Thenthe thought experiment came shockingly true: the coronavirus brought shoppingto a halt, and MacKinnon’s ideas were tested in real time.Drawing from experts in fields ranging from climatechange to economics, MacKinnon investigates how living with less would changeour planet, our society, and ourselves. Along the way, he reveals just how muchwe stand to gain: An investment in our physical and emotional wellness. Thepleasure of caring for our possessions. Closer relationships with our naturalworld and one another. Imaginative and inspiring, The Day the World Stops Shopping willembolden you to envision another way.