Background
Mills, Stephanie Ellen was born on September 11, 1948 in Berkeley, California, United States. Daughter of Robert C. and Edith (Garrison) Mills.
( "In this book, I relate the pleasures, as well as the v...)
"In this book, I relate the pleasures, as well as the virtues and difficulties of a perhaps simpler than average North American life." So begins ecological thinker and writer Stephanie Mills's Epicurean Simplicity, a thoughtful paean to living, like Thoreau, a deliberate life. Mills's account of the simple life reaches deep into classical sources of pleasure -- good food, good health, good friends, and particularly the endless delights of the natural world. Her musings about the life she desires -- and the life she has created -- ultimately led her to the third century Greek philosopher Epicurus, whose philosophy was premised on the trustworthiness of the senses, a philosophy that Mills wholeheartedly embraces. While later centuries have come to associate Epicurus's name with hedonism, Mills discovered that he extolled simplicity and prudence as the surest means to pleasure, and his thinking offers an important philosophical touchstone for the book. As the author explains, one of the primary motivations for her pursuit of simplicity is her concern about the impacts of a consumerist lifestyle on the natural world. Mills touches on broad range of topics relating to that issue -- social justice, biological extinctions, the global economy, and also more personal aspects such as friendship, the process of country living, the joys of physical exertion, the challenges of a writer's life, and the natural history and seasonal delights of a life lived close to nature. An overarching theme is the destructiveness of consumerism, and how even a simple life affects a wide range of organisms and adds strain to the earth's systems. The author uses her own experience as an entry point to the discussion with a self-effacing humor and lyrical prose that bring big topics to a personal level. Epicurean Simplicity is beautifully crafted, fluid, inspiring, and enlightening, examining topics of critical importance that affect us all. It celebrates the pleasures, beauty, and fulfillment of a simple life, a goal being sought by Americans from all walks of life, from harried single parents to corporate CEOs. For fans of natural history or personal narrative, for those concerned about social justice and the environment, and for those who have come to know and love Stephanie Mills through her speaking and writing, Epicurean Simplicity is a rare treasure.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1559636904/?tag=2022091-20
(What is the real impact of technology on our cultural and...)
What is the real impact of technology on our cultural and political lives? Are the proponents of megatechnology and the global economy correct to assume that there will always be newer technological solutions to all the world's problems? Fifty visionary environmentalists, scientists, scholars, and social critics grapple with these questions and expose the links between the character of megatechnology and the social and ecological crises of our time. Stephanie Mills presents the ideas and opinions of many of the world's most important critics of biotechnology, free trade, corporate colonialism, the proliferation of military technologies, and technological means of social control in a fascinating and lively survey of the proceedings of two historic conferences. Refusing to offer superficial solutions to our current environmental and social problems, participants from Europe, North America, and Asia maintain that technology is never neutral, but that the totality of a given technology's effects, not just its intended benefits, must be taken into account. Turning Away From Technology is an invaluable conceptual tool because it offers a probing analysis of the big technological picture and describes a realistic, humane, and sustainable future.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0871569531/?tag=2022091-20
Mills, Stephanie Ellen was born on September 11, 1948 in Berkeley, California, United States. Daughter of Robert C. and Edith (Garrison) Mills.
Bachelor, Mills College, 1969.
Campus organizer Planned Parenthood, Alameda, San Francisco, California, 1969-1970. Editor in chief Earth Times, San Francisco, 1970. Story editor Earth, 1971.
Conference facilitator Mills College, Oakland, 1973-1974. Writer family planning program Emory University, Atlanta, 1974. Director outings program Friends of the Earth, San Francisco, 1975-1976, director membership development, 1976-1978.
Fellow Foundation for National Progress, 1978-1980. From assistant editor to editor CoEvolution Quarterly, Sausalito, 1980-1982. Editor in chief, research director California Tomorrow, San Francisco, 1982-1983.
Director development World College West, San Rafael, 1983-1984. Freelance writer, lecturer, since 1984. Adjunct professor Grand Valley State University, Traverse City, Michigan, 2002.
Vice president Earth First! Foundation, 1986-1989. President Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council, 1987-1988. Member planning committee Great Lakes Bioregional Congress, 1991.
President board directors Oryana Natural Foods Cooperative, 1992-1993. Member advisory council Earth Island Institute, member advisory board Orion Society, member American for Maine Woods, National Park Advisory committee, Northwoods Wilderness Recovery.
(What is the real impact of technology on our cultural and...)
( "In this book, I relate the pleasures, as well as the v...)
Board of directors Planned Parenthood Federation American, 1970-1976.
Married Philip Thiel (divorced 1990).