Chris Turner, one of five Alberta authors shortlisted for a 2008 Governor General’s Literary Award for The Geography of Hope: A Tour of the World We Need — his inspirational treatise on coming trends in sustainable living — travelled and researched communities around the world to document inspiring, everyday examples of practical environmentalism.

The book is an attempt at providing solutions to global environmental problems, something that is often missing in public discourse. “I’ve been involved in the green movement from way back,” says Turner. “I volunteered for Greenpeace, but I was often frustrated by the dialogue. The thing I realized later was that I was deeply engaged by the issues, but not so much by the suggested solutions.”

The belief in our generation’s ability to effect phenomenal worldwide change is rooted deep in Turner’s psyche, and was galvanized when his daughter was born. “I’d been trying to get a magazine to send me to Tuvalu, which is an island in the South Pacific that is sinking under the ocean as a result of global warming,” says Turner, an award-winning professional freelance writer and journalist. “And then my daughter was born. I thought about taking pictures of her there, and then having to explain to her in coming years that that place doesn’t exist anymore,” he says. “Suddenly it seemed to me such a despairing thing to do, to take my daughter to a place that’s going to vanish. If we’re going to change the way we exist on the planet, we don’t need to focus on what we’re losing. We need to focus on how we stand to gain in that shift.”

This shift in focus is the crux of the book. “I don’t think I could have written this book even five years earlier,” says Turner. “We’re at some sort of turning point, I think, where ideas are popping up independently worldwide and gaining momentum. There was a wave of ideas in the ’80s, but the technology wasn’t sufficiently advanced, and many of the ideas simply failed. I believe that this wave is here to stay.”

Aside from technology, another major shift Turner sees is the amount of discussion occurring around environmental issues. Not too long ago it was difficult to have any sort of sustained debate on the problems, let alone the solutions. “It used to be really hard to get editors interested in stories. I’d hear, ‘oh, we just did an article on the environment a couple of months ago,’ says Turner. “There was no understanding that this is an ongoing issue, the constant subtext underneath everything else. That’s begun to change, too.”

Despite the inspirational language peppered throughout the book, Turner is a pragmatist. He believes permanent change in people’s daily lives will not occur as the result of uplifting speeches, nor as the result of being shamed into doing right. In Turner’s opinion, the first thing that must occur is a realization that change is not only necessary, it’s unavoidable. Once this shift has happened — and in Turner’s opinion, it has — the next step is to talk about practical solutions that are effective for individuals. “The powerful thing is to remove the climate aspect from the discussion and talk about saving money on your power bill,” quips Turner. “So much dialogue around sustainability is about shaming. You can’t change people’s daily habits by shaming them or scaring them. Why demonize SUVs? We have to be able to move from ‘I fear’ to ‘I want’ in order to change the way we live.”

As you move through Turner’s book, you won’t read much about organic farming, communal living or tree-hugging. A remarkable amount of Turner’s paean to environmentalism deals with life in cities. It’s clear that the issue of clean and sustainable energy is, to Turner, the central issue of global warming. “I don’t think that living sustainably is just about energy, but it’s the area with the biggest problems, and therefore the potential for the biggest gains. I think energy production and consumption is the largest and most fundamental issue. And as an individual, it’s the place you can make the most difference. Around the home, the biggest shifts are usually about how you get and use energy.”

Turner doesn’t have much time for top 10 list approaches to change, but he says the key is to “stop looking for what you will lose, and concentrate on what you can gain. Look for opportunities. If we’re going to be the generation that beats climate change, a pivot to positive thinking is crucial.”